I took a vacation day from work to give me a four-day Fourth of July weekend. The plan was to spend three of those mornings (July 5, 6, 7) chasing bass. Morning number one left me wondering if I should have saved my vacation day. But, as the saying goes, “Any day fishing is better than a day working.” Even if you can only muster one bite. And I wasn’t alone in experiencing a tough bite.

Stats
Date: July 5
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:15am-9:15am, 9:30am-9:45am
Totals: 1 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/calm 65-72F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (pumpkin/black flake) – 1 bass
Top 1 Weight (only 1 bass at 12” or better): 2-6 (2-6)

Winning Lure

Notes and Nonsense

Mission Impossible – I launched alongside three kayak anglers and two more were spotted on the water later. I took a right turn and headed west, the two late arriving kayaks did the same, and the three early kayaks headed east. Two and a half hours later, we crossed paths or met at the ramp to discuss our efforts. I must admit that I was a bit embarrassed in having to report that I had not caught a single bass. Much to my surprise, neither had any of the other anglers. Granted, some days are better on The Canal than others but the odds that six anglers would not fool a single bass are astronomical. Seriously, if I were a betting man, I would wager that we could fish every day until October and never again get shutout as a group. Oh yeah, I also told one of the guys that while I felt bad that he did not catch a fish, it also made me feel better. Is that wrong?

Hail Mary Cast – Discouraged by my lack of success, I almost called it a day and just headed home. However, my route took me past a lock that I don’t fish much, and I figured the bite couldn’t be any worse. The decision proved to be a winner as I nabbed a bass on a wacky rigged Senko after about a half dozen casts. And it wasn’t a bad fish, weighing in at 2-6.

9:35am – Lone bass of the morning at 2-6 (17.5″) on a Senko wacky rig

Another Canal Oddity – From the “you never know what you will see on The Canal” file, I had a timely encounter shortly after landing my lone bass. As I walked along the lock on the way back to my truck, a familiar face from my old hometown of Galesburg exited a vehicle and headed my way. An old friend and former supervisor from another place and time was out for a hike with his wife and the timing was just right to cross paths for the first time in years. I enjoyed the conversation and catching up and later considered just how weird it is when things work out in such a manner. If I hadn’t taken a vacation day, I would have been at work. If the bass had been biting on my original stop, I would have stuck around longer and had no reason to stop at the second spot. If I hadn’t opted to take one more shot at a few casts on the heels of the frustrating morning, I would never have been at the lock. So on, and so forth in pondering how it was that we ended up in the same place.

While the Fourth of July weekend fishing plan was off and running, the launch left much to be desired. But tomorrow is a new day and I was up and on the water at sunrise for another shot. Stay tuned for that report and talk to you later. Troy