Month: November 2024

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A pair of November bass shows up this week. And while neither was large enough to boost either angler’s Top 5 Weight, it sure is nice to still be catching bass as the year winds down.

Weight: 1-3 (spotted bass)
Angler: John KIrkemo
Date: November 6
Weather: Partly cloudy
Air Temp: 70s
Water Temp: 72
Location: Lake Keowee (near the Fairfield Inn on Route 123, Seneca, SC
Lure: Rapala X-Rap (perch)
Angler Comments: Trolled a shallow running silver and black Rapala for a while without any hits. Switched to the Rapala X-Rap which is a deeper running suspending lure and caught this fish trolling through the area indicated on the attached map. I turned around and began trolling the same lure across the same area in the opposite direction and hooked another fish but lost it before I could get it close to the boat. No other hits during 2 hours of fishing.
Top 5 Weight: 10-9 (2-8,2-7,2-0,1-13,1-13)

Bonus pics from John of the Rapala X-Rap and an “X” marks the spot of where to troll it

Weight: 1-15 (15.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: November 10
Weather: Partly cloudy, very windy
Water Temp: Not available
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white)
Structure: Drop
Angler Comments: This was the first bass of the outing, and it bit five minutes after launching. I had high hopes, but the bite turned out to be slow with only two more bass in the next two hours. All good though as they are all “bonus” bass at this point in the year.
Top 5 Weight: 16-5 (3-10,3-6,3-3,3-2,3-0)

Time will tell if we get any more submissions, but the weather up here is still holding out, so you just never know. And those South Carolina bass should still be plenty active with water temperatures in the seventies. Stay tuned for an overdue Top 5 Stat Update soon and there’s a fishing report to submit to cover my November 10 visit to The Canal. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – November 2

Posted on by Troy Jackson

One of my annual goals is to land a November bass before I put the gear away. So, I hit the Canal on November 2 and managed to get it done. I was also in search of the quality bites needed to boost some Top 5 totals into double-digits on three different pools.

11:29am – November bass in the books at 1-12 (16″) on a spinnerbait

Stats
Date: November 2
Location: Hennepin Canal (3 pools)
Time: 11:25am-3:30pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy, 52-61F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 2-5 (spinnerbait)
Top 4 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 7-10 (2-5,2-0,1-12,1-9)

Winning lure

Notes and Nonsense

Pool One – Four minutes after launching on my first spot, I had a bass in the boat and the pressure to catch a November was off. Unfortunately, it was the lone bass on the stretch in an hour of casting. I was also seeking a boost of two ounces as my all-time Top 5 on the area sat at 9-14. To reach a double-digit Top 5, I needed at least a 1-11 to knock out a 1-9, and I got it with a 1-12.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 9-14 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-9)
Top 5 Boost: Caught a 1-12 at 11:29am
New Top 5 Weight: 10-1 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-12)

12:31pm – Top Bass at 2-5 (17″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Two – Having accomplished my aim on the first pool and struggling to find more bites, I rowed through a tube to try my luck on another area. The Top 5 Weight on this stretch sat at 8-1 meaning that I would need one big bite or a couple quality bites to reach double-digits. While the bite was not hot with four bass in seventy-five minutes, I did get the bites that I needed.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 8-1 (3-0,1-14,1-7,0-14,0-14)
Top 5 Boost: Caught bass weighing 2-5,2-0, and 1-9
New Top 5 Weight: 10-12 (3-0,2-5,2-0,1-14,1-9)

2:50pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-0 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Three – The overall bite wasn’t fast and furious, but I was pleased to have found the late season boosts I was seeking to push the Top 5 on two more pools into double digits. Well, as Meatloaf sang, “Two out of three ain’t bad.” An hour and a half on this stretch produced a lone short fish that provided no help to the pool’s Top 5 Weight of 6-12. But hey, there’s always next year.

3:09pm – Top Bass #4 of the day at 1-9 (15″) on a spinnerbait

And speaking of next year, time will tell if that is when I will land my next bass. The weather outside is far from frightful though, so perhaps there are a few more casts left in 2024. However it works out, it has been quite a year on the water. Talk to you later. Troy