Category: Fishing Reports

Lost Grove Lake Report 6/18

Posted on by Troy Jackson

On the heels of a solid Saturday, I had a chance to try my luck again on Father’s Day Sunday. Hey, my day right, so what’s wrong with ditching the family for some “me” time? Actually, nobody hardly missed me as I left before anybody even dreamed of being awake and returned before the girls ever rolled out of bed. A couple hours of solitude, a few bass and another fishing report.

Stats
Date: June 18, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 5:55am-7:55am
Weather: Sunny-overcast/windy-very windy
Air Temp: not sure
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 8 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 7 bass
Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (salt & pepper) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-9 Buzzbait
Weight (only 2 at 12″ or better): 2-7 (1-9,0-14)


6:15am First Bass and Top Bass 14.5″ 1-9 Buzzbait

Notes & Nonsense

First Bass – Twenty minutes into casting a buzzbait I had my first catch, tipping the scales at 1-9 equal to my former Iowa personal best. Fortunately, the 1-11 from the previous outing had pushed the mark up a couple ounces. Otherwise I may have had to stoop to weighing the latest catch multiple times or perhaps even holding it up in the wind hoping a gust would boost the scale that needed ounce. Okay, maybe not that desperate just in need of something in the two-pound range to make the record at least a little more respectable.

No Repeat Performance – My hopes to duplicate the positive strides I’d made in figuring out some fish the previous day just never materialized. While this trip was just over an hour shorter, a different day just had a different feel.
June 17 = 3.25 hours, 18 bass, 5 at 12” or >, Top 5 Weight of 6-9, Top Bass = 1-11
June 18 = 2.0 hours, 8 bass, 2 at 12” or >, Top 2 Weight of 2-7, Top Bass = 1-9
That’s fishing as no two days are the same. Reasonable production on day two but my excuse this time around was the couple dozen bass with sore lips from Saturday including a handful that got off the first time around. Rarely discouraged though and was back at it two days later, fishing report to come.


7:23am 12″ 0-14 Buzzbait

Three Days in One – The weather continues to be all over the place like much of the rest of 2017 to date. I launched at 5:55am to sunny skies and temps rapidly climbing to the mid-70’s. By 7:00am a massive cloud bank was rolling in with the winds really beginning to pick up. When those winds finally forced me and my little boat off the lake at 7:55am the skies were dark and the temp had dropped a dozen degrees into the low 60’s. In the ten minutes it took to load and leave, the sun had reappeared, the wind had diminished and the temperature had stabilized. I took a drive around the lake to check out the crowd and by the time I decided to head for home it was back to the conditions like when my morning began. I was tempted to launch again at another spot but thought better of it and hit the road to share the remainder of the day with my family.


Stick around the lake after the front moved through or head home to this bunch? I chose the goofballs over a few more bass.

Crowd Count – In a previous post I mentioned that one news outlet had referred to Lost Grove Lake as “Iowa’s newest jewel” and it sure seems to have the attention of more than a few anglers. Similar to last year, I took a drive around to all of the access points (three ramps and three walk-in areas) to check out the crowd. All told, I counted 34 trailers along with sixteen other vehicles, indeed a popular destination but still enough water for everybody.

Back to back trips last weekend to my new area have produced an overall better quality of fish than my previous three stops elsewhere on the lake so why stop now? Stay tuned for another Lost Grove report to see if the trend continues or the well runs dry. Talk to you later. Troy

Lost Grove Lake Report 6/17

Posted on by Troy Jackson

After my first visit of 2017 to Lost Grove Lake wound up being another challenging quest for quality fish I got to thinking about a change of approach, not so much in presentation as location. Fishing a 400 acre lake in an 8-foot johnboat means you’ve got to break it up into manageable pieces. And with only 2 bass at 12” or better of 35 total caught in three trips prior to this outing meant that I was up for a different piece.

