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Blog Banner – Redear Queen

Posted on by Troy Jackson

My daughter, Carly, has turned into quite an angler over the course of her eleven years. Along with her skills while wielding a rod and reel, she is also a dedicated sort as without fail she outlasts her siblings when our bunch goes out casting. And she is one of those anglers who just seems to have a knack for fooling a variety of fish.

Today’s photo from June 2016 displays her propensity for fooling redear sunfish which are generally pickier than their cousin, the cooperative bluegill. Hard to explain when the rest of us are in close proximity and tossing the same waxworm on a slip bobber setup and being completely ignored by the redear, but that’s fishing.

August 2015 with a redear hybrid variation

It’s cool too as she routinely claims the species title including a Grand Slam sort of limit last spring during an hour of casting from the bank with her siblings. Her haul consisted of bluegill, crappie, largemouth bass and a green sunfish. While no redear on that occasion, I suspect if we’d had more time one would have shown up to extend the species count.

June 2017, not redear but the fact that it is dark and we’re the last two on the bank says it all

But no matter what the catch it’s always enjoyable to spend time together pursuing a shared hobby. The following excerpts from the original post detailing an August 2015 outing sum it all up quite well.

“I had planned to go on a solo bass trip that particular morning while the rest of the crew slept off a late night of tacos in a bag and s’mores around the campfire. But at 5:30am, as I rolled around out of the tent, I was met by Julie and our youngest daughter, Carly, who was interested in accompanying Dad on the water.

While a nine year old girl and her forty eight year old dad’s interests are sometimes separated by the traditional generation gap, during those few hours in the wild we were right in tune. An ‘experienced’ outdoorsman, an eager pupil and the natural backdrop were a perfect combination.”

An early 2017 birthday gift that she picked out and put to work so she no longer needs to borrow one of my “ancient” spinning rigs 

Looking forward to more in 2018 as she’s got her eyes on adding a new species to her list, one with whiskers. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – July 6

Posted on by Troy Jackson

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

Hennepin Canal Report – July 4

Posted on by Troy Jackson

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

Hennepin Canal Report – June 28

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Work and fatigue have ramped up keeping me off the water for two weeks. The return to fishing featured a trip to The Canal on a stretch where the bites needed for a double-digit Top 5 weight have been elusive.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: June 28
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:15pm-8:15pm
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm, 89-82F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-12 Frog
Top 3 Weight (only three bass at 12” or better): 4-13 (1-12,1-10,1-7)

7:49pm – First Bass weighing 1-7 (15″) on a frog

Tune of the Trip
Dancing in the Street – Martha & The Vandellas (1964)
“Summer’s here and the time is right…”
Summer has indeed arrived as temperatures reached the lower nineties for a high. I waited out the heat for an evening trip when it was “only” eighty-nine.

7:54pm – Second bass weighing 1-10 (16.5″) on a frog

Notes and Nonsense

Top 5 Quest – Coming into this outing, my Top 5 for this stretch weighed in at 9-6 (1-15,1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13). This meant that a bass weighing 2-7 would gain the ten ounces needed to hit the ten-pound mark. During the three hours of casting, I could not find that quality bite. In fact, for the first two and a half hours, I did not land a single bass at all with two missed strikes on a frog including one that broke off on the hookset. Luckily, a three bass flurry in the last twenty minutes saved the day. None were large enough to boost my weight, but I sure was glad to avoid the embarrassing shutout.

8:10pm – Third bass weighing 1-12 (16.5″) on a frog

The Stretch – The bass in this area of The Canal continue to get the best of me as I just can’t find quality fish. With this trip included I now sit at 29 bass in 17.50 hours of fishing on this pool for an average of 1.66 bass/hour. Not entirely disappointing but certainly below my target of landing two to three bass/hour. I am not sure what it is about this stretch as there are plenty of good targets in the 1.3 miles of water. And I rowed up and down the entire stretch only to catch my three bass within sight of my truck as the evening ended. I will say that the water clarity is often murkier than I would like but as an angler you must figure it out. We’ll see what the future holds as I am dedicated to reaching that ten-pound Top 5.

