Author: Troy Jackson

Prowl the Canal – August Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Another month of prowling is in the log, and it turned out to be a rewarding mix of familiar spots and extended exploring.

August 2022 Top Bass at 3-5, one ounce shy of tying my all-time Top Canal Bass

2022 August Totals
Six outings covering six different pools
67 bass in 22.00 hours (3.04 bass/hour)
Top Bass: 3-5 August 21 Buzzbait
2022 August Top 5: 13-14 (3-5,3-4,2-10,2-7,2-4)
2022 Best August Top 5 Day: 10-6 (3-4,2-10,2-3,1-3,1-2) – August 13
Top 5 All-Time August Bass Weight: 14-14 (3-5,3-4,3-4,2-10,2-7)

Miles and miles to explore 

New Spots – With most of my prior trips taking place in what would geographically register as Colona and Geneseo (per my weather app), I decided to expand my prowls in August. On two occasions, I ventured to pools in the vicinity of Anawan and Mineral. Every pool is different but still have similarities. It is always fun to get a look at new water and I also take advantage of extensive drive by scouting on the way home. Looks like there’s still plenty of new water to explore. Whether that exploration takes place this fall or waits until next year remains to be seen.

Casualties of The Canal

Damage Report – The August bass were tough on a couple lures as they destroyed the skirts on both my Special K spinnerbait and Booyah Buzzbait. I also busted an eye off my Lightning Rod casting rod that I have had since the 1990s. It was my spinnerbait go to rod on The Canal. Old school and only six foot, I could pitch those lures within a hair of my targeted landing spot. Looks like an off-season project at this point to get it repaired.

New Lure – The damaged buzzbait prompted me to try an alternative to fishing with a skirt as suggested by a friend. While his recommendation was a Strike King Rage Bug to replace the skirt, I could not find any locally and had to order online. Instead, I invested in a Strike King Toad Buzz, and it came through with a 2-7 on its first outing for positive feedback.

Every lure that landed an August bass

2022 Overall Canal Stats
267 bass in 89.00 hours (3.00 bass/hour)
Top Bass: 3-5 (tie) 4/23 Spinnerbait 8/21 Buzzbait
Best Top 5 Day: 11-3 (2-15,2-10,2-3,2-1,1-6) 6/24/22
NEW AUGUST TOP 5 ADDITIONS: 3-4 (8/8) and 3-5 (8/21)
2022 Top 5 Canal Weight: 15-15 (3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2,2-15) culls 2-12 (x2)
2021 Top 5 Canal Weight: 15-6 (3-6,3-4,3-1,2-14,2-13)

 

The Canal continues to come through even though August is typically my least favorite open water month of the year to fish. The unique waterway doesn’t offer the sort of deep-water sanctuaries that a lake provides and plays right into my hand as a shallow water angler. Basically, the bass have nowhere to go, so if you can find any open water “edges” or dial in your frog presentation (not my thing), there are bites to be found. Here’s to more of those bites in September as the weather cools, the weeds begin to dissipate, and the bass look to feed. Two September outings are already in the books so stay tuned for the upcoming reports featuring a new “weapon” in my bass fishing arsenal. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stat Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Too much fishing has me posting the latest Top 5 Stat Update after we have a submission for the new month. Therefore, a meeting of the editorial staff was in order, and it was decided that this latest update will feature only the catches submitted through August. And here we go…

2022 Totals
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 15 bass
April = 35 bass
May = 7 bass
June = 16 bass
July = 2 bass
August = 11 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 14-2 (3-3,2-15,2-14,2-12,2-6)
April = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
May = 11-9 (2-12,2-11,2-5,2-0,1-13)
June = 16-7 (4-2,3-5,3-3,2-15,2-14)
July = 4-11 (3-1,1-10)
August = 15-1 (3-5,3-4,2-15,2-13,2-12)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 46 bass
Bank = 40 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 17-5 (4-2,3-5,3-5,3-5,3-4)
Bank = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)

Public vs. Private
Public = 86 bass
Private = 0 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
Private = not applicable