Stats

Date: June 17, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 6:25am-9:40am
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy-very windy
Air Temp: not sure
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 18 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 14 bass
Senko wacky rig (electric shad) – 4 bass
Top Bass: 1-11 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 6-9 (1-11,1-8.1-6,1-4,0-12)

Notes & Nonsense

Gnats – Well, the first thing to get my attention on this morning before even making a cast was the abundance of gnats.  I inhaled several, ate a couple, and had them in my ears, under my hat and between my shades and my eyeballs, rather annoying.  Even more so when throwing a buzzbait as you have to hit the water reeling and keep it going all the way to the boat or a bass.  I know there are proposed potions and lotions out there to address this problem and I suppose some are worthwhile, but I’ve just never been a fan of getting anything on my hands or body that could translate in a negative fashion to my lures and turn the bass off.  Actually, I never wear the stuff even when I’m not fishing, just try to ignore the bugs as best I can.

Six minutes into the outing I had two bass in the boat on a buzzbait 10.5″ and 12.5″ (0-12)

Back to Back Bass – I sent Julie and the kids the picture above a whole ten minutes into my trip even though nobody at my house was likely awake at 6:35am anyway.  The shorter of the two was my first catch of the day and managed to flip off the buzzbait after coming aboard.  Tough call in terms of fish care but I was on a productive spot and opted to cast again rather than chase down the bass flopping around at my feet.  Good decision for me as the result was back to back casts with a bass.  At least my boat is old enough that it leaks a bit so the first fish had a little water to splash in while awaiting release.

7:34am 13.5″ 1-4 Buzzbait                                     8:00am 13.5″ 1-6 Buzzbait                           9:03am 14″ 1-8 Senko

Close Calls – So, I’m shooting for a 1-10 for a new Iowa record and after two hours my two best fish were 1-4 and 1-6, okay size, but I knew neither one was heavy enough as I lifted them into the boat.  Then on the home stretch I nab one that I knew was gonna be close and my guess was a tie at 1-9.  However, turns out I was a little high as it fell short by one ounce, coming in at 1-8.  Another decent fish compared to the majority of bass from the fishing hole but I was running out of time.

Best for Last – The old saying was indeed true as my final catch of the day was the bass I was looking for at 1-11 on a buzzbait, boosting the record by a whole two ounces.  I cast around for another fifteen minutes or so but the wind had gotten so bad that I had to call it quits without another bite.  Good way to end my day, though.

9:22am Top Bass and new Iowa personal best 15″ 1-11 Buzzbait

Five bass at 12” or better and a new Iowa personal best in just over three hours certainly reinforced my decision to try a change of scenery on Lost Grove.  Compared to 2 bass over 12” in the previous 13.75 hours it seems like I just might be onto something.  For further research, I went back the next day, and again yesterday evening.  Getting behind on the fishing reports…stay tuned (and check out the Facebook page).  Talk to you later.  Troy

Lost Grove Lake Report 6/10

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Took the weekend off from blogging after kicking off the new website with a streak of 40 consecutive days with a posting.  Was hoping for a Top 5 submission or two to resume posting with the standard Monday update but no go.  I even gave it a shot myself with the first trip of the year across The River but came up rather short of the weight I needed.  I did catch some bass though, so today you get a fishing report in place of an update.  Keep in mind, folks, that I provide a report for every trip, for better or worse, as real life fishing ain’t like the magazines, television or even the internet (except for this website, of course).

Stats
Date: June 10, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 5:50am-10:05am
Weather: Sunny/windy-very windy
Air Temp: 67F-82F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 10 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 7 bass
Senko wacky rig (electric shad) – 2 bass
Senko Texas rig (electric shad) w/ 1/8 oz. tungsten weight – 1 bass
Top Bass: two at 11.5” (did not qualify to weigh)
Top 5 Weight: none over 12”

If all else fails and the fish aren’t that big, show the lures.  Buzzbait, Senko wacky rig, Senko Texas rig (bottom)

Notes & Nonsense

Record Quest Round One – One of the resolutions I posted last month revolved around the pursuit of a new Iowa largemouth bass personal best.  Going into this outing, that mark stood at 1-9 with a catch from June 19, 2016.  Following this outing, that mark still stands as I never even fooled one that qualified to hang from the scale (my criteria for weighing “keepers” has long stood at a 12” minimum length).  Now for some of the excuses, I mean challenges, on this body or water.