Winning lure – Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) with its cottonwood fuzz collection

Good to be back on the water and fool a few but this area continues to be a thorn in my side. It is the lone stretch lacking a ten-pound Top 5 among fifteen sections I have designated from the Rock River in Colona running east to Atkinson. Further to the east, there are many sections that need a boost, but I am slightly less obsessed with them at present. One of these days. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Trip Tunes – May 25

Posted on by Troy Jackson

It’s tough to stay caught up on my Trip Tunes but I have such a fun time listening and reminiscing that I take the better late than never approach.

5. Hot Child in the City – Nick Gilder (1978)
This one hit wonder took his pop tune all the way to the top of the Billboard charts in a year dominated by disco. Interestingly, it was preceded at #1 on the charts by Exile’s “Kiss You All Over” which could loosely be labelled disco and was followed by Ann Murray’s “You Needed Me”, not even close. All in all, a fun year on the Billboard chart and “Hot Child…” was certainly a highlight.

4. Sausalito Summernight – Diesel (1981)
Another one hit wonder, this song peaked at #25 on the Billboard chart in September 1981. While researching some information on this tune, I found that it received substantial airplay on Chicago’s WLS, which likely explains why I purchased the 45 pictured above. WLS was that king of the airwaves on my clock radio for many years but by 1981 it was sharing my allegiance with a Galesburg station WGBQ (aka Q93).

3. Elenore – The Turtles (1968)
What a tribute to your best gal when the lyrics refer to her as “swell”, “groovy”, and “et cetera.” And “groovy” rhymes with “movie” where “They’ll turn the lights way down low, maybe we won’t watch the show.” Timeless.

2. Break It Up – Foreigner (1982)
Among the tracks on Foreigner’s smash album “4”, this one is my favorite. It is a rare occasion when you hear it on the radio as “Urgent”, “Juke Box Hero” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You” overshadow this lost single that peaked at #26 on the Billboard chart.

1. Roll on Down the Highway – Bachman Turner Overdrive (1975)
Suppose that someone unfamiliar with the genre asked you to provide an example of “rock music.” Well, you would be right on target with this driving tune about driving. Gruff, powerful, occasionally incomprehensible vocals paired with musicians hitting on all cylinders is an absolute treat. And once I understood the lyrics, I must say that my favorites lines are “The time’s real short you know the distance is long, I’d like to have a jet but it’s not in the song.”

More hits on the way. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Trip Tunes – May 18

Posted on by Troy Jackson

No Top 5 Update this week, so playing catch up on some Top 5 Trip Tunes.

5. Hearts – Marty Balin (1981)
This late member of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship scored a pair of solo Top 40 hits in the 1980s with this tune reaching #8 on the charts. Not only is it a great song but a couple aspects apply to my mental musical lists. It makes the list of my telephone call tunes as it begins with “Is everything all right? I just called to say how lost I feel without you.” In addition, it is a body part song and begs the question of the most frequent body part in hit song titles. Is it “heart” or “eyes?”

4. Heavy Metal (Takin’ a Ride) – Don Felder (1981)
The one-time Eagles guitarist contributed this title track to the 1981 animated film of the same name, not to be confused with the Sammy Hagar “Heavy Metal” tune that was also included in the film. And speaking of the film, I don’t think that I have ever seen the entire thing. Seems like I attended a midnight showing and maybe caught parts of it on HBO or Cinemax during those old free weekends. From the mixed reviews, I probably won’t add it to my must-see list.

3. I Missed Again – Phil Collins (1981)
It is 1981 and Phil Collins, Genesis, and MTV are about to explode onto the scene. What a great time to be a teenager and a music fan. Granted, Colins and Genesis had been around for quite some time, but they were about to go from cult following to the top of the charts. And you’ve got to love horns in a song with Phil Collins’ imitations being a classic piece of music video history.

