Back on July 7, I hit one of my seldom visited stretches of The Canal and ran into an uncomfortable spider situation in one of the tubes that I had to traverse. Well, I wanted to fish the water again but this time I was smarter (and scared), so I opted to approach it from an alternate launching point. While this allowed me to avoid the spiders, I found that the resident bass were in a mood to avoid me. I did fool a few though so read on for the results and rambles.

7:36am – First Bass at 1-11 (15.5″) on a topwater frog

Stats
Date: August 17
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:20am-10:50am
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Overcast/breezy to windy, 67-75F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 2 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 2 bass
Top 2 Weight (only 2 at 12” or better): 4-4 (2-9,1-11)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Comparing Notes – About an hour and a half into my morning, I had just landed my second (and largest) bass as a pair of boating anglers got within conversation distance. Disappointed with my total, I was feeling a bit embarrassed to fess up that I only had two bass to show for my efforts. To my surprise, the other anglers admitted that they had only landed two smaller bass after covering even more distance. I told them not to take it the wrong way, but it made me feel better to know others were struggling as well.

8:41am – Top Bass at 2-9 (17″) on a topwater frog 

Confidence – Even after forty plus years of trying to be a bass fisherman, it can be difficult to keep your chin up during a tough bite. But my chat with the other anglers about their similar struggle recalled a conversation with Dad a number of years ago about experience. He said that Brent and I shouldn’t sell ourselves short as not just anybody can go out there and catch a batch of bass consistently. Great advice to keep the confidence up from a guy who knows a thing or two about fishing and the outdoors. Of course, he’s a little biased and would also profess that he taught us everything we know.

Sample shot of multiple gar breaking the surface

Gulping Gar – On one portion of the stretch that I was fishing, I observed constant, scattered ripples of fish breaking the surface. Initially, I assumed they were shad being chased by bass, but the frequency, consistency, and sheer number of disturbances seemed different than the sporadic flurries of prey spooked by predators. As I got closer, I stopped casting to focus on figuring out what was taking place. When several of the fish broke the surface near the boat, I suddenly realized that they were gar. Now, I have seen a handful of gar on The Canal, but this was something to behold as dozens of the fish repeatedly rolled at the surface. I attempted to get a strike on a wacky rigged Senko but only had one follow that I observed upon lifting my lure out of the water at boatside. That fish was of considerable size as best I could make out in the murky water and was the largest of any that were observed up close. It was a cool sight, and I stopped in the same area again as I headed back downstream later. Internet research revealed that gar will come to the surface in such a manner to intake air for supplemental oxygen in low oxygen environments. Summer on parts of The Canal with sluggish current and dingy water would certainly fit the bill and result in such behavior.

A little tough to see but this was a sizeable gar that followed my Senko to the boat

The learning on The Canal continues as you never know what you will encounter. While I did not encounter many bass on this trip, the gathering of gar was something to behold. And before I forget, the 2-9 Top Bass knocked a 1-9 out of my Top 5, raising my weight for the stretch to 10-1. Mission accomplished and talk to you later. Troy