History and Fishery – While Lost Grove Lake has been in the making for several decades, news reports cite the “public grand opening” as August 2014.  My debut was June 19, 2016 and in three visits, including this trip, I have spent a total of 13.75 hours on the lake and landed 35 bass (2.55 bass per hour).  Decent in terms of rate/quantity but severely lacking in quality bites with only 2 bass at 12” or better (weight 1-9 and 1-2).  I have seen several 3 to 4 pound bass in person and in print so I know they are there but just haven’t gotten to grab one of them yet.  Iowa DNR sampling surveys do make me feel better though as electrofishing results back up my logbook with a population dominated by 8-10” fish.  Ideally, they just need some time to grow up.

6:15am First Bass – Buzzbait, less than 12″ just like all that would follow

Structure and Access – In a post that I wrote last year for my previous gig, I described the lake as “messy.”  This reference pertained to an abundance of brushy timber above and below surface along the creek channels and a great deal of surface vegetation clogging the shoreline and much of the standing timber.  I roll with an 8-foot rowboat and a topographic map (water fried a portable depthfinder I used last year just a couple months after purchase) on the 360-acre body of water so a few challenges on the learning curve there as well.  But hey, the equipment upstairs working on thirty five years of experience is catching plenty of fish here, just not big ones.

Buzzbait Bite – Windy conditions, the structure challenges noted above and only a few morning hours to fish had me committed to a buzzbait presentation.  Not a problem, I prefer to fish fast and if a good one is going to let down its guard, a buzzbait is a good tool to fool it.  Seven out of my ten fish came on the lure and I had two others throw the lure after being hooked along with at least half a dozen other fish take a swipe at the bait without getting hooked.  Overall, it was a weird bite though as nearly every strike was barely a ripple on the surface with several instances where it took a second of two for the brain to process that I actually had a fish on, pretty odd on a morning where I had a significant number of hits.

8:56am – Truth hurts, Top Bass 11.5″ Senko wacky rig.  However, I do like this photo as an indication of just how windy it was out there.  You know it’s windy when you can feel your beard moving sideways.  Then again, maybe that’s a sign to pursue a more manageable look…perhaps later this summer.  Ain’t ditching the lucky hat though.

Despite falling short in my quest this time around, I will definitely be back for further field work on getting the place figured out as those fish keep growing up.  The notes in this posting in no way represent complaints or excuses as I definitely like the lake and the challenges it poses.  Apparently, many others do as well as I encountered many other boats including a few just a little fancier than my setup.  Later this week I will post some more info on Lost Grove Lake from some research I did last year.  And later this fishing season I’m going to get back there with a new plan…stay tuned.  Talk to you later.  Troy

 

Strip Mine Report 6/3

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Got to get away for a shot at some June bass on the first family camping trip of summer break.  Here’s the scoop.

5:56am 13″ 0-15 Buzzbait                                                                                       6:30am 13.5″ 1-0 Buzzbait

Stats

Date: June 3, 2017
Locations: Knox County, IL strip mines (2 private)
Time: 5:50am-8:15am
Weather: Partly cloudy-sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 55F-70F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 5 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 4 bass
Senko weighted wacky rig (electric shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-6 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 5-1 (1-6,1-0,0-15,0-15,0-13)

6:42am Top Bass 14″ 1-6 Buzzbait, fish were getting bigger and noticed my gut is too in this photo, gotta work on that.

Notes & Nonsense

The Plan – Generally on these family camping trips I try to squeeze in a few hours on the water chasing bass at sunrise before the kids wake up and the usual craziness ensues.  On some occasions, I have a young companion and we shift gears to panfish but no takers this time around meant all in for bass.  And all in on this partly cloudy morning with a bit of chop on the surface and only a couple hours to fish meant looking for a big bite with a buzzbait all the way.

