Month: September 2021

Strip Mine Report – September 6

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Labor Day offered a chance to get away and chase some bass. This time around I was able to share the day with one of my boys as well as a couple fishing friends. A great way to celebrate the holiday as detailed below.

Stats
Date: September 6, 2021
Location: Knox County, IL public strip mines
Time: 7:10am-9:20am (1.75 hours fishing, the rest hiking)
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 63-70F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 12 bass (Jim = 6, Jayce = 3, Troy = 3)
Lures: Senko wacky rig (various colors) and Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad (small mouth magic) with Berkley 3/0 weighted swimbait hook
Top Bass: 1-13 Jayce (Senko)
Top 5 Weight (only 1 at 12” or better): 1-13

7:14am – Jayce with his first bass of the morning on a Senko

Notes and Nonsense

Guide Fails – Having my son, Jayce, along for the outing allowed me to partially assume the role of guide. I got off on the wrong foot as he awoke me at 5:09am, well after I had silenced my 4:04am alarm. I knew what we were getting into in terms of weedy hiking, but I decided to give it a go and test our endurance. After navigating some tough terrain, I couldn’t put my client on very many fish before the decision was made to head for the truck.

Even Jayce’s “juice”, given to him by Papa, couldn’t help us fool those stubborn bass 

Guide Success – Jayce did land our largest bass of the trip and he gets all the credit for getting it done. He picked the lure; he selected his spot on the bank and he did the work to fool the fish. As with any of my “guide trips”, this one was on the house. Payment is always received via an excited young fisherman battling his catch and a big grin upon landing it (same for the guide behind the camera).

7:52am – Jayce with our Top Bass of the day, caught on a Senko

Meet Up – Many of the famous YouTubers do a thing called a “meetup” where they meet and greet subscribers and viewers of their channel. While I do have a YouTube channel, my 24 subscribers indicate that I am far from famous. Even so, I can kind of pretend as my buddy, Jim, joined us for our two hours of strip mine roaming (and was the top angler of the morning). In addition, Jayce and I headed over to a nearby boat launch to visit with our friend, John, to end our trip. Good to see both fellows and even better to have Jayce along to be “one of the guys.”

8:58am – The “Senior” guide gets on the board…barely

Lost and Found – Along the way we lost a pair of shades. Not the first time but the first lost in a long time. We lost a couple Senkos along the way as well, one to the weeds and one to a fish. But we also gained a few items during the morning. Jim provided me with a collection of classic fishing reading material while John offered up an edible souvenir from his recent trek to The Land of Enchantment. Thanks, guys, for the treasures and treats.

Treasures and treats from a good morning of visiting

I sure do like to catch fish and I am a dedicated compiler of notes and stats regarding those catches. But as time rolls on, I’ve come to realize that there’s a lot more to a fishing trip than fish. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Another month in the books and only one bass added since the last stat update. However, it was a good one as it easily made it into the Top 10 Bass of 2021. At present we are sitting at 70 bass with plenty of opportunity to find some more as the fall bite should be on the horizon.

2021 Totals
January = no submissions
February = 2 bass
March = 19 bass
April = 14 bass
May = 13 bass
June = 10 bass
July = 9 bass
August = 2 bass
September = 1 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = 7-3 (3-15,3-4)
March = 21-14 (5-5,4-3,4-2,4-2,4-2)
April = 21-6 (5-3,5-2,4-0,4-0,3-1)
May = 14-14 (4-6,2-12,2-10,2-10,2-8)
June = 15-8 (4-3,3-9,2-14,2-8,2-6)
July = 22-7 (6-0,4-10,4-4,3-13,3-12)
August = 5-7 (3-4,2-3)
September = 4-7 (4-7)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 14 bass
Bank = 56 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 15-12 (4-3,3-9,2-14,2-10,2-8)
Bank = 26-4 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-10)

Public vs. Private
Public = 66 bass
Private = 4 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 26-4 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-10)
Private = 9-6 (2-10,2-8,2-6,1-14)

The Baits (* = new record)
Plastic Worm = 28 bass (Top Bass 6-0 Jim Junk)
Lipless Crankbait = 17 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Jim Junk, Troy Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 8 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Troy Jackson)
Crankbait = 6 bass (Top Bass 4-0 Brent Jackson)
Chatterbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Jim Junk)
Jig = 2 bass (Top Bass 1-8 John Kirkemo)
Creature = 1 bass (Top Bass 5-5 Jim Junk)
Livebait = 1 bass (Top Bass Patricia Kirkemo 2-10)
Stickbait = 1 bass (1-11 Troy Jackson)
Swimbait = 1 bass (1-13 Troy Jackson)