The Baits (* = new 2022 record)
Plastic Worm = 23 bass (Top Bass 5-12 Jim Junk)
Lipless Crankbait = 15 bass (Top Bass 4-6 Jim Junk)
Chatterbait = 13 bass (Top Bass 6-9 Jim Junk) tops 5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20
Spinnerbait = 11 bass (Top Bass 5-4 Brent Jackson)
Jerkbait = 6 bass (Top Bass 2-5 John Kirkemo)
Crankbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 2-12 Troy Jackson)
Jig = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Brent Jackson)
*Buzzbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 3-5 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 2-3 Jayce Jackson)
Grub = 1 bass (Top Bass 0-13 Troy Jackson)
Popper = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-1 Brent Jackson) no prior entry
Swimbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Jim Junk)
Underspin = 1 bass (3-12 Jim Junk)

Monthly Top Bass
January
No submissions
February
No submissions
March
3-3 Jim Junk
April
6-9 Jim Junk
May
2-12 Troy Jackson
June
4-2 John Kirkemo
July
3-1 Brent Jackson
August
3-5 Troy Jackson

2022 Top 10 Bass
6-9 Jim Junk 4/4/22
6-0 Jim Junk 4/15/22
5-12 Jim Junk 4/21/22
5-4 Brent Jackson 4/24/22
5-1 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-7 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-6 Jim Junk 4/19/22
4-3 Jim Junk 4/21/22
4-2 John Kirkemo 6/13/22
3-15 Jim Junk 4/19/22
3-12 Jim Junk 4/13/22

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 27-13 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1,4-7)
Brent Jackson 18-0 (5-4,3-9,3-3,3-1,2-15)
Troy Jackson 15-15 (3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2,2-15)
John Kirkemo: 15-11 (4-2,3-5,2-14,2-11,2-11)
Jayce Jackson 4-10 (2-3,1-4,1-3)
Helena Jackson 1-3 (1-3)
Zac Jackson 1-0 (1-0)
Carly Jackson 0-14 (0-14)

Other Species – Trout

John Kirkemo 12” (12”)

August turned out some solid catches even though I generally view it as the toughest open water month of the year. In contrast, September has the potential to produce some good fish as we head into the home stretch. It may be a tall order but with one September catch in the books, we need thirteen more bass to reach the century mark for 2022. Good luck and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

After four months without a visit to the old strip mine stomping grounds, it seems that the bass were happy to see me and my brother as they treated us well. Brent’s Top Bass of the day was a 2-12 that came up a few ounces shy of a Top 5 boost while my Top Bass turned out to be my best for 2022 (so far, at least, and more on Brent’s bass in an upcoming fishing report).

(Note: excuse the mud, I washed the fish off for a second photo to be included in an upcoming fishing report)

Weight: 3-10
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: September 4
Weather: Overcast/breezy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad)
Structure: Point/drop
Angler Comments: The Senko hasn’t gotten much of a workout this year as other lures have done well as I dedicate much of my fishing time to The Canal. But a trip back to the strip mines once again proved its effectiveness in catching my Top Bass of 2022. It is also the only member of my Top 5 not from The Canal and puts all five on my list in the three-pound range.
Top 5 Weight: 16-10 (3-10,3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2) culls a 2-15

This catch was one of several quality fish from the outing as Brent and I had a darn good day. Stay tuned for all the details later this week. Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – September 8, 2017

Posted on by Troy Jackson

When my family moved to the Quad Cities eight years ago, a new lake in Scott County, Iowa was set to debut after decades of planning. Back in 2014, Lost Grove Lake was still in the process of filling and finally reached full pool the following year. I made my first trip to the fishing hole in June of 2016 and would make a total of a dozen trips from then through September of 2017. My interest in the site then diminished with only four trips in 2018 and 2019 combined. The lake certainly had potential and from current reports, that potential is being realized several years later.

Today’s post looks back at a September 2017 outing in the days when I invested in a non-resident license and chased bass across The River.

Originally posted 9-10-17

The three youngest kids took my folks up on an overnight visit and we had nothing going at home, so it was off to Iowa after work to chase bass across the river for the first time since late July.

