Category: Fishing Reports

Family Fishing Report – April 18 & 19

Posted on by Troy Jackson

As a blogger, I find that fishing reports are the best posts to compose and submit. The only problem is that when you get ample opportunities to fish it gets tough to find time to put the reports together. A nice problem to have when blogging, so I guess belated is what you get as I am also a husband, dad and employee ahead of the whole wannabe writer thing.

Today we have a weekend report that covers a solo outing with my son, Jayce, on a recent Saturday followed up by an entire Jackson 6 trip on the following day. This one will be part regular fishing report format and part video/slideshow as the clips and pics say it better than I could write it. The slideshows and more video from our family outing are up in entirety at Troy Jackson Outdoors You Tube, click here.

Stats
Date: April 18 & 19, 2020
Location: Knox County, IL strip mines (public & private)
Totals: a handful of bluegill, a few bass and a lone crappie
Lures/bait: Rapala Shad Rap (blue), Senko wacky rig (white), waxworms on a jighead hung from a slip bobber

 

Trip Lyric 4/18
“That don’t bother me at all” – Two Hangmen, Mason Proffit (1969)
It’s always cool when I catch this rare tune on the radio and good, old 107.7FM “Vintage Radio” out of Erie, IL came through on this ride to the fishing hole. My role on outings with the kids is to observe, instruct and encourage while making a handful of casts of my own at best. This lyric was right on the money.

Trip Lyric 4/19
“Baby, you can drive my car.” – Drive My Car, The Beatles (1965)
I don’t know the last time that I was not behind the wheel on the ride home from my Knox County strip mines. And when I was, I know it was not due to an effort to get our 15-year old some behind the wheel time. Helena did a stellar job during the hour drive featuring off the beaten path, county road, state route and Interstate (with construction).

Notes and Nonsense

Shad Rap, Jayce Jack, A Bended Pole – My boy, Jayce, just wasn’t getting any takers on his go to presentation, the Senko wacky rig. I suggested that he learn about the Rapala Shad Rap as I had fooled over double digits with the lure a week prior on the same fishing hole. Three casts later, he had his first bass of the afternoon. Unfortunately, the bite dried up as soon as it started as the Shad Rap couldn’t find any more interested bass. However, it did hook a fisherman as he was throwing it again the next day.

 

Gear – I am notorious for packing too much gear but for the family outing I actually dialed it back. Working as fishing guide in tandem with Julie as our hostess, we got by with twelve boots, ten poles, two tacklebags, roughly seventy waxworms, two coolers, six sandwiches and fifteen bottles of water.

COVID Note – We are constantly reminded and continue to do our part, so generally I try to leave this alone in my fishing reports. However, as a frugal father and fisherman, I need to give a shout out to saving a few bucks due to the pandemic. At $1.59 a gallon, I am more willing to take a family road trip during these potentially uncertain financial times. And the whole social distancing thing likely saved me $20 or more on sodas and treats as we had an excuse to avoid the “gas station.”

 

An enjoyable afternoon/evening with a batch of cooperative panfish, a couple bass and a tired bunch by the time we headed home. The coolest thing was a unanimous “that was fun” and a request to go back and try our luck again. In fact, plans are in the works as I post this report. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – April 11

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Another belated fishing report as it has been taking a week or so to get these latest ones put together and published. Still trying to get a handle on the upended routine and fortunate to still be putting in a full week of work. Just kind of out of sorts but here you go, better late than never for some new fish stories.

10:31am – First bass as you gotta start somewhere, Red Eye Shad

Stats
Date: April 11, 2020
Location: Knox County, IL strip mines (5 lakes)
Time: 10:15am-5:25pm (5.75 hours fishing)
Weather: Overcast/breezy/light rain
Air Temp: 47-64F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 29 bass
Lures: Rapala Shad Rap (blue) – 20 bass , Chatterbait (bluegill) – 4 bass, Blue Glimmer Spinnerbait – 3 bass, Jig & Pig (black/blue) – 1 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-1 (Blue Glimmer)
Top 5 Weight: (2-1,1-14,1-14,1-11,1-11) 9-3

The lures that made the starting lineup for this outing

Notes and Nonsense

Trip Lyric
“You slipped upon the floor and hit your head.” – Please Don’t Bury Me, John Prine (1973)
If you’ve ever traversed strip mine territory, you can relate to the care one must take when navigating the steep spoilbanks. With the recent passing of John Prine, a spate of his lyrics have been on my mind as of late. This one came about as I clambered down to a fishing hole. I also had to smile at the prospect of a slip as it brought to mind the final line in the last verse of this very same tune: “And kiss my @$$ goodbye.”