The Results – I gave it my best effort but just couldn’t find the big one I was after.  Did hear a handful of large surface explosions on the two lakes but just not on my lure.  Four buzzbait bass and a few other missed strikes were certainly enough to keep my interest as I did the old run and gun approach so always rewarding to know that I’m tossing the right bait. As time ran down and the sun came out I did shift gears to nab one final bass on a Senko wacky rig from under some overhanging bushes.  This pattern is historically productive on this lake but the last two years have seen the water conditions become murkier for some reason and the Senko bite seems to have suffered (sounds like a good excuse at least).

7:13am 13″ 0-13 Buzzbait                                                                                      8:04am 13″ 0-15 Senko

Fellow Fisherman – I had some company on the second lake which is generally rare even on weekends. This fellow was doing his thing in a kayak and outfished me three to one during the time frame where we were in sight of one another.  Should have brought my binoculars I guess and maybe could have picked up a tip or two.  The kayak approach has intrigued me in recent years and seems to have become quite popular.  You know, there is kayak manufacturer out there by the name of Jackson Kayak.  Sure sounds like a good match for a field test or endorsement.  Best kayak on the market teams with best, and most prolific, outdoor website…

No boost on this day for my yearly Top 5 total as I need a 2-6 to add some weight.  But hey, five bass in an abbreviated trip all at 12” or better is a winner.  I suppose I should say those bass are simply a bonus as I’ve come to view any day on the water as a winner. Talk to you later.  Troy

Kids’ Fishing Report 6/2-6/3

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A camping trip to Little John Conservation Club (as described in yesterday’s post) also means some fishing for young and old.  Today we’ll take a look at how the youngsters fared.

A 7:45pm arrival at the campsite makes for a bit of a narrow window of daylight to wet some waxworms with the kids and see what we can fool.  After setting up the tent, that window was even more limited as we didn’t get our first casts in until about 8:25pm.  But it sure didn’t take long to get some positive feedback as the time on the photo of the first fish of the evening showed as 8:28pm.  Three of our four anglers took a shot (Carly, Jayce and Zac) while Helena sat this one out and assisted Julie with settling in.  Here’s a look at some of our haul.

Carly’s first ever crappie followed shortly by first ever bass

Carly wound up as the last fisherkid standing, catching her final fish at a point where we could barely see the bobber.  It was right about the time when the eyes start playing tricks, faking us out numerous times before one last hookset actually produced a catch.  All she needed was a bluegill to complete a sort of fishing “Grand Slam” and our wish was granted, making for a perfect time to call it a night.

Carly completes her Grand Slam with a green sunfish and buzzer beater bluegill, great job!

The next morning the boys each got a boat ride while Carly took another shot from the bank.  She likely outfished us boys as we were pestered by some mighty small bluegill that just stole our waxworms as most didn’t have a mouth near big enough to take even our small jigheads.

The boys getting it done in the boat.  I swear Jayce’s catch was so small and thin you could nearly see through it.

As always, plenty of fish and a good time had by all except the waxworms.  Another fishing report up tomorrow, some larger fish and a larger angler, who is not near as attractive as this bunch who thankfully got some looks from their mama.  Talk to you later.  Troy

Strip Mine Report 5/30

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Last Tuesday, I extended the holiday weekend to a four day “vacation” by taking a needed day off of work.  My recent role as fishing guide for the kids had exacerbated the itch to go fishing so I selfishly decided it was time to fly solo while the youngsters trudged through their next to last day of school.