Stats
Date: September 8, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 6:16pm-7:46pm
Weather: Sunny/calm to windy
Air Temp: 74-68F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 4 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (sexy shad) – 4 bass
Weight (two bass at 12” or better): 3-0 (1-14,1-2)

Battered buzzbait

Notes & Nonsense

Plan of Attack – Knowing I only had an hour and a half to fish, there was no exploring or experimenting this time around. Nope, hit all the spots with fast moving baits, a couple crankbait spots, a few Senko pitches at specific targets and otherwise a steady dose of buzzbait on proven areas.

Crankbait Results – I hit my two best crankbait stretches and never got a strike. Weapons of choice were a Mann’s Baby 1- (copper) and Strike King KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill (natural pumpkinseed).

Senko Results – I pitched the Senko into a handful of targets along with using it as a follow-up bait on a couple missed buzzbait strikes. My targets produced a pair of hookups, but both threw the bait before reaching the boat, tough break but good to see the spots come through (neither was a “keeper” at least).

Buzzbait Results – Less than thirty minutes in, I had three bass on the buzzbait and was feeling good about my prospects for the rest of the short outing. All three of these bass came from banks that were sheltered from the direct sunlight and my home stretch would feature similar conditions once the sun descended behind a slight ridge. Overall, things were setting up well.

7:12pm – Top Bass at 15″ and 1-14 on a buzzbait

Foiled Again – The 2017 weather on my Lost Grove outings has not fully cooperated ranging from too much sun to a scary storm showing up in a hurry. This time around I plucked a 1-14 from a batch of partially submerged brush on the buzzbait as I began a run through my money spots on the homestretch. The photo shows a light ripple on the water in the background, which was about right for presentation and boat control. By the time I got this bass photographed and logged, the wind kicked up to near whitecap magnitude blowing me in the opposite direction of the ramp. Boat control was shot and buzzbait commotion was negated by the increased wave action. I got a couple missed strikes but no more hookups and wound up with a disappointing stretch run as the darned weather turned on me again.

Even so, it was a decent abbreviated outing, especially as I came awfully close to just staying home for a nap on the couch instead as I’d been beat all week. Can’t catch ‘em at home so glad I went, posting my third largest Lost Grove bass to date with the day’s Top Bass. Also got some GoPro footage as the camera seems to be back in working order after an odd hiccup (or operator error) and a shout out to an unnamed Good Samaritan who helped me lug my boat back to the truck at the end of my day.

 

No big ones but that was par for the course for my Lost Grove outings back then. I could get decent numbers but not many quality bites. Of course, in the early days, the young lake had a bass population whose members had some room to grow. From what I see these days, those bass have grown up over the last five years. Perhaps I will get back over there one of these years but content at present to continue my learning curve on the hundred-year-old Hennepin Canal. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 28

Posted on by Troy Jackson

After a Knox County strip mine trip in mid-May, all my subsequent fishing trips have been on The Canal. Most of those trips have been within twenty miles of my driveway as I look to keep fuel costs down. And it doesn’t hurt that those “local” spots provide decent fishing as well. So, on this morning I decided to splurge on gas and wander roughly forty miles to the east to try new water. Read on to see if it was worth the money.

Winning Lures

Stats

Date: August 28 (two spots)
Time: 6:05am-11:20am (4.50 hours fishing)
Totals: 11 bass (2.44 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 71-80F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 8 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-12 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-2 (1-12,1-7,1-6,1-5,1-4)

 

Notes and Nonsense

First Impressions – I have found the pools to be considerably less weedy as I head east. While several of the local pools have surface vegetation so thick that you could darn near walk across it, the new water I fished had wide open channels between the modest weed beds lining both banks. However, the water clarity diminishes to the east with a fellow Canal angler describing it as “split pea soup—green and thick with chunks of stuff in it.” In terms of cover, I hit every piece of wood I can find, and I would describe the availability as sparse. Finally, the depth is much better as I make my way east. Locally, I can often see the bottom in the clearer stretches, whereas the pools on this trip were deeper than the oar which is my crude depthfinder.