Top 5 Bass clip below

 

Odd Bass – From downright gluttonous to somewhat crooked to just plain strange, a trio of bass landed during this trip were something other than normal.

Odd Bass #1 – First up was a greedy bass looking for seconds on a late lunch. The first course consisted of a crawdad while the second helping was a Rapala Shad Rap.

2:24pm – Fat Bass on a Shad Rap

Odd Bass #2 – Next up was a somewhat misshapen bass. This one had a crooked back behind the posterior dorsal fin as the body headed towards the tail. The belly side of the fish was also odd with an abrupt transition to the tail as opposed the more normal taper.

4:19pm – Odd Body Bass on a Shad Rap

Odd Bass #3 – The weirdest bass of the day was rather gaunt looking with a ragged dorsal fin and a notched back. Interestingly, this is not the first such bass that I have caught from this lake as noted below.

 

Odd Lure – While there’s really nothing particularly odd about a chatterbait among the bass fishing crowd, the oddity here is that I actually caught some bass on one. And decent bass at that, maybe I’m finally getting with the program.

Chatterbait comes through for this stubborn “non-believer” of an angler

Rain ran me off and I was already pushing late for supper due to a good bite

Lots more stuff in the works as there’s just not enough hours in the day. Stick around though as sooner or later I’ve got some tunes, some attire, some video, some reflection and hopefully some bass from this weekend. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – April 4 & 5

Posted on by Troy Jackson

My aim is to get a fishing report out shortly after the actual outing but often easier said than done. For one thing, I have to help pay the bills and this whole entertaining blog thing ain’t what does it. For another, after that bright idea known as “Lure Lunacy”, well, I’m a little wore out. So, a bit belated, here is the latest report covering a couple hikes around the strip mines.

Stats
Date: April 4, 2020
Location: Knox County, IL strip mines (5 lakes)
Time: 2:30pm-6:35pm (3 hours fishing)
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 50-52F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 16 bass, 1 crappie
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw) – 8 bass, Jig & Pig (black/blue) – 4 bass, Bomber Flat A (baby bass) – 2 bass, Blue Glimmer Spinnerbait – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-12 (Jig & pig)
Top 5 Weight (3 at 12” or better): 4-8

2:30pm – First bass on about my third Red Eye Shad cast, small but a good sign 

NEW FEATURE: TRIP LYRIC
As I have noted before, when my mind gets to wandering I typically find a few lyrics bouncing around upstairs. Some are remnants of a tune heard earlier in the day, some just kind of show up and some pertain to the present circumstances. Often, when fishing, the lyric is of the latter persuasion. And such is the case with the lyric that kicks off a new feature that I intend to include with each fishing report going forward.

TRIP LYRIC (4/4)

“And there’s not another living soul around.” – Say You Love Me, Fleetwood Mac (1975)
I’m standing in the middle of nowhere, gazing across a deep strip mine cut to the vast expanse before me and I see absolutely no humans or any vehicles on the distant roadways. Not entirely uncommon but it seemed to have a bit more impact in light of the current state of our nation.

4:46pm – Top Bass 1-12 on a jig & pig

4:55pm Top Bass Runner-Up 1-8 Red Eye Shad

Notes and Nonsense

Smart, Dumb or Dinner? – During three visits to this area dated September 29 and 30, 2013 and April 12, 2014 I caught and released four bass at four pounds or better (two on 9/29/13 and two on 4/12/14). I haven’t caught another four pounder from this area since, over the course of 23 more visits. And we’re talking over 500 bass I’ve logged while wandering around out there in the meantime as well as a couple hundred more by my occasional fishing partners. Are the big ones getting smarter, am I only able to catch the dumb smaller ones or did somebody eat my “trophies”?