2. Silver, Blue & Gold – Bad Company (1976)
Among my mental musical lists are the Top 5/Top 10 rankings among an artist’s catalog. When it comes to Bad Company, this one tops my list. In addition, there are the lists of songs with a color in the title. Well, how about one that overachieves with three colors? And on that mental list it remains tied with “Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer” recorded by Johnny Russell. Feel free to chime in with others and I can add them to my list.

1. Somebody to Love – Queen (1976)
Queen is one of my favorite bands of all-time and this tune is one of my favorites from their impressive and entertaining catalog. Like many of their songs, the amount of stuff going on in these five minutes is an audio treat. Over the last fifty years, I’ve had several “Wow, I’ve never noticed that before” moments. Little bits of percussion, succinct shots of background vocals, hand claps, and cheers to name a few. What a fun song, I could listen to it all day long.

Hope you don’t mind the occasional tangents as there are more on the way. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 7

Posted on by Troy Jackson

While my quest for double-digit Top 5 limits on The Canal is ongoing, I gave it a break on this trip. Instead, I hit a spot that I hadn’t fished for two years in search of seven bass that would push my all-time total on the stretch to one hundred bass. The results ended up being what I would call a classic fish story.

7:40am – Bass #94 on a buzzbait, and yes, they all count, no matter how “big”

Stats
Date: June 7
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:30am-9:55am
Totals: 7 bass
Weather: Hazy/calm, 63-70F
Lures: Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 6 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-4 Senko
Top 4 Weight (only four bass at 12” or better): 7-1 (3-4,1-9,1-4,1-0)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Bye Bye Love – The Cars (1978)
With the haze from the ongoing Canadian wildfires, the lyric “It’s an orangy sky” comes to mind. In the day, you can look at the orange sun obscured in the haze, while at night the moon reflects a similar hue.

Notes and Nonsense

Background – Being a stat guy, I am always looking to pursue some “milestones.” Coming into this trip, I spent just under thirty hours on this pool and landed 93 bass. Top Bass consisted of a pair weighing in at 2-12. And the Top 5 for the stretch sat at 12-8 so I had not invested any time on this water since July 2023. So, I set out in pursuit of seven bass and any boost to my Top 5 weight would simply be a bonus.

9:31am – Bass #97 on a buzzbait and Top Bass Runner-up for the trip at 1-9 (15.5″)

Fellow Anglers – My launch was slightly delayed after an informative and enjoyable conversation with a knowledgeable angler in the parking area. Shortly after launching I gave a wave to a shore angler who showed up as I drifted down the waterway. Midway down the stretch, I chatted with a Canal regular as he stopped his pedaling to catch up on our fish stories. Not long after, I spoke briefly with a father-son fishing duo as they made their hike along the towpath headed back to their vehicle. Good chats along the way and the shore angler took time to comment later in the day on social media.

Results – I had two bass in the first half hour before a lengthy drought of over seventy minutes. Being up against a time limit to head to Galesburg and watch the Cubs with Dad, I admit that I was a bit worried. However, four bass in the next thirty-five minutes had me one bass away from my goal and roughly forty-five minutes left of fishing.

9:55am – Bass #100 on a Senko, Top Bass of the trip and Top Bass all-time for the pool at 3-4 (19″)

Bass #100 – At 9:55am, I hit a spot with a pocket of the deepest, clearest water on the pool. The area also featured a dense, expansive weed mat with a fair current making a direct hit. Up to that point, I had relied exclusively on a buzzbait and frog, but this spot set up well for the Senko wacky rig. I cast my Senko to the weed edge and let it sink with the current towards the weed mat. Since the Senko was a light color, I could see it fluttering down and shortly it was being pushed to my left, typical of a panfish nibbling at the bait. As the panfish lost interest (or was perhaps scared away) and the Senko began to drift back to the right, the wacky rig disappeared. At the same time, a tug on the line triggered my brain to set the hook and the fight was on. After a couple dives and briefly hanging in some subsurface weeds, I lipped Bass #100.