6:12am – on the board on a new stretch of The Canal

Startling Start – So, I am rowing up The Canal in the near dark before sunrise and lost in a daydream when something explodes near enough to the boat that the splash got my pants wet (luckily, I’d relieved myself prior to launching). It scared me half to death, made me jump and involuntarily utter something unintelligible as my mind snapped back to reality. In hindsight, my best guess is that a beaver and my boat were on a collision course before one of us steered clear. Possibly a carp but it would have been massive based on the splash. I also scanned the bank to see if Sasquatch had tossed a boulder at me and my watercraft (don’t laugh as I know of a Bigfoot report from The Canal about a mile and a half downstream). As a seasoned rower, when moving from spot to spot, I often just put my head down and row with only an occasional look over my shoulder. Therefore, I cannot say what caused the commotion, but I sure was glad that the sun was peeking over the horizon.

A necessary task to reach some new bass

Tubes – While on the subject of creepy, travels on The Canal can feature a row through a tube under the roadways. And those corrugated corridors are crawling with cobwebs. I suspect that there are plenty of the cobweb creators present as well but I don’t look too closely as I don’t really want to know.

9:40am – introducing myself to a bass on another new stretch of water

Oh yeah, I also saw a snake slither by the boat within oars reach. Many creatures were astir on this day even if the bass sightings were a bit below expectations.

Got ugly by the time I was headed home

I ended my day exploring since I was already a ways from home. This was simply driving as my back was hollering at me and I did not really have time to launch the boat to give any spots a true test. I checked out every road crossing or parking access in the vicinity and have several new spots on my wish list. Time will tell if those spots get a shot in 2022 as I have other destinations to visit beyond The Canal before the fishing year is over. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 27

Posted on by Troy Jackson

 

Anglers and excuses seem to go hand in hand, particularly when things don’t materialize on the water as envisioned. This was one of those trips where I went in with high hopes that wound up not being realized. Not a bad day by any means but just not as good as I anticipated.

My top lure of 2022 continues to get the job done catching every fish on this outing

Stats

Date: August 27
Time: 6:40am-9:40am
Totals: 8 bass (2.67 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 67-73F
Lures: Strike King Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer/pepper/green) – 8 bass
Top Bass: 1-4 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 5-7 (1-4,1-3,1-3,1-0,0-13)

6:54am – Top Bass at 1-4 was the best I could muster

Notes and Nonsense

Water Quality – I continue to be baffled by the changing conditions on The Canal. In this case, it was an ugly influx of duckweed and weedy debris on a section that typically has a clean channel between the varying extent of shoreline weed growth. The floating stuff was not over the top but did foul several retrieves as the clumps of crud were not always apparent when making casts. I guess this debris must come from upstream, but its appearance is still a mystery as we had not had any appreciable rainfall that I would suspect as a contributing factor. Clarity and flow also fluctuate on many pools regardless of rainfall, so I just don’t know. A weird place, but I dig it.

Water quality left much to be desired

Flop on Top – I don’t know if the above factors were the culprit, but I could not muster a single topwater bite despite favorable weather conditions. I got on the water not long after sunrise and substantial cloud cover to start the day had me feeling good about my regular buzzbait presentation. Not even a ripple, and after a fair effort, I settled in on the reliable spinnerbait approach around any wood and weed edges.

Too Sunny – As the morning wore on, my cloud cover disappeared as the sunrise topped the tree line. With the general east/west orientation of much of The Canal throughout Rock Island, Henry, and Bureau Counties, sunlight can be a direct hit this time of the year. Nothing wrong with a sunny, summer day in general but I would rather have clouds.

 

There you have it. The word “excuse” seems like a cop out for a lack of execution or adaptation while on the water, so I won’t strictly go there. Instead, I view it as just one of those days. I put in the work to get my bites, but I just couldn’t find any quality ones. Whether the weather, or the angler, that’s fishing. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Brent is back with a couple more strip mine catches for a boost. His first submission added an ounce to his total, but it was replaced less than an hour later with a slightly larger fish. We typically text back and forth whenever or wherever we are fishing, and I have been rooting for him to get one more three-pounder. Darn near got it this time as detailed below.

Weight: 2-13
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: August 28
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Senko

Weight: 2-15
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: August 28
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Spinnerbait
Editor’s Comments: Brent sent me his overall results and his Top 5 for the morning came in at 11-6. Not too bad for about three hours on the water.
Top 5 Weight: 18-0 (5-4,3-9,3-3,3-1,2-15) culls a 2-12

Well done, a couple solid looking, healthy fish. I’m rooting for Brent to get at least one more three-pounder to boot that 2-15. And here’s hoping he gets the boost he needs down the home stretch to hit the twenty-pound mark. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 21

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I readily admit that August is my least favorite open water month of the year but another solid morning on The Canal has me reconsidering. Read on for the latest fishing report in the Prowl the Canal series.