3 of the Final Four lures landed a bass, only the eventual champ missed out (too early for a good Senko bite)

Stats – Part II
Date: April 5, 2020
Location: Knox County, IL strip mines (5 lakes)
Time: 12:30pm-4:30pm (2 hours fishing)
Weather: Sunny/windy
Air Temp: 52-60F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 1 bass
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw): 1 bass
Top Bass: none 12” or better
Top 5 Weight (none 12” or better): Zero Point Zero

TRIP LYRIC (4/5)
“Maybe we could walk around all day long, walk around all day long.” – Hurts So Good, John Cougar Mellencamp (1982)
And that’s pretty much what I did and how I felt later that evening and only one small bass for the log. The truth also hurts in not so good of a way.

Notes and Nonsense – Part II

Photo Free – Normally, I’m pretty good at snapping a batch of pics of the bass, big, small and smaller to help tell the tale, good or bad. Well, as far as fishing success, this one turned out on the bad side. So bad, in fact, that by opting to not take a photo of my first small catch, I missed any opportunity for a fish picture. Lesson learned, alhough not missing much.

Observations – Now I know several lakes not to fish anymore. Some didn’t have enough water, some may not have any fish and one may just be too far of a walk. The latter looks good. Plenty of water, some nice points, a couple rocky areas and at least one sunken tree but during a handful of visits I have never seen nor caught a bass. While completing my long, fishless, pothole peeking walk back to my truck I did startle a big coon, spooked a very large snapping turtle and discovered most of a deer skeleton. That’s about as exciting as it got.

Oh yeah, I also saw my brother, Brent, from a very safe social distance. Didn’t know he was going to be there and our contact would amount to a wave, a few texts and a phone call across a broad strip mine cut. (He fooled about a half dozen with Top Bass 1-10)

A tale of two fishing trips kind of sums up early season angling and sometimes just fishing in general. Although bummed after the second day, time (and writing) have a way of recharging the batteries. We’ll see what lies in store as our odd April moves on. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – March 7

Posted on by Troy Jackson

This one covered a few miles making for a pretty full day

Well, now that I finally got caught up on the wrap-ups from 2019, it’s time for the first fishing report of 2020. This one comes from beyond my stomping grounds as part of my “2020 Visions” series and involves variety. In this case, I finally got around to a standing invitation from my friend, Jim Junk, to join him on some productive Fulton/Peoria County water. Tougher weather than expected made for a challenging few hours and eventually sent me scurrying to a Knox County comfort zone. Here’s the scoop.

Stats
Date: March 7, 2020
Location: Fulton, Peoria and Knox County strip mines (4 lakes)
Time: 11:15am-2:15pm and 4:15pm-6:00pm
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Air Temp: 48-52F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 2 bass (Jim – 1 bass, Troy – 1 bass)
Lures
Jim – Chatterbait (white)
Troy – Rapala Shad Rap (blue)
Top Bass: 4-1 (Jim)
Top 5 Weight (2 at 12” or better): 5-6 (4-1,1-5)

Text exchange en route, the conditions proceeded to get less appealing

Notes and Nonsense

Early Reward – The 30 degree early morning temperature meant that there was no need to get on the water at or near daybreak. Giving the sun some time to warm the water even in the slightest could work to my advantage, I figured. So, I get a couple texts from Jim on my way to the fishing hole that would eventually show that early was indeed the best part of the day. Best in terms of both lack of wind (see snip above) and also in terms of a lone, quality bite (see snip below).

Should’ve been there earlier but non-stop drives of any length, well…

Not a Banner Day – Let’s face it, we had a tough day on Banner Marsh. To start with, conditions were a bit rough with heavy winds pounding the wide open spaces of our selected fishing holes. With our mutual setups of smaller watercrafts this made for a challenge, particularly for a guy whose propulsion is a set of oars. I did find an appealing secluded area and we also took our shots from the bank on some historically productive spots but we just couldn’t muster the bites.

Hail Mary – Around 2:30pm, after a brief wander and ponder on some other lakes on the Banner Marsh site, I elected to take a drive to Knox County for one last shot at breaking up my shutout. Just over an hour drive put me on the water around 4:30pm. I gave my jig and plastic, a Red Eye Shad and a Rapala Shad Rap a workout on some regular spots during the hour and a half that I fished and was rewarded with one bite. Luck was on my side as the bass stayed hooked and got it’s picture taken as the lead fish for 2020. Mission accomplished, just in the nick of time, whew!