Winning lures

A True Fish Story – Bass #100 was a quality fish. In fact, it set a new Top Bass mark for this pool knocking out a pair at 2-12 (5/27/2022 and 9/20/2022). Bass #100 was caught on the only cast that I made with a Senko. After catching Bass #100, I called it a morning and made the eighteen-minute row back to the truck without a single cast. Sure, I could’ve kept casting for Bass #101 and beyond but those will have to wait for another day as I was more than satisfied with my last cast of the morning.

Mission accomplished. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 5

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I altered my work schedule on June 5 to get out a couple hours early to put in a full evening on The Canal. The aim was to celebrate the fourth anniversary of my first Canal catch with some more bass from the same spot. Unfortunately, not many bass were in a festive sort of mood.

June 5, 2021 flashback photo of my first bass caught on The Canal

Stats
Date: June 5
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 4:30pm-8:15pm
Totals: 2 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy, 72F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (leopard) – 1 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-3 Frog
Top 2 Weight (only two bass at 12” or better): 2-2 (1-3,0-15)

Starting lineup

7:34pm – Took a while but mission accomplished with an anniversary bass at 1-3 (13″) on a frog

Tune of the Trip
Happy Anniversary – Little River Band (1977)
Revisiting the spot where I caught my first Canal bass seemed like a good idea, but it turns out that I should have “celebrated” somewhere else.

8:06pm – Second and final bass of the evening at 0-15 (13.5″) on a buzzbait

Notes and Nonsense

Fizzled Festivity – Three hours into casting, I was seriously concerned that no bass were going to show up for our reunion of sorts. Up to that point, I had gotten four strikes on a frog but failed to get any of those fish into the boat. Two were only briefly hooked after the topwater explosions and the other two came unbuttoned midway to the boat. With about forty minutes of fishing remaining, I avoided the shutout with a frog bass and managed to eke out one more on a buzzbait about ten minutes before ending my evening.

Cottowood fuzz is terrible in some spots

The Fuzz – The stretch I chose to fish was ugly with cottonwood fuzz. In the windblown areas, the surface was a nasty, white, slimy mess. This resulted in numerous backlashes, abrupt endings to many casts, and frequent attention to the gobs of gunk on my line, lures, level wind, and spool. There is no way to rid your gear of this stuff when it is wet, so you must grin and bear it or find some water with less cottonwood congestion. Mother Nature just doing its thing, I guess, but an annual bane for anglers.

An errant cast also produced what we call a “log salmon”

Winning lures

In the end, I was able to celebrate the date with a couple fish and always good to get on the water and take my shot. A recent conversation with Dad featured one of those old fishing adages that we dredge up from time to time that summed up this trip. Such an evening reinforces why our hobby is called “fishing” instead of “catching.” Talk to you later. Troy

Did I mention that the cottonwood fuzz was ugly?

Hennepin Canal Report – May 31

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I was able to work in a trip on the last day of May and chose a stretch of The Canal that needed a boost to reach a double-digit Top 5 weight. Prior to the trip my all-time Top 5 for the stretch sat at 7-7, so it would take a good fish or two to reach the ten-pound mark.

Stats
Date: May 31
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:25am-10:40am
Totals: 6 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy, 63-74F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (redear) – 3 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 2 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-10 Buzzbait
Top 3 Weight (only three bass at 12” or better): 4-9 (1-10,1-8,1-7)

Starting Lineup

Tune of the Trip
Dirty Water – The Standells (1965)
I couldn’t get this song out of my head as cast after cast landed in the dingy water. Like last year, The Canal gets increasingly stained as I head east.

7:36am – Top Bass #3 at 1-7 (14.5″) on a frog

Notes and Nonsense

Pros – This section of The Canal has more exposure to wind than many other stretches due to sparser tree lines on some portions. As such, this morning worked out well in terms of not having to fight any wind. Conditions featured only a light breeze which made for less attention to boat control. This generally results in more casts, more precision in those casts, and the opportunity to slow down my presentations if I choose. Each of these factors are favorable but rarely are fishing conditions “perfect.”