Monthly Top Bass (* = new record)
January
No submissions
February
3-15 Jim Junk
March
5-5 Jim Junk
April
5-2 Jim Junk
May
4-6 Jim Junk
June
4-3 Troy Jackson
July
6-0 Jim Junk
August
3-4 Troy Jackson
September
4-7 Brent Jackson

Top 10 Bass (* = new Top 10 all-time)
6-0 Jim Junk (7/4)
5-5 Jim Junk (3/26)
5-3 Jim Junk (4/8)
5-2 Jim Junk (4/6)
4-10 Troy Jackson (7/11)
*4-7 Brent Jackson (9/3)
4-6 Jim Junk (5/25)
4-4 Jim Junk (7/6)
4-3 Jim Junk (3/30)
4-3 Troy Jackson (6/19)

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 26-0 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-6)
Troy Jackson 19-0 (4-10,4-3,3-9,3-6,3-4)
Brent Jackson 17-2 (4-7,4-0,4-0,2-6,2-5)
John Kirkemo 11-14 (2-10,2-8,2-8,2-6,1-14)
Jayce Jackson 3-7 (1-3,1-3,1-1)
Landon Hannam 2-12 (2-12)
Patricia Kirkemo 2-10 (2-10)

We already have one more catch to add but that one will have to wait for next Monday’s update before being officially added to our list. And perhaps this week may hold some others in store. Fingers crossed and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Got a good one for the update this week. Anytime you land one that won’t fit in a selfie, you’ve got a quality bass.

Weight: 4-7
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: September 3
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pit
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Angler Comments: This one came on a Senko. I had caught two others on a spinnerbait, maybe a pound. He came right from the spot where we saw the big one in the spring.
Top 5 Weight: 17-2 (4-7,4-0,4-0,2-6,2-5) culls a 2-3

It’s Labor Day and several of us are out there taking an early morning shot at some more Knox County bass. Here’s hoping we find some fish for next week’s update, but I’ll have a fishing report to post whether we fool any big ones or not. In addition, I have a special guest tagging along in the truck. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – September 5, 1991

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Scott “Woody” Woods with our trio of four-pounders being relocated among his grandparent’s ponds

Today’s flashback looks back thirty years ago this week for a visit to Woody’s grandma’s ponds down around Augusta, Illinois. At the time, Woody and I were both employed by a manufacturing facility in Galesburg, Illinois called National Seal Company. Our schedules consisted of four twelve-hour days followed by four days off, one of the best work weeks I’ve ever had with basically a vacation every eight-day week. In addition, I had a lot less responsibilities leading to ample time to fish and goof off.

4-4 on a Texas rigged plastic worm

Woody is Scott Woods, a Knoxville, Illinois native whom I first met as a kid when our dads played softball together. Woody would go on to star as an athlete at Knoxville High School and later at Monmouth College. I had the privilege of being a teammate on the Galesburg Legion Post #285 squad and was later a rival third baseman in the Knox-Monmouth College baseball rivalry.

1983 Galesburg Legion Post #285 squad

Back Row (l to r): Coach Gary Mitchell, Dan Curry, Mike Karlovich, Jon Ripperger, Cedric Woodson, Shag Hess, Paul DeJaynes, Pat Hise, Derrick Bland, Joe Maxwell, Coach John Shay

Front Row (l to r): Joe Dennis, Bobby Jackson, Doug Dawson, Scott Woods, Arnie Gonzalez, Troy Jackson, Hank Sprinkle, Jami Isaacson, Head Coach Jimmy Isaacson

1986 Rivalry – Woody taking the throw as I slide in with a triple and star pitcher, Carlos Interial, delivers a strike

Upon crossing paths again in the 1990s at National Seal Company, we would pass some time on the job swapping fish stories. Along the way, Woody invited me down to his grandparent’s farm which featured several ponds. On this visit we managed three bass over four pounds during a half day of prowling the banks. Woody would later catch one over seven pounds from one of the ponds as I recall.

A four-pounder and a 12-ouncer

In addition to the fishing, we had a few refreshments to keep cool in the heat. And apparently it was a little warm too as we look to have ditched the shirts. Been a long time since I did that sort of thing although my fifty something body ain’t a whole lot different than the 24-year-old body in today’s fishing pics. Just a bit more self-conscious and quite a few less beers these days, I suppose. Talk to you later. Troy