The Canal content rolls on as I get caught up on my recent fishing reports. Today’s post covers another May outing on some more new water. This stretch featured some quite dingy water courtesy of countless spawning carp along with sparse, scattered cover amidst a modest batch of shoreline weed mats.
6:52am – First bass and not sure there is confidence in my brother’s reply
7:26am – Second bass, smaller than the last
Stats
Date: May 29
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:25am-10:10am
Totals: 9 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 65-74F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (perch) – 4 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with a BPS XPS double tail grub trailer (Houdini) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-10 Buzzbait and Senko (tie)
Top 5 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 4-14 (1-10,1-10,1-0,0-10)
Winning Lures
Notes and Nonsense
Early Bird? – I love to be on the water when it is darn near still dark before sunrise. Well, I didn’t make it on this trip as my first cast splashed down at 6:25am. From there, I proceeded to catch a total of two bass in the first hour and forty minutes. The remaining two plus hours resulted in seven bass. Now, there are many variables in play when assessing my “luck”, but I swear that some days I get up earlier than the fish, even when I have a later arrival than hoped.
8:16am – Top Bass at 1-10 (15.5″) on a buzzbait
Vegetation Variations – I am pondering a topwater frog post or two as therapy for my lack of luck, but I will leave specifics for another time. On this trip, I gave the frog a shot in froggy spots to start the day without a ripple. Therefore, it was on to Plan B. I targeted as many variances as possible in the otherwise identical stretches of weed mats. If there was a pocket, channel, swing, or void, I took my first shot with a power spinnerbait/buzzbait approach and collected a handful of bites. As the sun began to hit the shore full bore, I switched my focus to pitching a wacky rigged Senko around such spots, especially if they combined shade, wood, or shoreline riprap with diminished weed cover. The Senko came through with four bites in forty-five minutes to somewhat save the day.
For the second time in four days in this general area of The Canal, I fell one bass short of establishing a Top 5 on my maiden voyage. Like the other stretch, it is unlikely that I will make a return trip anytime soon in search of that fifth bass. Now I am not naïve enough to think that my first impression is a true representation of what the pool has to offer, I just have other new waters seeking a first impression of their own. Talk to you later. Troy