Me and the Hennepin Canal bass have not been seeing eye to eye lately, so we agreed it was best to spend some time apart. Right on time, I received the text below from Brent and a plan was put into place to hit a Knox County public strip mine or two.

Stats
Date: July 13
Location: Knox County public strip pits (2 lakes)
Time: 5:45am-8:30am, 9:30am-1:15pm
Totals: 43 bass (Troy – 28, Brent – 15)
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 68-89F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures (Troy): 5” Yamamoto Senko (blue pearl/silver flake) – 21 bass, 6” Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Worm (junebug) – 4 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 2 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Lures (Brent): 5” Yamamoto Senko (green pumpkin with large black flake) – 13 bass, Mann’s The Ghost (chartreuse) – 1 bass, Mann’s Chug-N-Spit (black/chrome belly) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-2 Troy (Senko), 2-13 Brent (Senko)
Top 5 Weight (combined): 14-3 (3-2,2-14,2-13,2-11,2-11)

11:13am- Top Bass at 3-2 (19″) on a Senko

Notes and Nonsense

Predictions – When Brent and I fish together, I like to have us make pre-launch predictions of our combined totals. On this occasion, we did pretty darn good with our estimations. I was only six ounces off on our Top 5 Weight of 14-3. Brent was right on the money with his Top Bass prediction of 3-2. And after a slow start, I would have bet money that we would be closer to my Total Bass estimate than Brent’s. Fortunately, the latter portion of the day saw a better bite and Brent was only three bass off the mark with his guess of forty-six bass.

Back on Track – With my recent struggles on the Hennepin Canal, I was up for a change of scenery and what better choice than the good, old Knox County strip mines. I had not made a visit to the area since mid-April, so I was due for a reintroduction to those bass. Even after thirty-five plus years of chasing bass in the area, we continue to learn something new. And along the way, we continue to find some quality bites.

11:01am – Brent’s Top Bass at 2-13 on a Senko

Which Bro Will Row – When Brent and I hit the water in the little boat, the decision must be made to determine who will row. No rock, paper, scissors, drawing straws, or random phone app is used to decide as we often base the duty on where we are fishing. On our first lake, I rowed to give Brent a better look as he normally fishes it from a kayak which takes more focus on watercraft control. On lake number two, Brent took over on the oars. While he also fishes it from a kayak, it has become his “home lake” and he allowed me to have the upper hand as I had not fished it for several years.

6:20am – Top Bass Runner-Up at 2-14 on a frog

Slow Start, Strong Finish – Lake one was a tough bite with eight bass in just under three hours. We did have three over two and a half pounds (2-14,2-11,2-9) but came up one fish shy of a Top 5 as our four “keepers” tipped the scales at 9-3. The bass on the second stop were very cooperative with thirty-five total in just under four hours including a dozen keepers and a Top 5 of 10-4.

Brent’s winning lures – Senko, Chug N Spit, The Ghost (top to bottom)

Troy’s winning lures – Buzzbait, frog, swimming worm, Senko (clockwise from upper left)

Senko Success – Of our forty-three bass, thirty-four fell to a wacky rigged Senko. That lure is a winner most anywhere for us from May through September, but it really shines on the strip mines, particularly in the clearer bodies of water. Whenever I am asked what to throw on the strip mines, my reply is to throw a wacky rigged Senko. And if that doesn’t work, toss a different colored wacky rigged Senko.

 

It is always great to get on the water with Brent. While I would say that it wouldn’t matter if we caught many bass or not, that usually isn’t much of an issue. With the success of this outing, I decided to revisit the strip mines the following weekend as well. Stay tuned for that report and talk to you later. Troy