Since work was out of the equation for us on Good Friday, Brent and I hit the Knox County strip mines for our second walk-in outing of the year. Would it be a good Friday or another struggle like our six bass first outing? Read on for the reveal.

Pre-hike predictions

Stats
Date: April 7, 2023
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits (6 lakes)
Time: 10:45am-4:55pm (5.50 hours fishing)
Weather: Sunny/windy
Air Temp: 49-60F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 25 bass, 2 crappie (Brent – 13 bass, Troy – 12 bass, 1 crappie apiece)
Lures (Brent): Ned rig – 8 bass, Spinnerbait (white) – 4 bass, Mann’s 4- crankbait – 1 bass
Lures (Troy): Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (perfect pumpkin) – 6 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 3 bass, Rebel Ghost Minnow – 3 bass
Top Bass: 5-3 Troy (swimbait)
Top 5 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 8-10 (5-3,1-4,1-2,1-1)

Brent Lures

Troy Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Short Start – The bite was scattered to start our day and left much to be desired in terms of quality bass. Nearing the four-hour mark, we had a less than impressive haul of eleven bass and no “keepers” (our term for 12” or better bass and all are released). However, the next twenty minutes would result in three of our four keepers, including one that was a real winner.

Ned Rig Tip – As we coordinated our arrival, Brent texted me the above insight which would turn out to be a productive piece of advice. Brent opted for a Z-Man TRD for his version of the Ned Rig while I went with a Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait. These baits would produce over half of our catches, three of our four keepers, and Top Bass for the day.

Top Bass at 2:49pm on a Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait 22″ and 5-3

Top Bass – After wandering around five of our regular stops without anything to brag about, we decided to try another spot since we were in the neighborhood. Our Top Bass from the lake stood at 2-3, caught by Brent several years ago. Beyond that catch, a handful of bass in the one pound to one-and-a-half-pound range were the extent of our luck. That all changed about fifteen minutes into prowling the bank as I hauled in a surprising 5-3 on my version of the Ned Rig. I could go on about what led to the picture above, but I will save the fish story for an upcoming post instead.

Brent Top Bass on a Ned Rig

Top Four – The goal each time out is to fool five keepers to establish a Top 5 weight for the outing. Near simultaneous to the 5-3, Brent nabbed keeper number two at 1-1. Fifteen minutes later, I added a 1-2 and a 1-4 joined the log near the end of the day. While we fell one bass shy of our Top 5 goal, it’s tough to complain with a five-pounder in your creel.

Brent followed up on Saturday with some quality bites

Twenty-five total bass was a step in the right direction after a rough six bass outing to start the month. The bite should only get better as the warm, stable weather has stuck around and the bass are stocking up on energy in preparation for the spawn. We didn’t waste much time to evaluate that prediction as a Saturday outing for Brent produced four two-pounders as noted in the snip above. I opted to wait until Monday to test the bite, but it worked out well as well. But that’s a fishing report for another day. Talk to you later. Troy

Final Results – April 7

Got out on the strip mines to hike with my brother to start the month. Read on to see how it went with a bit of a musical twist for fun.

Pre-walk predictions, results below

Stats
Date: April 2, 2023
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits (5 lakes)
Time: 11:10am-4:25pm (4.00 hours fishing)
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Air Temp: 49-63F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 6 bass, 1 crappie (Brent – 4 bass, Troy – 2 bass, 1 crappie)
Lures: Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap (gold shad) – 3 bass, Jig (black/blue) with split double tail trailer (black/blue flake) – 1 bass, Mepps spinner (white) – 2 bass, Rapala Shad Rap (blue) – 1 crappie
Top Bass: 2-13 Brent (lipless crankbait)
Top 5 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 7-8 (2-13,2-12,1-15)

Top Bass 2-13 on a Rat-L-Trap

Notes and Nonsense

“All the right junk in all the right places” – All About That Bass, Meaghan Trainor (2014)
Our results were right on target with Brent’s Total Bass prediction while I was much more optimistic with my guess. It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort as we employed a batch of tried-and-true early season lures in proven spots but just couldn’t get much going.

Classic baits get the job done on a tough day

“And I’m never going back to my old school” – My Old School, Steely Dan (1973)
Our meager haul of bass came on a trio of “old school” lures, a Rat-L-Trap, a Mepps spinner, and a black/blue jig. There’s a reason that these lures are still around as they continue to produce many decades after their arrival. I got a kick out of Brent’s Rat-L-Trap as it may be from last century and I had to do a fair amount of internet searching to determine the color. And the classic Mepps spinner saved my day as I would have been shut out without it. So, contrary to the Steely Dan lyric above, Brent and I are not above going old school to get it done.