First 2020 bass 14.5″ and 1-5, not a trophy but a start

A short clip below of some stuff I previously recorded for a potential project, perhaps more to come…

 

Final Thoughts – Despite the weather app topping out at 52 degrees, it was not a pleasant 52 degrees. Does anyone know if there is such a thing as windchill at such temps? If not, there should be. The final thought that kept running through my head was the line that “I’ve been a lot warmer when it was colder.” Just an early, deceivingly sunny, March day.

And now on to the question of just how many posts on blogger can get out of a fishing trip that only featured two bass. Stay tuned as nobody performs such a feat better that troyjacksonoutdoors.com. Talk to you later. Troy

Wichita, KS Fishing Extras

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Interesting graffiti landmark, more in one of today’s video clips, wish I knew the story

Since I went the extra mile for this trip and a couple welcome bass it seems fitting to add some extras to the earlier report. Here’s a few more thoughts and some video shot during an hour of fishing on 11/21 before heading home.

 

Research – The internet certainly has its pros and cons, one could go on forever on that topic. But for this brief fishing excursion, cyberspace was certainly a winner as I was able to get some general input on Wichita fishing holes to help me make a decision on where to invest my limited time. All turned out just fine after some concern that I hadn’t invested enough time exploring from my living room. Once again, a double edged sword as too much info can leave you just as lost as not enough.

Lures – Nearly all of my casts were made with two lures, a Booyah Spinnerbait and a Rapala Shad Rap. Both are effective around the riprap cover and some wood where I focused nearly all of my efforts. Sure, I would have liked to have bounced a jig around but just too much trouble in the debris fields I found extending out from the bank. Call me “chicken” but I like to get my lures back which can sometimes be a challenge when casting from the bank. While bravery may have been lacking at least I was doing something right to have a pair of my casts come back with a bass attached.

Cost – You can’t really put a price on a bass in my opinion. Each catch has its merits based on things like effort, timing, location, companion and yes, even size. However, from strictly the out of stater aspect of the two bass reeled in, we’re talking about $14.60 per bass based on the $29.21 total for my five-day permit. While that may sound a bit steep I would gladly invest again. Well worth the cost for the simple fact that I don’t have to sit home and play the “What if” or “Boy, I wish I would have” game.

 

 

“They say I’m crazy but I have a good time.” – Life’s Been Good, Joe Walsh (1978) – Did you know that Joe Walsh was born in Wichita, Kansas? Well, neither did I as I’ve always associated the entertaining fellow with the state of Ohio. So, I learned something new as I put this piece together and perhaps you just did as well. If so, that is right on the money as one the goals of the blog is education. In this case, knowledge comes in the form of a potential answer to a trivia question.

November 19, 2019 at 5:37pm – Betting that this is the last bass of 2019 – Wichita, KS

And so, the firsthand fishing reports for 2019 likely come to an end. The odds are slim that I get out again but as always I’ve got more than a few blog ideas to get me through the off season. So stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Wichita, KS Report – 11/19 & 11/21

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Crummy weather, short days and busy weekends had conspired to keep me off the water this November. And the end of the month didn’t look to stack up so well for getting a shot. However, a work trip to Wichita, KS that began dark and early on a day with the forecast for a high in the 60s provided for a potential last ditch effort. Read on for a recap with some tunes thrown in for good measure.

Stats

Date: November 19 and 21, 2019
Location: Sedgwick County Park – Wichita, KS (2 lakes)
Time: 4:15pm-5:45pm (11/19) and 11:15am-12:15pm (11/21)
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy
Air Temp: 63F (11/19) and 44F (11/21)
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 2 bass
Lures: Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (bleeding shad) w/ twin tail trailer (pumpkinseed) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-9
Top 5 Weight (only 2 bass): 2-11 (1-9,1-2)

5:32pm on 11/19 – November bass success 14″ 1-2 Spinnerbait

Notes and Nonsense

“But I’m a long, long way from home.” – Long, Long Way From Home, Foreigner (1977) – 580 miles to be exact, that’s a ways to go to chase that November bass for a wannabe bass fisherman and pro bono blogger. But with my transportation, grub and lodging being covered by my employer I elected to invest a couple after work hours and $29.21 for a non-resident permit in pursuit of a bite.