9:03am – Top Bass #2 at 1-8 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Cons – While I did not have to fight the wind, there were several other challenges. The cottonwood trees that line The Canal are having a banner year in terms of distributing “fuzz” which gets stuck to your line and lures. It is nearly impossible to remove and adversely effects casting. The water clarity was also lacking making it tougher to locate targets and to avoid lures fouling in the weeds. Beyond the water, the gnats were out in full force and the poison ivy has taken over the banks, including my makeshift boat ramp.

10:14 – Top Bass at 1-10 (15.5″) on a buzzbait

Lure Selection – Three bass on the frog in the first thirty minutes had me thinking that I was onto something but then the frog bite shut down. I shifted to a spinnerbait amidst the abundant wood targets but could only muster two bites. To finish the morning, I swung for the fences with a buzzbait hoping for a big bite or two but only fooled a lone bass for my Top Bass of the trip at 1-10.

Winning lures

Top 5 Update – I did not find the bites that I needed to reach the double-digit mark. In landing the 1-10 and 1-8, I was able to cull a 1-4 and a 1-3 but the boost was only eleven ounces. This pushed the Top 5 on this stretch to 8-2 meaning that a return trip will be required.

Lost & Found on The Canal – These “chip clips” seem to disappear from my house but found one on The Canal although it was a litle sprung. 

Overall, a tough morning on the water as I fell short of my goal. However, I have plenty of other missions to accomplish on The Canal and I have been able to work on those in June. Stay tuned as I have some catching up to do on the fishing reports. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A new month means a look at the Top 5 Stats for the year.

Bass Totals (largemouth, smallmouth and spotted)

2025 Totals
March = 10 bass
April = 16 bass
May = 22 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
March = 11-3 (2-15,2-8,1-15,1-15,1-14)
April = 18-9 (4-14,4-10,3-13,2-14,2-6)
May = 22-9 (5-7,4-15,4-7,3-15,3-13)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 22 bass
Bank = 26 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 12-14 (3-1,2-9.2-8,2-6,2-6)
Bank = 24-5 (5-7,4-15,4-14,4-10,4-7)

Public vs. Private
Public = 46 bass
Private = 2 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 24-5 (5-7,4-15,4-14,4-10,4-7)
Private = 6-11 (3-13,2-14)

The Baits
Chatterbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 4-14 Chatterbait)
Jerkbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 2-8 John Kirkemo)
Lipless Crankbait = 7 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Brent Jackson)
Frog = 6 bass (Top Bass 3-1 Brent Jackson)
Plastic Worm = 6 bass (Top Bass 4-15 Jim Junk)
Underspin = 4 bass (Top Bass 5-7 Jim Junk)
Popper = 2 bass (Top Bass 2-4 Brent Jackson)
Swimbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 3-13 Jim Junk)
Grub = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-2 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-13 Troy Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 1-8 Troy Jackson)

Monthly Top Bass
March
2-15 Jim Junk
April
4-14 Troy Jackson
May
5-7 Jim Junk

2024 Top 10 Bass
5-7 Jim Junk 5/17
4-15 Jim Junk 5/25
4-14 Troy Jackson 4/19
4-10 Brent Jackson 4/6
4-7 Jim Junk 5/30
3-15 Jim Junk 5/2
3-13 Jim Junk 4/6
3-13 Troy Jackson 5/16
3-10 Jim Junk 5/30
3-3 Jim Junk 5/30

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 22-9 (5-7,4-15,4-7,3-15,3-13)
Troy Jackson 16-5 (4-14,3-13,2-11,2-9.2-6)
Brent Jackson 14-13 (4-10,3-1,2-8,2-6,2-4)
John Kirkemo 9-10 (2-8,2-4,1-14,1-10,1-6)

Other Species

Walleye
Brent Jackson 1-6 (1-6)

Almost halfway to one hundred submissions and our first twenty-pound limit of the year is in the books. 2025 has been a solid year and plenty of fishing remains. Good luck out there and send your submissions to troy@troyjacksonoutdoors.com if you want to join the crew. Talk to you later. Troy