Stats

Date: May 30, 2017
Locations: Knox County, IL strip mines (3 public, 2 private)
Time: 5:55am-3:00pm (6.25 hours fishing, the rest walking/driving)
Weather: Sunny-partly cloudy/windy-very windy
Air Temp: 53F-77F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 20 bass, 1 green sunfish
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 15 bass
Zara Spook (black shore minnow) – 3 bass
Senko weighted wacky rig (electric shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 2-5 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 9-9 (2-5,2-0,1-14,1-11,1-11)

8:01am 16.5″ 1-11 Zara Spook                                                    Me and the Spook go way back, still produces

Notes & Nonsense

Old School – A bright and early start, a run of stable weather and late May had me preparing for a topwater bite to start the day.  For one weapon of choice I opted to go old school and tied on a Zara Spook in the black shore minnow pattern, we were real tight back in the 80’s and 90’s.  It produced my first two bass and three overall with the last being the best, solid in terms of size (1-11) but more so in a technique meets location scenario.  I had a nice narrow finger in this particular strip pit that featured a solid weed mat clogging the back end and a couple pieces of brush for a lure to pass in open water as it headed back to the boat.  I’d made a couple casts with a buzzbait to no avail before deciding that I needed something that would dance a bit more near the weed mat and not buzz through the area too rapidly.  Turned out to be the right decision as a cast within a few inches of the weeds followed by a handful of twitches in a walk the dog retrieve and I had a taker.  Nice when it works like that.

Recuperated and Rejuvenated – My best estimate on my haul on this day was a definite post-spawn mood.  Plenty of bass were willing to bite so it seemed like they had shifted their focus from rejuvenating the lakes to recuperating via strapping on the feedbag.  Most of the bass were on the skinny side as well indicating that they had recently spent most of their energy on restocking but were now on the road to recovery as evidenced by a positive activity level.  Did still see several bass on beds but much less than during my last outing.

8:41am 15″ 1-11 Buzzbait                                            12:08pm 16.5″ 1-14 Buzzbait

Clouds – “I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now.  But now they only block the sun…” – Both Sides, Now – Judy Collins (written by Joni Mitchell)
And, boy, was blocking the sun just what the doctor ordered.  The combo of a sustained chop on the surface from a stout wind and brief windows of lowlight conditions each time a cloud bank passed between me and the sun was the key to a sustained, day long buzzbait bite.  Once the predicted clouds showed up about 11:30am (an hour late) the bite was on whenever the sun disappeared.  Nine buzzbait bass from 11:41am-2:25am with none in the sun had me convinced that clouds were key.  Also had me tweeting as follows.

11:41am and 1:38pm (left to right) – it took fishing to make a tweeter out of me…and have also found some “Friends”, still a recluse in real life though.

No Kicker – While I definitely landed some decent fish I just couldn’t fool what the pros call a “kicker.” Nope, the big one eluded me even when able to successfully wield a bait all day long that can certainly get a lunker to make a mistake.  Fifteen of my twenty bass came on the buzzbait with twelve of those fish coming in at 12” or better.  Quality was not that surprising as the buzzer is a fairly large and fast moving bait typically lending itself to a bigger bite.  However, quantity exceeded expectations due to the unusual strong afternoon finish.

A good day on the water as I covered a lot of ground which is pretty normal for my strip mine trips.  I’ve always enjoyed hopping around the collection of modest sized waters that I have at my disposal.  An hour or two on most of these fishing holes is plenty to make the rounds to my spots and then it’s time for a change of scenery to do it all over again.  Look forward to doing it again soon.  Talk to you later. Troy

Pond Reports 5/27 & 5/29

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Memorial Day weekend provided great weather and a great opportunity to get our young anglers out casting.  Two trips with one a smashing success and the other not so much but always interesting with this bunch.

Stats

Date: May 27 and 29, 2017
Location: Henry County, IL pond and Butterworth Park, East Moline, IL
Totals: 5/27 (Jayce & Zac) = 14 bass, 1 green sunfish
5/29 (Carly & Jayce) = 1 bass, 1 green sunfish
Bait: Waxworms on jighead with slip bobbers
Top Bass: 0-11 (two different bass for Jayce and Zac)
Top 5 Weight: 3-2 (0-11,0-11,0-10,0-10,0-8)

Top Bass tie 0-11                                                 Family record green sunfish 0-13 (dropped in parking lot)

Notes and Nonsense

Waxworms – I ended my “Resolution – Kid Fishing” post last month with a word of warning to waxworms and bluegills.  Well, the bluegills dodged a bullet this time but the waxworms got a workout.  Duh, they’re bait, right?  On the guys’ trip they were also “sacrificed over a cliff”, given out as a snack to several bass prior to releasing the catch, impaled on each barb of the two treble hooks on a crankbait and launched into the lake with Zac explaining that they “needed a bath.”