“Somewhere out there on that horizon…” – In the City, Joe Walsh (1978)
I regularly check out a young YouTuber (Jon B.) who originally hails from Illinois but now works as a vlogger out of the Dallas, Texas area. On occasion he combs Google Maps for urban fishing holes in and around Dallas-Fort Worth and then complies content on his outings. Taking a page out of that book I narrowed the vast Wichita public water offerings down to a half dozen options within 15-20 minutes of my work location. A little overwhelming and even nerve wracking knowing that I’d only have maybe 3-4 hours to fish over the 48 hours in town.

“We’re not in Kansas anymore.” – Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1936) – Strangely, I actually was. While it was odd to think that I was so far from home, once the lures hit the water it was bass fishing as usual. An hour of no bites on the first spot had me a bit worried but I kept looking for the structure that I felt would hold a fish. Riprap in direct sunlight and wind was my all or nothing in the hour and a half I had available before sunset on 11/19. Fate was on my side and at 5:32pm I had my sought after November bass. For good measure a second bass came ashore at 5:37pm for icing on the cake.

5:37pm on 11/19 – Bass number two at 15″ 1-9 Spinnerbait

“Miles and miles of highway with just my radio…” – Radio Land, Michael Martin Murphey (1983)
You know I dig the airwaves and roughly 18 hours behind the wheel did not disappoint. No Top 10 Trip Tunes this time around but here’s some highlights.
“I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor (1978)- first cut on the trip as I left my driveway at 2:06am and heard it three times which seemed weird.
“Hold the Line” – Toto (1978) – fitting to hear this group on a trip to Kansas (also heard this tune three times)
Kansas – I tuned into a great deal of classic rock on the ride but somehow missed any tunes by this group along the way. If I could have selected a Triple Play by the band originally hailing from Topeka it would be as follows:
“Point of Know Return”
“Play The Game Tonight”
“Carry on Wayward Son”
“Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen (2012) – 8:00pm on Thursday, an hour from getting back home, too many hours of work, too few hours of fitful sleep so, yes, I was actually singing this one out loud.
Oh yeah, and then there was a fair dose of live broadcast and post hearing impeachment recaps. And that’s all I have to say about that…

I’d hoped to hit the water the following day (11/20) but rain and dropping temps ruined any shot. An hour on Thursday (11/21) before heading home produced nothing as the temp was dramatically different at 44F as compared to 63F two days prior. My out of state November bass made for a good story and allowed me to achieve my November bass goal but I couldn’t help but think of another classic line from Kansas native, Dorothy Gale.

“There’s no place like home.”

Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – October 19

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A Lake Storey fishing report in the Inbox last Friday from my friend, John Kirkemo, and a reasonable Saturday forecast made for an impromptu trip back down to Knox County’s Lake Storey to chase those wily bass. Glad I could swing it as it’s always a treat to fish my “home lake.”

Stats

Date: October 19, 2019
Location: Lake Storey – Knox County, IL
Time: 10:05am-3:35pm
Weather: Partly cloudy to overcast/breezy to calm
Air Temp: 54-60F
Water Temp: 55-56F
Totals: 10 bass
Lures: Strike King 2.5 Rattling Squarebill crankbait (sexy shad) – 6 bass
Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait (red crawfish) – 3 bass
Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (bluegill) w/ twin tail trailer (smoke) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-11
Top 5 Weight: 7-4 (1-11,1-9,1-8,1-4,1-4)

10:18am First bass and Top Bass 16″ 1-11 Crankbait

Notes and Nonsense

Drawdown V2.0 – An abundance of September rain negated the annual post Labor Day drawdown of Lake Storey bringing the water level back to near normal pool. Interestingly, the city opted to pull the plug a second time resulting in the lake being back to nearly full draw for this outing. I found this to be an encouraging decision as I understand that the practice of lowering the lake level has been debated at times. Here’s hoping that the annual drop continues as a fishery management tool and does not get vetoed by those who find it aesthetically unpleasant. For me, it is quite an attractive bit of added contrast between the lake surface and the changing foliage lining the bank. In addition, I find it much more appealing than the extensive beds of aquatic vegetation that ring much of the lake beginning in mid-May. And it’s good for the fishing. What’s not to like?

