Thanks to a late flurry of bites during an April Fool’s Day outing, the first substantial strip mine hike of the year was a success (twenty-one bass in just over four hours of casting). And just shy of two weeks later, I was back at it again with my brother, Brent, along to up our odds. Read on to see how we fared.

11:35am – first bass is small but dwarfs my partner in the distance

Stats
Date: April 13
Location: Knox County public strip pits (7 lakes)
Time: 11:25am-7:15pm (6.00 hours fishing)
Totals: 65 bass, 6 crappie, 1 bluegill, 1 green sunfish
Weather: Sunny/windy, 64-74F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures (Troy): Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 16 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 11 bass, Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (smokin shad) – 9 bass, Rapala Shad Rap (blue) – 6 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko (blue pearl/silver flake) – 1 bass
Lures (Brent): Jerkbait – 11 bass, Ned Rig – 9 bass, Lipless Crankbait – 2 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 Brent (Jerkbait)
Top 5 Weight (combined): 7-11 (2-4,1-10,1-6,1-4,1-3)

Brent winning lures

Troy Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Guesstimates – When I fish with Brent, I like to record our predictions prior to any lures hitting the water. We jot these down without discussion and it is always fun to see how we compare. On this outing, our guesses were darn near identical on Top 5 Weight and Top Bass but drastically different on the total bass we thought we’d catch. I often share these numbers with my friend John Kirkemo as the day begins and the conversation is noted below. Turns out, I was right on the money with the small bass assessment and nailed the total for my bass. However, the intent is to predict our combined total, so I was well short of our sixty-five bass result.

12:15pm – Top Bass at 2-4 on a jerkbait

Late Lunch Break – Around 3:30pm, Brent and I returned to our trucks to regroup, have a sandwich, and plan the remainder of our day. Part one of our hike resulted in thirty-one bass. Part two of the trip aimed at an uncharted passage that would offer a shot at four lakes that I do not fish on a regular basis. The hike to the lakes was not as taxing as anticipated, but we did discover that an “unknown” lake proved to be too shallow to support a fish population. Brent fished for another hour and a half while I decided to ride it out until about 7:15pm. In the end, we ended up with thirty-four more bass and I wound up with quite a hike back to the truck. It’s a lot of fun fishing your way out from your starting point but bear in mind that you also must walk back.

 

Senko Season (check video) – As we near mid-April, I begin to consider expanding my lure offerings to what I l consider my Top Lure of all-time, the Senko wacky rig. By this time of the year, we are typically moving out of what I call the “spring cold water” period of the year. Once the water temperatures start to warm and the bass’ thoughts turn to boosting energy to make more bass, the Senko wacky rig starts to shine. From here through October, I’ll have one ready to go nearly every time I hit the water. With one small wacky rig bass on this outing, the Senko season is officially underway.

1:23pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-10 on a jerkbait

Quantity Over Quality – With above average temperatures and some time to get on the water, the year is off to a roaring start. Well, at least in terms of quantity. The forty-three bass that I fooled on this outing brings my 2024 total to 103 bass. Compared to the last two years, I am well ahead of previous totals. In 2023, I reached the century mark on May 14 and in 2022 it was May 25. Those two years saw a total of over 1,000 bass (2023 = 468 and 2022 = 553), so here’s hoping that I can stay on a solid bite and eventually fool some “good ones” as the year progresses. While numbers are high in 2024, size is lacking with a Top Bass of 2-6 representing my lone bass at or above two pounds. But the waters that I am fishing have quality bass so if I keep on casting, I figure that the bigger bites will come along.

7:15pm – Last bass, still small, lots of steps and a lot of other small bass in between

 

Another successful outing as the bass continue to get more active. Having spent six hours casting on this day as well as having a fishing partner for the bulk of the trip, one post doesn’t suffice. Stay tuned for another batch of notes coming soon. Talk to you later. Troy

Even though family and friends have been fishing the Knox County public strip mines for close to thirty-five years, there are still secrets to learn and new spots to explore. For this solo outing, I was doing a bit of both on three different lakes.

