After a good Good Friday strip mine outing with Brent, I was back with boots on the ground the following Monday courtesy of a vacation day. Hopes were high with a stretch of pleasant weather and a five-pounder on the previous outing. Read on to see how this solo trip panned out.
Top Bass 3-1 (18.5″) at 10:18am on Ned Rig
Stats
Date: April 10, 2023
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits (7 lakes)
Time: 7:25am-12:55pm (4.50 hours fishing)
Weather: Sunny/windy
Air Temp: 44-67F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 24 bass, 1 crappie
Lures (Troy): Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (perfect pumpkin) – 12 bass, Rebel Ghost Minnow – 5 bass, 5” Yammasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 4 bass, Rapala Shad Rap (blue) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 3-1 (swimbait)
Top 5 Weight: 10-8 (3-1,3-0,2-7,1-1,0-15)
Winning Lures
Notes and Nonsense
Ned Rig getting it done again
Ned Investment – The highlight of the day was a fifteen-minute stretch that saw two three-pound fish landed on the Ned Rig. Throw in a 2-7 about an hour earlier and it was a good showing for a new approach. The top four bass of the day’s Top 5 on the day came on the finesse presentation with the lone exception being an 0-15 on a Shad Rap. All told, the Ned Rig has posted a Top 5 of 14-13 over the last two visits to the Knox County public strip mines. I will enjoy it while it lasts as once the weather warms and the weeds take over, I will shift to other presentations.
Senko Season – One of those other presentations will certainly be the Senko wacky rig. I typically begin using it around the middle of April and it remains on one of my spinning setups until October. This trip produced the first Senko bass of the year from a small, shallow spot that I don’t regularly fish. However, since I was hiking right by on this trip, I gave it a look. Seven short bass (8-9”) reinforced why I don’t make this a regular stop, but it did help me to get on board with the Senko.
Much better steps/bass than previous outings
Top Bass Runner-Up 3-0 (17″) at 10:33am on Ned Rig
Mission Accomplished – I touch on this from time to time but for me it bears repeating. My goals when I hit the water are as follow:
1. Don’t get shutout
2. Land a Top 5 (five bass as 12” or better)
3. Post a double digit Top 5 (combined weight at 10-0 or better)
Four and a half hours of casting on this day got the job done thanks to three “good ones.” Which also is a term which bears repeating a definition.
“Good one” – a bass that weighs in the two-pound range or better.
A good day in terms of quantity and quality as the bass were quite cooperative in the warm, stable weather. Hoping to take a shot at the bass on The Canal soon and see how they are doing. Talk to you later. Troy