10:35am 15″ 1-9 Crankbait

Lonely Lake – October is an interesting time to fish as many folks either put away their gear or have other things to do. I’m not much into college football anymore so on a Saturday like this day, well, I’m not missing a thing. On this pleasant mid-October morning I arrived to a deserted boat ramp and was joined as I launched by friend and Top 5 contributor, John Kirkemo, who arrived with his boat in tow. We essentially had the lake to ourselves as I observed one other boat of crappie anglers who had launched at the other end of the lake along with a kayak angler. Shortly before 3:00pm another boat showed up and we left the lake to that angler shortly thereafter.

11:39am 14″ 1-8 Spinnerbait

Rock, Sun, Wind, Depth – A riprap bank hit by direct sun and a fair wind with deep water in close proximity is a fall winner and it came through quite well on this trip. Five of my ten bass (and another lost at boatside) came during an early and late pass along this stretch. One other shallower area with a pile of cinder blocks did give up a pair of bass and is always an interesting spot. I caught one bass on the initial pass but always make a cast back to the debris after I have drifted past, and right on cue, the first cast got me a second bass from the structure.

12:33pm 14″ 1-4 Crankbait

Wood Not so Good – Unlike my last visit in mid-September where spinnerbaits dominated the haul, the bite was lean on this outing. While I felt the water temps still held promise for the lure, the low water just left too much wood exposed or too shallow for the lure to be effective on my regular spots. No problem though, as crankbaits came through just fine.

1:34pm 13.5″ 1-4 Crankbait

It looks like the weather is going to take a dip as one would expect so this will likely be my final shot at the Lake Storey drawdown. Once again, a good challenge and I feel we turned in a respectable showing over three visits. One thing lacking, however, were teeth as we failed to turn up the accidental muskie or walleye. Maybe next year.

Next up in the “Friday Flashback” series is an entertaining 80s tale that we’ll revisit with the help of an old friend as a guest blogger. Hope you’ll stop back by to check it out. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – October 14

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I am definitely feeling the impending end of my fishing year as we head into the home stretch. My annual aim is to end with a November bass and folks, it ain’t that far away. In the meantime I was able to work out back to back mid-October days on the water. Day One was reported earlier this week and read on for my Day Two quest to beef up my Top 5 weight as it has been a tough year for me to find big bites.

11:07am First bass, on the board but hoping they get bigger

Stats
Date: October 14, 2019
Location: Knox Co. IL private strip mines (2 lakes)
Time: 10:50am-3:00pm (3.25 hours fishing, the rest relocating)
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy
Air Temp: 48-52F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 8 bass, 1 crappie
Lures
Zoom Baby Brush Hog (watermelon seed) – 4 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw) – 2 bass, Booyah Blade spinnerbait (snow white shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 2-11 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 8-8 (2-11,2-9,2-1,1-3)

11:53am 17.5″ 2-9 Zoom Baby Brush Hog

12:50pm 13.5″ 1-3 Zoom Baby Brush Hog

Notes and Nonsense

Accident – Every once in a while as a bass angler you happen into a bite from a different species. Prior to this trip, my lone “accident” was a stout bluegill that took a liking to one of my crankbaits. This time around it was a nice 12” crappie that grabbed my Baby Brush Hog as I jigged it around a downed tree. I’ve caught the occasional crappie on a crankbait, jerkbait or spinnerbait but I believe this is the first one on such a creature type bait.

An interesting accident

No need to pack a ton of tackle, even though I usually do

Arsenal – No surprises here with the trio of lures that fooled my fish. My hope was that I could get away with the rapid pace of a lipless crankbait or the moderate speed of a spinnerbait or crankbait but I just could not find a consistent bite in the regular right places on my first stop. Instead, it took some slowing down with a Texas rigged creature bait to fool some fish.

