I didn’t originally have plans to get on the water on this evening but some incentive from a co-worker got me moving. Read to see how it went on this national “holiday.”

Stats
Date: June 18 (National Go Fishing Day)
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:45pm-9:00pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 2 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko wacky rig (smoke shad) – 2 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (sight shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 Frog
Top 2 Weight (only 2 bass at 12” or better): 3-14 (2-4,1-10)

Notes and Nonsense

National Go Fishing Day – The previous day a co-worker brought it to my attention that it was “National Go Fishing Day” per her every day is a holiday or observance calendar. When she asked if I was going fishing to celebrate, I had to admit that I was unaware of the designation. Of course, being in the know meant that I could not pass up a reason to make more fish stories.

Winning lures

Presentations – My summer visits to this stretch of The Canal consist of a three-pronged approach in the weedy waters. My number one presentation is a topwater frog rapidly twitched over, through and around areas with significant surface vegetation. Next is a chatterbait for open water expanses or channels in the weed growth. Finally, I always have a Senko wacky rig ready when topwater fishing as a follow-up to missed topwater strikes if there is enough open water for a pitch to the resultant surface boil. On this trip, I had no such occasions, but the Senko came through in the lone area with deeper water and sparse vegetation. While I did not load up the logbook, each of the choices caught fish for a successful evening.

8:24am – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-10 (15″) on a frog

Dogs, Cats, and Daughters – A few hundred yards from my truck in the growing darkness, I spotted a shadowy figure and what looked to be glowing red eyes prowling the path between me and my destination. It took me aback as darkness still does weird things even to an old guy, but it turned out to be a black dog with a lit-up collar. The owner was fishing nearby and instructed the dog to leave me alone as I strolled up. I said that I lived in a cat household and the dog must be curious. I added that once upon a time, my girls convinced me to get a pair of cats. And now, one of my girls is married, the other away at college, and guess who has the cats. This produced a response from the fellow that perhaps I came out ahead in the end. Not true, of course, but I will admit that the comment made me laugh.

8:40pm – Top Bass weighing 2-4 (17″) on a frog

In the end, the suggestion of a co-worker got me on the water to see what this fishing thing was all about. I am happy to report that it is still an enjoyable past time and hope that others were able to take a shot as it preceded Illinois Free Fishing Days from June 19-June 22. I made some more casts during that period but those are fish stories for another day. Talk to you later. Troy