Stats

Date: August 21 (two pools)
Time: 6:40am-9:45am (3.75 hours fishing)
Totals: 10 bass (2.67 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 66-68F
Lures: Strike King Toad Buzz (green pumpkin with chartreuse belly) – 4 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer/pepper/green) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 3-5 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 8-4 (3-5,2-7,0-14,0-13,0-13)

Notes and Nonsense

A new lure for me on this outing

New Trick – After having a large fish blow up my white Booyah Buzzbait earlier this month, I decided to try a new lure. A fishing friend who had checked out the video of the missed strike offered up that he never uses a skirt on a buzzbait. Instead, he rigs with a Strike Kind Rage Bug. As I could not find any Rage Bugs in the neighborhood, I went with the Strike King Toad Buzz as a close approximation. The new lure produced four of my ten bass including a solid 2-7.

6:46am – Toad Buzz comes through with a 2-7 (17.5″)

Old trick – While I was pleased with the effectiveness of the Toad Buzz, I felt that it did not produce enough racket in the stained water. As a result, I went back to my noisier, Booyah Buzzbait in black. The Booyah hooked three of my ten bass, one of which was Top Bass of the day at 3-5.

Near Miss – The 3-5 bass fell one ounce short of tying my all-time Top Canal bass, a 3-6 caught on July 21, 2021. It also equaled my Top Canal Bass of 2022 with the other coming on April 23 on a spinnerbait.

7:36am – Top Bass at 3-5 (19.5″), one ounce shy of my Canal Top Bass

Goals – I recently made a social media post on a local fishing group that listed my goals on The Canal (and in general). Goal number one is always to learn, whether a new fishing hole or old. Goal number two is not to get shut out. Goal number three is to land five bass at 12” or better to establish what I call a “Top 5 Weight”. The final goal is a Top 5 Weight that reaches or exceeds ten pounds. I had a good day with a weight of 8-4 thanks to a pair of “good ones” (3-5 and 2-7). However, my other three “keepers” left much to be desired and lacking a “kicker” (one more good one), I fell shy of reaching the final goal. No complaints though, as three out of four ain’t bad.

 

Well, August isn’t so bad after all, thanks to The Canal. I have one more August trip in the books already and weather permitting I am hoping to take one more shot before we hit September. Stay tuned for those reports and I am also hoping to work in a Top 10 Trip Tunes feature as well. It’s cool when I get to fish so much that I can’t keep up with the blog posts. Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – September 2, 2017

Posted on by Troy Jackson

By this time next week, September will have arrived. That can mean some good fishing, but it also means that it is crunch time as weather, activities and access are all considerations when looking to get on the water. As we look to the home stretch of 2022, today’s flashback looks back on the “fall” kickoff from five years ago this week.

Excerpts below from the original September 4, 2017 blog post.

Stats
Date: September 2, 2017
Locations: Knox County, IL public access strip mines (7 lakes)
Time: 7:00am-1:45pm (5.0 hours fishing, the rest walking or driving)
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/calm to breezy
Air Temp: 47F-74F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 27 bass
Lures:
5” Senko wacky rig (pumpkin/black flake or green pumpkin) – 10 bass
Strike King KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 7 bass
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (Snow White shad) – 5 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 4 bass
Zoom Baby Brush Hog (green pumpkin) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-8 KVD 2.5 crankbait
Top 5 Weight: 12-12 (3-8,3-5,2-5,2-1,1-9)

7:02am – First bass and Top Bass at 3-8 on a crankbait

Notes & Nonsense

Great Start – On about the third cast of the morning with a buzzbait I was rewarded with a large blowup. Unfortunately, I was not rewarded with a bass as it had poor aim. Another cast with the buzzbait failed to get a repeat so I fired out my Strike King KVD 2.5 crankbait instead and hooked up with a 3-8 which would set the Top Bass bar pretty high. In fact, that first bass wound up being Top Bass for the day although I had one later that gave it a run for the money. Anyway, a couple casts later I landed a 2-1 and then a 1-9 less than ten minutes later. So, after thirteen minutes of casting I had three of my Top 5 in the log at 7-2 and was excited about the solid start. Things slowed for the next several hours in terms of quality bites but that would eventually take a turn for the better with a 3-5 and 2-5 joining the creel to finish the outing.