Roughly 3900 steps per bass for me, not too impressive

“Blow away, blow away, blow away” – Blow Away, George Harrison (1979)
The day started windy and got windier. On the upside, windblown banks can hold some fish and fishing on foot takes the boat control issue out of the equation. On the downside, casting into the wind can be a challenge. Baitcasting reels can result in the occasional backlash and casting distance can suffer. The lighter lures that I throw on my spinning setups are also prone to inaccuracy in such conditions as you must play the wind for the bait to land in the intended spot.

What is a collection of pelicans called? Read on for the answer.

Not technically a spider (but an arachnid at least) and garter snake, both firsts for 2023

“I don’t like spiders and snakes” – Spiders & Snakes, Jim Stafford (1974)
While the warming weather did not really perk up the bass, other creatures were taking advantage of the conditions. I saw my first snake of the year, a small garter snake, and found my first tick upon arriving back at the truck. We also spotted a beaver along with a couple squadrons of pelicans (had to look that one up).

Not the greatest results but always good to chase fish with one of my little brothers

“Two out of three ain’t bad” – Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, Meatloaf (1978)
Our pre-walk predictions found me significantly more optimistic than Brent in predicting our total bass. Although he won that part of the prognosticating, I was closer on the Top Bass and Total Weight guesses. While he clearly outfished me, I can brag about my two winning predictions as well as the unofficial species title courtesy of an accidental crappie catch.

Top Bass Runner Up at 2-12 on a jig

Brent came through with a trio of solid bass but 2023 continues to be a struggle. That won’t deter us though, as we are headed out again a time or two during Easter weekend. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

The struggle continues for 2023 as another trip to The Canal comes up empty. But even though I couldn’t get a bass in the boat, there is always something to report and learn along the way.

Stats
Date: March 21
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 11:25am-2:40pm
Totals: 0 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy

Tossed a collection of lures but couldn’t land a bass

Notes and Nonsense

Choices – In the last year and a half, I have fished over twenty different stretches of The Canal from Colona to Wyanet. While The Canal is generally just a long trough, each section has a little something different to offer. Therefore, it can be tough to decide on a destination when it comes time to fish. For this outing, I opted for a quality stretch that I have only fished twice with a boat instead of hitting my best section of water. My hope was to find some willing early season bass before the weeds take over. Well, no bass came aboard but the surface weeds were not an issue. However, the slime was already taking hold as a high percentage of casts required some degree of lure cleanup.

Short and sweet for this report as not much to relay from three hours with only two bites and no catches. 2023 is off to a tough start after landing my first bass of the year on March 5. At that point, I was ahead of my 2022 schedule that saw my first bass join the log on March 20. So much for my optimism as I am now five bass behind last year’s production.

On a positive note, I am looking to hit some strip mines in early April and reports of bass biting on The Canal are starting to hit the internet. A pair of hikes this past week on The Canal (without fishing gear) also showed a noticeable increase in observed fish activity along with a thumbs up from an accomplished Canal angler. Sounds like things are looking up and maybe even I can fool some soon. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Well, I am on the board with my first bass of 2023 after a recent outing courtesy of early open water. In fact, in terms of open water, I was able to make some casts in February which is unusual in my neck of the woods. However, three and a half hours of chasing those February bass resulted in zero bites. But that’s all water under the bridge as I post my first fishing report of 2023.

Stats
Date: March 5
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 4:00pm-5:30pm
Totals: 1 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-0

Winning Lure

Notes and Nonsense

Bike Over Boat – While I had my boat on the water once in February, the conditions for this March trip were more conducive to bank fishing (high winds and limited time). As such, I aired up my bike tires, repaired my kickstand, drove to a stretch of The Canal that is conducive to bank fishing, and pedaled to a productive area. About twenty minutes into casting, I had my first bass of 2023. After another hour or so of fishing, it remains my only bass of 2023 as I could fool no others.

GoPro No Go – Earlier this year, I was able to obtain a replacement GoPro as my Hero9 Black model had ceased functioning. Unfortunately, the replacement device that was provided had issues of its own, shutting down repeatedly while recording. A resolution is in the works and hopefully I will be back on track for video once the bass bite and the weather begin to pick up.

The best I could muster with a faulty GoPro

Weedless – Prior to this outing, the earliest that I had ever fished The Canal was April 15 last year. The entire Canal is quite shallow, and many stretches become choked with surface vegetation by summertime. Of course, the fish don’t go anywhere but the vegetation gives them more places to hide and can make for some challenges with lure presentations. In contrast, early March finds The Canal waters wide open and quite appealing. Better weather will certainly change those conditions but will also see an uptick in bass activity. Such are some of the many variables that come into play in chasing these green fish.

It’s great to be on the board and a couple weeks ahead of the 2022 results as my first bass last year didn’t show up until March 20. Only 553 bass to go to top the 2022 results. That’s a tall order, and probably not realistic as 2023 may see some changes in time and approach. As always, stay tuned for the results. Talk to you later. Troy