2:05pm 17″ 2-1 Spinnerbait

A Day (or two) Early – The old saying references being “a day late and a dollar short” but in this case it sounds as if I would have been better off delaying my Monday trip until Hump Day. Need proof? Well, my buddy, Jim Junk, reported in with a Wednesday afternoon/evening outing where he “recorded 10 bass over 2 pounds and landed over a dozen others…hitting spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and lipless cranks. Actually think they just attacking anything and anywhere.” Another flurry as daylight faded resulted in “5 more bass landed on a chatterbait in about a half hour.” Definitely what one would call a fall feeding frenzy and always cool when you are there when conditions are just right.

2:28pm Top Bass 18″ 2-11 Spinnerbait

For the Birds – Overall, I managed a reasonable haul and bumped up my Top 5 a few ounces but the outing just didn’t live up to my initial expectations. Once again, that darned sun got the best of me. I know a guy shouldn’t complain about a sunny day, especially in October, but sunny conditions just don’t lend themselves to a good bite on these fishing holes. And what really stinks is the fact that I am now locked out of roughly 50 public strip pits because of the dang geese. No offense to any waterfowlers but such closures have always been a thorn in my side.

“No bass for you!” as October 13 was actually the last day to fish Snakeden Hollow, game over for 2019.

Okay, I’ll shut this one down before I come off as a bit too whiny. In the end, I did have several good spots to fish and just couldn’t fool any big bites this time around…or for most of 2019 for that matter. I’m not done quite yet though as Lake Storey beckoned this weekend. Full report next week. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – October 13

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Last Sunday marked the final day of 2019 access for anglers to Snakeden Hollow State Fish & Wildlife Area. The site shuts down for the waterfowl season so the birds win out over my bass (more on that some other time). Wanting one more shot, I decided to take a hike despite a recent cold front and the forecast of strong winds which can make it tough on an eight foot johnboat. The evening prior I put out a text to my brother, Brent, and he was game to give it a go as well. Read on for the results of our tag team outing.

Bundle up as this could be interesting

Stats

Date: October 13, 2019
Location: Snakeden Hollow, Knox Co. IL (4 lakes)
Time: 10:55am-5:25pm (5.25 hours fishing, the rest walking)
Weather: Sunny to overcast/very windy
Air Temp: 48-55F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 23 bass (Brent – 12, Troy – 11)
Lures
Troy: Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw) – 6 bass, Booyah Blade spinnerbait (snow white shad) – 2 bass, Zoom Baby Brush Hog (watermelon seed) – 2 bass, Chatterbait (bluegill) with Zako trailer (smoke) – 1 bass
Brent – Emiquon Special spinnerbait (brown/orange) 11 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait (grey ghost) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 4-5 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 11-9 (4-5,2-1,1-15,1-10,1-10)

A few of the bass that were captured on GoPro

Notes and Nonsense

Weather – The temps were in the 30s when I left home with a high of 55 predicted along with winds gusting over 20 miles per hour. Well, it all played out as predicted but with the strong wind and afternoon cloud cover it actually felt colder even though it got warmer. Trust me, it makes perfect sense if you were out there roaming around for about seven hours.

11:08am First bass – spinnerbait

12:08pm my first bass took a while to find but was sure intent on getting the lure

First Bass – It only took about 10 minutes before Brent got us on the board with his old reliable spinnerbait. That spinnerbait would go on to land all but one of his bass with the lone exception falling to a Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait while we briefly ditched the boat in favor of the bank. A reliable stretch was getting pounded by the wind making boat control impossible so we gave the oars a break and landed three bass and missed another. One of the three was my first catch of the day at 12:08 pm, roughly 70 minutes after we started casting. My lame excuse was being the designated rower (voluntarily) but really I just wasn’t getting it done and still don’t have my own version of “The Emiquon Special” spinnerbait. My boy, Jayce, does courtesy of a gift from Uncle Brent though causing me to ponder the ethics of raiding someone else’s tacklebox.

1:58pm 1-10 spinnerbait

Reunion – Choosing your spots can be tough at Snakeden as there are over a couple dozen viable fishing holes on the site. I wavered on a visit to an old favorite pondering whether it still held enough potential to justify the hiking effort. The decision turned out to be one of those “since we’re this close…” types. An hour of casting gave us two of our eventual Top 5 but just as rewarding was reliving some old tales such as “the sumac forest” and “the biggest topwater explosion ever.” Folks, we’ve got just a few fish stories between us.