11:21am First boat ride on a new lake and the first of thirteen bass on the spot

Stats
Date: March 30
Location: Knox County public strip pits (3 lakes)
Time: 8:25am-1:30pm (3.75 hours fishing)
Totals: 17 bass
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 55F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (perfect pumpkin) aka “Ned Rig”– 14 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 2 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-6 (swimbait)
Top 5 Weight: 6-1 (1-6,1-4,1-3,1-2,1-2)

Notes and Nonsense

Lake 1 – Of the three lakes selected for this trip, I have the most history with “Lake 1”, although that history is only a handful of visits. Those visits had produced a decent bite in terms of quantity, but quality was lacking. My Top Bass sits at 1-10 from July 2023 and my all-time Top 5 sits at a mere 6-1. On this outing, I only spent about forty-five minutes on the lake as it was used primarily to access the other two lakes. Lake 1 produced three bass with a lone “keeper” at 1-2.

11:29am – Top Bass of the day at 1-6 (14″) on a Ned Rig

Lake 2 – This spot was where I intended to focus as it was an eye-opening “discovery” last year. Brent and I made several visits with our Top Bass coming in at 4-7 (Brent) and our combined Top 5 weighing 18-6. Hopes were high but I only managed one bite in a little over an hour while being blown all over the lake. Beaten by the wind and lackluster bite, I opted to leave the proven water to check out a relatively unexplored lake.

Ready to row into the unknown

Lake 3 – In 2022, I had made a hike to this body of water and managed to catch one bass on a Rapala Shad Rap. It wasn’t much of a specimen, but it provided evidence of bass which was my goal. Since I had cut my time short on Lake 2, I decided to take a longer look at Lake 3 to finish out my day. An hour and forty-five minutes on Lake 3 saved the day with thirteen bass, including three of my Top 5 on the day. The largest was only 1-6 but my results pointed to a solid population. I would also guess that I didn’t catch the largest bass in the lake. Based on these assessments, it is worth a return trip. And besides, I need one more “keeper” to round out my Top 5 for the lake.

 

Solid numbers again but I sure can’t find any big bites in the early season. I enjoy exploring new water but find it a tough decision to choose between proven spots and the unknown when I get a chance to get on the water. Overall, I was pleased with my decisions on this outing, and hope they pay dividends in the future. I have a few other unknown spots on my “wish list” and time will tell if I follow this lead and give them a shot. Talk to you later. Troy

March was off to a solid start on The Canal after several hikes and I was eager to get the boat out on its waters for the first time. I selected one of my best spots and anticipated a batch of bass with the potential for quality catches. Read on if you dare as the results were quite disappointing.

Stats
Date: March 24
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 1:50pm-3:50pm
Totals: 0 bass
Weather: Overcast/very windy, 48F
Water temperature: Not available

Darn wind will just not quit this year

Notes and Nonsense

Destination Decision – I was counting my chickens as I pulled up to my selected spot. After all, the bass had begun to get more active and the past two years on the stretch had resulted in nearly two hundred bass in the logbook. In addition to being my best numbers spot, it also had the heaviest Top 5 of any stretch on The Canal at 15-15 (3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2,2-15).

These are winners, just not on this day

Lure Decisions – My starting lineup featured a spinnerbait, chatterbait, and lipless crankbait. I figured that the first two baits would do well enough that I would not even need the third. Actually, I figured that the spinnerbait would do the trick and be the only lure that I needed. Wrong and wrong, although the spinnerbait produced the lone bite of the outing. That fish got wrapped in some brush and came off before I could get over to grab it.

Blog Decision – This report serves as a perfect example of my commitment to post a report for every outing. Folks might say “Who cares” when it comes to a write-up detailing an outing where I couldn’t fool a fish. I counter with the reply that it is only fair to report the bad with the good. No matter who you are, days like this happen from time to time, so I hope that fellow anglers can relate to being in the same boat.

Get ’em next time

And with that, I will conclude the report on this fishing shutout and credit the bass with a win on this outing. Three more fishing reports are in the works, and I promise that they will include fish. Talk to you later. Troy

I had not been feeling well but I couldn’t pass up a chance to get on the water for a couple of hours on a decent mid-March evening. After all, it was March 16, which was my prediction for the first bass of the year as noted in the January 6 text exchange below with my friend, John Kirkemo. Fortunately, the monkey was off my back with a March 3 bass to get me on the board. Therefore, there was no pressure on this trip, and it turned out to be my best outing so far.

Stats
Date: March 16
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 3:50pm-5:50pm
Totals: 6 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy, 52F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 5 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-6 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 8-7

3:50pm – First cast bass at 1-14 (15″) on a chatterbait

Notes and Nonsense

Young Anglers – I had company on the stretch that I selected for this outing. Four young boys were prowling the bank after a parent had dropped them off at the lot. I thought that was cool and took a minute to talk with a couple of them, complimenting their lure choices. From the looks of it, I must be doing something right as these boys also had a chatterbait and a lipless crankbait on their poles. I also left them with a few of my blog “business” cards. So, if you guys are out there reading, good luck and perhaps we’ll cross paths again.