Fun with waxworms, not for waxworms                                       Jayce wanted to cast this setup but we did not

Borrowing my shades                              Destroying my pliers                                                Did not feed this guy waxworms

Quote of the day (5/27): “Guess what, Dad?  We caught more fish than you, that means we can’t go fishing with you for a long time…that’s what Mom said.” – Jayce (Note: Julie has outfished me, I did say that once and we did go fishing together again several years later.)

Retro Rod and Reel – An added highlight from the guys’ trip was Jayce reeling ‘em in with the first rod and reel combo I called my own.  This setup dates back to 1984 as prior to receiving it as a 17th birthday gift I utilized whatever Dad had in the shed.  It faded from use once I turned into a bass fisherman but still worked just fine over 30 years later for another Jackson boy.

“Shoulda been here yesterday” – A favorite fishing quote tells it like it happens sometimes as Carly learned upon joining up for Round Two at the fishing hole.  Me and Jayce laid it on pretty thick after the success of our initial outing, and honestly, I was feeling quite confident of a repeat performance.  One fish apiece for this pair in about an hour and they’d had enough, pushing to try our luck elsewhere which was even more disappointing at Butterwoth Park with zero bites.  No matter how long you’ve chased fish you are gonna run into days where you can’t fool them.  Just another lesson in the learning process.

Carly first bass                                                   Jayce green sunfish master

One of the most important skills to teach your co-anglers (Hint: make it seem fun)

Great to get the kids out even though it wound up with a tough finish.  Interestingly, it also started a bit rough when Jayce and I hit the local Walmart to pick up our waxworms. As the checkout lady was ringing up Jayce’s bait she says, “So, you and grandpa going fishing?”

Nah, I just made that one up, didn’t really happen.  Chronologically quite feasible but just hoping that adventures like these fishing outings will continue to keep me young.  Talk to you later.  Troy

Strip Mine Report 5/13

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Got my first May fishing trip in the log last weekend. As usual I faced the dilemma of which location(s) to hit and in the end my choices were both hit and miss.


6:56am First bass 13″ 0-15 Senko , quick results, will the success continue?

Stats
Date: May 13, 2017
Locations: Little John (private) and IRAP (public)-Knox Co.
Time: 6:45am-12:05pm (4 hours fishing, the rest walking/relocating)
Weather: Sunny/calm-windy
Air Temp: 55F-75F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 17 bass
Lures:
Senko weighted wacky rig (green pumpkin/black flake) – 15 bass
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
3/8 oz. Fish Head Underspin (white) with 4” Keitech Swing Impact (electric shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-5 Senko
Weight (only 4 at 12″ or better): 6-11 (3-5,1-9,0-15,0-14)


8:20am 12.5″ 0-14, only buzzbait bass as I cannot replicate the late April buzzbait bite

Notes & Nonsense

Rough Start – I wound up making my first cast about 45 minutes later than expected. Reason one was my fault as 4:30am didn’t work out and it was rise and shine at about 5:00am instead. Reason two was a road block on my normal route causing an off the beaten path, guesstimate of a re-route that worked out relatively effectively but still caused an unexpected delay. And then once I got on the water at Little John Conservation Club I could only manage four bass in a couple hours of casting.

IRAP Saves the Day – I figured things could only get better with a change of scenery so I headed to the IRAP ground east of Victoria, IL and was rewarded with thirteen bass in an hour and a half, twelve coming from one lake in only 45 minutes of fishing. Several were on back to back casts and even logged two within the same minute (10:36am). The downside of this dozen was that only one topped 11” but at least the oddball of the bunch was a pretty good one.


