On the heels of a successful July 12 outing, I hit the same Knox County public strip mine area again the following Saturday. My ambitious aim was to fish three lakes, but Mother Nature did not follow the initial forecast. A brewing storm ran me off the water much earlier than planned leading to a bit of exploration during the rest of my day.

Starting lineup and winning lures

Stats
Date: July 19
Location: Knox County public strip pits (two lakes), Hennepin Canal (one pool)
Time: 5:40am-7:50am, 1:20pm-1:35pm
Totals: 10 bass
Weather: Overcast to partly cloudy/breezy
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 6 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 2 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram flake) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 3-1 Frog
Top 5 Weight: 9-11 (3-1,2-2,1-11-1-10,1-3)

Tune of the Trip
Riding the Storm Out – REO Speedwagon (1977)
“The wind outside is frightening, but it’s kinder than the lightning life in the city.”
Such was the theme of substantial part of my day as I left the water before the storm, rode out the rain in my truck, and did some exploring. And I actually heard this song twice on the radio. Maybe it was a DJ being amusing, or maybe just an interesting coincidence.

5:44am – First bass at 1-3 (13″) on a buzzbait

Notes and Nonsense

Main Lake – The bass were quite cooperative as I rowed my way around a portion of this lake on my way to my preferred destination. Four bass in thirty minutes, all on topwater was tough to leave behind but the larger bass potential of my target lake convinced me to make a portage. I suspect that there are some quality fish in the Main Lake but have a hard time committing when solid fish are a short drag away.

6:26am – Top Bass at 3-1 (18″) on a Spro frog

Discovery Lake – Moving to this lake paid dividends right away as I had two “keepers” in the logbook after six minutes of casting including a 3-1 that would be Top Bass of the morning. Conditions remained conducive for a lasting topwater bite with overcast skies and a bit of chop on the water, but it wasn’t long before the thunder began rumbling. On these remote lakes, it takes a while to get back to the truck and I’ve gotten wiser over the years when it comes to calling it quits. Don’t get me wrong, I am still reluctant to leave the water but about 8:00am I was sure glad that I did. The skies got uglier, unleased several downpours, and put on an impressive display of thunder and lightning all while I was safely sheltered in my truck.

1:26pm – Hennepin Canal bass at 1-3 (13″) on a Senko wacky rig

Bonus Bass – I took advantage of the rainy day to do some exploring to the northeast. I peeked at Mautino State Fish & Wildlife Area and found that the interior roads had been repaired (they were so bad that much of the site closed several years ago). A couple lakes also had new rock launches in place that would be just right for my little boat. Next stop was a new spot on the Hennepin Canal near Mineral that I had hiked last winter. During that hike, I observed a beaver lodge, one of my favorite pieces of cover, a short distance from a parking lot. I took a walk and sure enough a bass called it home and took a liking to my Senko wacky rig. The stretch is on my list for a future launch to add four more “keepers” and establish an initial Top 5.

Top 5 Update
Main Lake – Boost from 6-4 to 7-4 as a 1-3 knocks a 1-2 out of the creel
Discovery Lake – No boost as it takes a 3-4 or better to bump my weight
Hennepin Canal – A bass at 1-3 was my first ever catch on this pool

I opted to take my birthday and the following day off work to get away from the hustle and bustle. Stay tuned for those reports as I hit the strip mines again on both days. Talk to you later. Troy

For a rare midday outing, I selected a pair of pools separated by a tube allowing me to cover two areas while only launching the boat once. The aim was to add a couple more ten-pound Top 5 limits as both were lacking a quality bite or two. The Top 5 weights on the pools were 8-2 and 8-8, respectively.

Stats
Date: July 6
Location: Hennepin Canal (two pools)
Time: 11:45am-3:10pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy/brief rain, 79-82F
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 1 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 1 bass, 5” Senko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-3 Frog
Only one bass at 12” or better

Starting Lineup

Good timing on the rain as a shelter was in close proximity

Tune of the Trip
“Ooh, a storm is threatening, my very life today. If I don’t get some shelter, ooh yeah, I’m gonna fade away.”
Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones (1969)
Okay, so maybe not quite that extreme but I did get some shelter in a tube running under the county road to avoid a downpour for about ten minutes. Worse than the storm were the spiders.

Notes and Nonsense

Late Start – My initial plan to get up around 4:15am fell by the wayside as I decided to sleep in for the second day in a row. However, I did not want to miss out on a fishing opportunity, so I opted for the rare summer midday trip. So much for beating the heat with such a stunt as it was steamy.

Clumsy and Lethargic – In terms of those two terms, I was “clumsy”, and the bass were “lethargic.” Fatigue gets the better of me some days and this was one of them. When worn out, the motor skills and focus suffer. When hitting on all cylinders and having free range of motion when fishing solo, I can drop in a spinnerbait with barely a ripple, put a frog where frogs shouldn’t go, and backhand a Senko into a narrow slot in the weeds. On this outing, I was both long and short on casts along with several snags but fortunately not in any of the abundant poison ivy lining the banks. Coupled with the “bathwater” in the shallow slow-moving Canal making the bass lethargic, catching was a struggle.