Odd catch, a “brokeback bass”

Lure of the Day – It felt good to nail a few on a good, old crankbait for a change. The KVD 2.5 squarebill that did the trick runs to a depth of about five feet. I’m typically a little leery throwing these things from the bank, especially on unfamiliar waters as I am cheap and don’t want to get snagged on any underwater structure when I don’t have the means to get the lure back. On this morning, the bass just wouldn’t commit to a topwater bite, and I was comfortable with the lakes I was fishing being snag-free so this bait was my choice in finding a sub-surface bite without having to slow down my presentation. It was indeed a winner, producing four of my Top 5 bass when worked with an occasional rip and pause in the retrieve.

 

One final note from this trip is that it marked the first Top 10 Trip Tunes feature.

10. “Bad Medicine” – Bon Jovi (1988)
9. “For What It’s Worth” – Buffalo Springfield (1967)
8. “Talk Dirty to Me” – Poison (1987)
7. “Moondance” – Van Morrison (1970)
6. “Goodbye Stranger” – Supertramp (1979)
5. “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do” – Led Zeppelin (1970)
4. “Anyway You Want It” – Journey (1980)
3. “Don’t Look Back” – Boston (1978)
2. “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” – Bachman Turner Overdrive (1974)
1. “Burnin’ For You – Blue Oyster Cult (1981)

Hoping to revisit the Top 10 Trip Tunes concept, got another Hennepin Canal report from August, and hopefully one more trip this month. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 14

Posted on by Troy Jackson

With the summer sunrises getting a bit later, I decided to splurge on some fuel and wander a bit farther from home for a daybreak launch. My destination was a stretch of The Canal on the east side of Henry County that I had not fished or seen before. New water is always an interesting undertaking, so read on the see how it turned out.

6:37am – First bass on some new water

Stats

Date: August 14
Time: 6:10am-10:40am
Totals: 10 bass (2.22 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 70-76F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 9 bass, Special K Buzzbait (green/white) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-0 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-14 (2-0,1-15,1-13,1-3,0-15)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

First Glance – The first couple items that catch my eye when checking out a new pool are water clarity and aquatic vegetation. In terms of water clarity, this stretch had a heavy green tint which limited visibility to about half a foot before losing sight of my lures. In addition, there was a significant surface covering of algae. Neither aspect was what I would consider favorable, but I did like the amount of open water available compared to other stretches that are weed choked by this time of the year.

 

Goals – My three standard goals on an outing are as follows: Learn, don’t get shutout, post five bass at twelve inches or better for what I call my “Top 5 Weight”. Goal One takes care of itself, especially on new water. Goal Two took me about a half hour and had me worried after no takers on some decent looking spots. Goal Three was checked off the list with my tenth and final catch of the morning, a bass weighing in at 1-13 at 10:15am.

One More Log – I am fortunate to have a small johnboat that is ideal for prowling The Canal. However, as I made my way down this lengthy stretch of water, I found myself a long way from where I started. I call it the “One More Log Conundrum.” At some point, I know that I must turn around and row back, but I regularly see an appealing piece of structure in the distance. And before I know it, “one more log” has me a long ways from home.

10:01am – Top Bass at 16″ and 2-0

Goal Four – In addition to my three primary goals noted earlier, the icing on the cake is a double-digit Top 5 Weight. I fell one or two “good ones” shy of hitting that mark (note: a “good one” is my term for a bass at two pounds or better). The only bite I missed was one that I had briefly hooked on a creature bait, but I never saw the fish in the murky water and have no guess on whether it would have boosted my weight.

 

Time (and fuel costs) will tell if I get back to this pool or any others in the area. However, a friend reported that his initial visit to an adjacent portion produced several quality bites. He landed a “good one” and had two “better ones” that got away. Overall, encouraging results from our outings as The Canal continues to leave a favorable impression. Talk to you later. Troy