It was a tall order to top 2020 as it was my BYOB (Best Year of Bass) on record with 418 bass logged. But the annual goal isn’t focused on how many bass I can catch as there are other factors that are just as important. Time on the water, co-anglers, Top 5 weight, destinations, presentations, and “records” all come into play. The posts headed your way in this year’s recap series will delve into each of these aspects.
Grand Totals (bass fishing only)
41 outings (29 outings in 2020)
136.75 hours fishing (107.75 in 2020)
313 bass (418 bass in 2020)
2.40 bass/hour (3.88 bass/hour in 2020)
Comments: The uptick in outings were a direct result of adding a group of new locations along the Hennepin Canal to my fishing destinations. Seventeen of the forty-one trips this year were at various spots along the historic corridor which proved to be a worthwhile destination (details to come in the location portion of the recap). And while I don’t really have a goal for the number of bass catches, anytime I can exceed three hundred bass, I consider it a rousing success.
March 20, 2021 – First Bass
First Bass/Last Bass
March 20 – Snakeden Hollow 3:50pm 15” 1-10 Shad Rap
November 17 – Little John CC 1:42pm 16” 2-7 Spinnerbait
Comments: Annual mission accomplished with a March bass to start my year and a November bass to end it. For the second straight year, the Shad Rap came through with the first catch. Interestingly, a bass weighing 2-7 was the final catch for the second straight year although they came from spots that were 803 miles apart (2020 – Lake Fork, TX and 2021 Little John Conservation Club near Victoria, IL).
November 17, 2021 – Last Bass
Monthly Breakdown
March – 1 trip, 3 bass, Top Weight (3/17 2 bass) = 2-11
April – 3 trips, 50 bass, Top Day Weight (4/2) = 12-4
May – 3 trips, 28 bass, Top Day Weight (5/23) = 8-4
June – 4 trips, 41 bass, Top Day Weight (6/19) = 11-7
July – 11 trips, 41 bass, Top Day Weight (7/21) = 9-4
August – 4 trip, 51 bass, Top Day Weight (8/15) = 7-4
September – 7 trips, 50 bass, Top Day Weight (9/26) = 9-13
October – 7 trips, 46 bass, Top Day Weight (10/10) = 9-15
November – 1 trip, 3 bass, Top Day Weight (11/17 – 2 bass) = 3-6
Comments: As noted previously, I strive to start with a bass in March and end with a bass in November and was able to do so with lone outings in each month. In between, I took what I could get with summer comprising the bulk of my trips as weekends are freed up from school activities and weeknight sunsets are later. Fall was again reserved for the investment of a few days to cover the Lake Storey drawdown and closing time for much of my strip mine waters as they shift to waterfowl ground. Not a great deal of fluctuation on my Top Weights between the bookend trips of March and November. Several good days as any time I can push or exceed the ten-pound mark, I am pleased with the bite.
Top 5 Weight
20-0 (4-10,4-4,4-3,3-9,3-6)
Comments: After three straight years of falling short of my goal of a twenty-pound limit, I made it…barely. Heading towards the middle of October, I needed a 4-4 bass to knock out the lightest member of my Top 5 and reach my goal. Believe it or not, a buzzbait cast on a rain soaked morning at Snakeden found just the bite I needed, right at 4-4. You can’t make this stuff up, and I wouldn’t, anyway. Over a handful of trips to close the year, I couldn’t find any more bass that would boost my weight, ending 2021 right on the money.
The recap has just begun as I have several more breakdown posts in the works. Next up, will be a look at the lures that got the job done. Talk to you later. Troy