The setup for a bike and hike outing

First and Last – It isn’t often that you land your two best bass of a trip on your first and last casts. A first cast bass can sometimes be seen as a curse as no matter how your day turns out, it’s technically all downhill from there in terms of percentages. But, hey, I’ll take a first cast bass every day as I am only mildly superstitious. As far as a last cast bass, you can kind of make that happen. And that is what took place on this outing. I was near the truck, had perhaps ten more minutes to fish, and had just landed my best bass of the day at 2-6. Most outings I like to push my time on the water as long as possible (or sometimes longer than I am supposed to), but I found this catch to be a good bookend bass and called it quits.

 

 

The Usual Suspects – Five of my six bass came off wood cover: four from submerged logs and one from a laydown. The sixth fish hit in the middle of The Canal after a cast to a point. Classic early season spots and I hit every one of these targets as I make my way down The Canal and often hit them again on the way back to my truck. Of course, not every spot produces a bite every time but sufficient feedback from the bass proves that these spots are winners.

5:50pm – Last cast bass at 2-6 (16.5″) on a chatterbait

Another successful couple of hours on the water as 2024 is off to a solid, early start. As noted in the introduction, I predicted a first bass on March 16. The six bass on this trip boosted my yearly total to eighteen bass. Not too bad considering that the previous three years had seen a total of only ten bass during the entire month of March. And the early season bass were not done yet as I have several more March reports to come. Talk to you later. Troy

After being shut out on my first two trips of the year, I was able to get that first bass in the log about fifteen minutes into a bike and hike outing on The Canal. Turns out a few more were interested as well. Read on for the rest of the story.

Stats
Date: March 3
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 8:40am-11:10am
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 64F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 3 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 Chatterbait
Top 4 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 5-6

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Go Forth North – I chose this section of The Canal as it not only offered a shot at some quality bass, but it also featured hiker friendly bank access on the northern towpath. The north side also receives the brunt of any sunlight and on this day was also getting pounded by strong winds from the south. The latter can affect casting accuracy, but you just must adjust your aim, play the wind, and let Mother Nature assist in hitting your targets.

8:55am First bass of 2024 at 1-7 (14″) on a chatterbait

Just a bit windy

The Answer My Friend – No matter what season you are fishing, you play whatever cards Mother Nature deals and try to make it work in your favor. The wind was gusting up to forty miles per hour with a direct hit on the northern bank. In the early spring, such conditions are amplified as there is no foliage or undergrowth on the southern bank to break the wind. Full force in my face is where I want to be as I work into and parallel along the bank that is getting pummeled. The wind will stir things up and can stack up the food chain on cover along the windblown bank.

10:38 Top Bass of the day at 1-8 (14″) on a chatterbait

Wood is Good – Much of The Canal is shallow (five feet or less) and the rest is shallower. Any wood cover that I can find extending out from or entirely away from the bank is a primary target. Brush, laydowns, and submerged logs all get some casts. Large or small, each has potential to hold a bass. And I work them over from different angles where bank access permits. A favorite approach is parallel and so tight to the wood that my lures nearly touch the cover. If I need to work perpendicular to submerged cover, I rapidly retrieve a spinnerbait or chatterbait to barely clear the wood and then slow my retrieve and lower my rod tip to drop the bait in the water column next to the cover. Make enough of these presentations and you’ll get your bites.

 

You Gotta Wear Shades – A final factor that gets overlooked are polarized lenses. No matter sun or overcast, I always have my shades. Not only do they provide a bit of protection, but they also reveal targets that are hidden from the naked eye. Anytime that I walk or bike The Canal, my eyes are on the water looking for these targets. Just be careful as the occasional pothole or washout can trip you up when you are paying more attention to the water than to where you are going.

Told Julie I would ditch the winter beard once I caught my first bass of the year

On this day, the above factors resulted in my first five bass of 2024. It took some work as even though the air temperature was in the sixties, the water was still quite cold. Early March bass in our neck of the woods are sluggish but striving to put the right lure in the right place at the right time can still get it done. And as the weather warms and the daylight lengthens, things will only get better. Stay tuned as there are plenty more reports to come. Talk to you later. Troy