1:02pm – All-time Canal Bass #900 on a Senko wacky rig

Bass #900 – One highlight of the day was landing Bass #900 all-time from The Canal. It was not a very impressive specimen but they all count. I have my sights set on Canal Bass #1000 and it is realistically in reach before the year is done.

Top 5 Update Pool One – Two bass landed and neither large enough to provide a boost means that the Top 5 Weight remained at 8-8 (2-12,1-10,1-10,1-8,1-0).

1:27pm – Top Bass at 2-3 (16″) on a frog

Top 5 Update Pool Two – Two bass landed with one at 2-3 to provide a Top 5 boost from 8-2 (2-1,1-10,1-8,1-8,1-7) to 8-14 (2-3,2-1,1-10,1-8,1-8) as it culled a 1-7. The 2-3 also represented my largest bass on the pool to date.

A slow summer day and a tough bite but I was glad that I got in gear and hit the water even though I was not at the top of my game. My first assessment was that the bass were not on the top of their game either. However, after thinking about it perhaps they were. After all, I suppose that their objective is to not get caught. Talk to you later. Troy

As I got a day off work for the Fourth of July holiday, I opted to get up bright and early to take a second shot in a week on a stretch of The Canal that needed a Top 5 boost. Read on for the results.

Stats
Date: July 4
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:55am-9:55am
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm, 74-87F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 2-12 Frog
Top 4 Weight (only four bass at 12” or better): 7-12 (2-12,2-0,1-8,1-8)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Courtesy of the Red, White. and Blue (The Angry American) – Toby Keith (2002)
“Man, we lit up your world like the Fourth of July.”
My brain has a steady soundtrack and among the lifetime of music to choose from, this line seemed apt for a 2025 Fourth of July fishing trip.

Notes and Nonsense

Selecting a Spot – I revisited the same destination as my last trip on June 28 as I still had some loose ends to tie up with the bass that call the pool home. My Top 5 for the stretch lacked ten ounces of reaching my double-digit goal and I had not been able to find the quality bites needed for the boost on the prior visit. With the lightest fish in my Top 5 weighing 1-13, that meant a bass tipping the scales at 2-7 would take me all the way. As the morning began my Top 5 weight for the pool sat at 9-6 (1-15,1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13).

5:56am – First bass on fourth cast within sight of the boat ramp

5:56am – First Bite
I landed a bass on my fourth cast of the morning but at 11.5” it was not a “keeper” let alone a boost to my Top 5 weight. However, I took it to be good sign as it took me over two hours to land my first bass on the June 28 outing.

7:01am an exciting topwater strike on the frog

7:01am – This one gets away as that is my frog flying back at the boat

7:01am – One That Got Away
Early in the trip. I had the fish on that may have been the one I was seeking. It created a good boil as it struck the frog and put a solid bend in the pole on the hookset. As it broke the surface after being hooked, my brain registered a fish in the two-pound range during a brief glimpse. Unfortunately, the lure came flying back in my direction seconds later as the hooks did not get a grip. After one “doggone it”, several “shoots”, and a “dangit”, I took a few seconds to regroup and then resumed casting in anticipation of my next shot.

7:10am – Top Bass #2 at 2-0 (16″) on a frog

7:10am – First Cull
Admittedly disappointed in losing a decent fish, I did not have to wait long to get another strike on the frog. This one tipped the scales at 2-0 to give me a boost of three ounces (culled a 1-13) and raised the Top 5 weight to 9-9. Even better than the uptick in weight was getting two quality bites (one lost, one landed) in less than ten minutes. On an area where I have struggled in the past, a boost in confidence can outweigh a boost in weight.

8:39am – Top Bass at 2-12 (18″) on a frog

8:39am – Mission Accomplished
After landing a pair of matching bass weighing 1-8, I was nearing my turn around point. The sun was still low enough that shade was cast on the northern bank so I figured that I would focus most of my casting in that direction. As it turned out there was a good one hiding in the weed mat on the shady side that allowed me to reach my goal. I had a tense moment where I could not get a grip on the lip at boatside but observing that the bass had engulfed the frog, I was confident that it was not going to get away. At 2-12, the fish bumped another 1-13 and pushed the Top 5 weight for the pool to 10-8. It also represented the largest bass I have landed on the pool, displacing the 2-0 that I had caught an hour and a half earlier.

I fished for another hour after reaching my goal but never landed another bass. While that stinks, there was much relief in having the Top 5 monkey off my back. The Canal is an interesting collection of fishing holes and like anywhere, it can boost you up and it can get you down. This stretch had me down, but a couple bites can alter your attitude. That’s fishing. You just gotta keep on casting. Talk to you later. Troy