2:24pm 2-1 Zoom Baby Brush Hog

 

3:12pm 1-15 Spinnerbait

4:20pm 1-10 Chatterbait

4:35pm Top Bass 4-5 Spinnerbait

Top Bass – The first time Brent and I ever fished what would eventually become Snakeden Hollow was July 1, 1987. That was three years before the ground would be open to public access. We were fortunate to get an invite from a fellow willing to take a couple teenage wannabe bass fisherman along for a visit inside a locked gate. In the 32 years since, we’ve caught more than a few bass out there including several that exceed the weight of 4-5 on Brent’s latest catch. However, his fish is hands down the coolest looking Snakeden bass I’ve ever seen. An impressive catch and in this instance, I believe that the picture indeed does the fish justice as it could easily pass for a heavier bass. Whenever I get around to a post on my favorite bass pics of all-time, this one will certainly make the list.

Kind of blew it on my GoPro footage by accidentally turning off the camera mid-catch

Another good outing with my brother and we managed a respectable haul (and a brute) in some challenging conditions. Yet again reinforcing why you don’t put those poles away to early and that the best time to go fishing is anytime you can. Which brings me to the following day and another fishing report to compile. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Extras – September 22

Posted on by Troy Jackson

 

There’s an old saying about “not having enough sense to come in out of the rain.” Well, I would counter that statement with something along the lines of “nobody with any sense would walk away from a good bite.” And walking was a key component of this fishing trip. The definite risk was hiking in about two circuitous miles with the impending inclement weather. The potential reward was a good batch of bites. In the end, both aspects materialized as further detailed today with a lyrically filled post emphasizing “rain.”

Some old rain pics as evidence that you you won’t melt and the fish will bite

“I’m No Stranger to the Rain” (Keith Whitley – 1989) – When faced with potential precipitation I often resort to the old familiar refrain of “we’ve been wet before.” And as you can see above, we did okay, wound up no worse for wear and learned our lesson. That lesson being, as long as there’s no lightning, you better take your shot because there are a lot of good stories in those rainy pics.

If this is fishing in the rain, I’ll take it. Took my backup “rainy day” log (on right) and transferred data post trip 

“Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” (B.J. Thomas – 1971) – Indeed, they did. Rainfall consisted of a light rain during my pre-dawn walk in, a brief shower about 7:00am calling for donning the raincoat and a downpour during the last hour of casting and hiking back to the truck. But hey, “I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining” with 47 bass in the logbook. And with a change of clothes in the truck “nothing’s worrying me.”

 

“Blame It on the Rain” (Milli Vanilli – 1989) – The rain showed up full force about 10:15am and continued steadily at varying degrees through my final cast at 11:50am. During the downpour, the bite was inversely proportional to the severity of the showers. The heavier the rain the lighter the bite while my better fish of the day showed up as the rainfall eased a bit.

 

“Fool in the Rain” (Led Zeppelin – 1979) – I wasn’t sure what to make of the iPhone Live Photo feature at first but have found it to be kind of fun, albeit a little creepy in some instances. As I played around editing pics for these latest reports I found that I could actually put one of them to use. I was simply snapping the “after” shot to go with the “before” pic I had taken at the parking lot to start the morning but found that the motion revealed plenty about a wet, walk-in adventure. Five miles, deep weeds, undulating terrain, hauling gear, rough footing, 47 bass and a 52-year old body. I’d had a good day, but for me the video loop above also says that I’d had enough. Just plain wore out.

A good representation of how the day progressed from early to late

Anytime I can post a 47 bass morning, I’m good. Bigger fish would have just been icing on the cake. I knew the rain would show up at some point and planned accordingly for the long walk. Rain gear was an obvious choice but I also scaled down to “only” four poles and bare bones on tackle. In fact, in terms of that latter aspect I actually overdid it as I needed only four lures to fool my nearly four dozen bass. Yep, now that I’m not so sore anymore, I’d gladly take another shot at being the fool out there on those strip mine hills. Talk to you later. Troy