10:41am Top Bass 17.5″ 3-5 Senko, same lake where I fooled a 3-6 on April 8. May have to do some forensic photo analysis to see if it’s the same fish. Actually have some stories like that stashed away for another day.

Top Bass – The feeding frenzy noted above featured eight bass in ten minutes all while standing on one spot on the bank. As the fish were all between 7.5”-10” I was on the verge of relocating to another lake in search of a bigger bite. Before doing so, however, I changed the direction of my casting a bit further down the bank to my right and was immediately rewarded with a heavier bite resulting in Top Bass for the day at 3-5. Hoping to duplicate my success I later moved a bit farther down the bank but wasn’t meant to be as I only fooled three more dinks.


11:40am 15″ 1-9 Underspin, turned out to be my last bite as the final chapter of this trip did not work out as planned (see next photo and paragraph).


Mautino State Fish & Wildlife Area – much needed project but sure never saw it coming.

Rough Finish – IRAP features at least a couple dozen walk-in only lakes and after hitting two of my favorites I wavered on hiking deeper into the ground which would mean a longer walk back to the truck, tough call. After logging over five tiring miles on my previous visit I decided against the extra exercise and opted to drive to Mautino State Fish and Wildlife Area about 40 minutes to the northeast where I could finish my day casting from the boat. Just my luck, the gate was closed just past the first lake on the site prohibiting access to my best spots so I decided to just call it a day. Much needed road repair looks to be the reason and I sure hope they are actually in the process of doing the job and not just planning it. The road sure wasn’t going to get any worse so I’m gonna be a little angry if they drag their feet and lock me out while nothing improves. But this is Illinois, not holding my breath…

May gets kind of crazy so not sure if I will get back on the water before we head into school break and the unofficial start of summer. However, I have been known to find some other rambles to fill blog space even if I’m not fishing. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report 4/8

Posted on by Troy Jackson

While a pair of March trips were able to fill out my Top Five, with a lunker to anchor my limit, it still left plenty of room for improvement as the other four in my creel were all under two pounds.  During my first April day on the water I was fortunate to displace a couple of those fish and fool a decent quantity as well.  It took some legwork to do it, here’s the rest of the story.

Stats
Date: April 8, 2017
Locations: Private pond and IRAP public strip pits-Knox Co. (7 lakes)
Time: 8:00am-9:00am and 10:45am-5:20pm (IRAP = 5.00 hrs. fishing the rest walking)
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Air Temp: 45F-72F
Water Temp: 53-58F
Totals: 24 bass
Lures:
Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with twin tail trailer (salt & pepper) – 13 bass
3/8 oz. Strike King Rattlin’ Jig (black/blue) with #11 pork frog (black) – 7 bass
Chatterbait (bluegill) with swimbait trailer (watermelon) – 1 bass
KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (sexy ghost minnow) – 1 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass
3/8 oz. Fish Head Underspin (white) with 4” Keitech Swing Impact (electric shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-6 Jig & Pig
Top 5 Weight: 10-0 (3-6,2-1,1-12,1-8,1-5)


8:01am First bass of the day, one minute into casting and first ever Underspin bass, nothing particularly impressive but a good start to what would be a good day.

Notes & Nonsense

Work Pond – First stop was a pond that I was given access to through my employer.  I knew the pothole existed at one of the plant locations but never gave it much thought in terms of fish or fishing.  One hour to start the day with temps in the 40’s produced four short bass (Jig & pig -2 bass, Underspin – 1, Chatterbait – 1) and a visit from a regular who informed of a fish kill a couple years ago that wiped out the quality bass (up to six pounds).  Oh well, cool to fish new water, got my first underspin bass and likely will come back again as the water warms and the surviving residents get more active.

11:58am 16” 2-1 Spinnerbait, eventual runner-up for the day’s Top Bass

12:58pm Top Bass 18” 3-6 Jig & pig, caught early enough in the day that I was able to assume the catcher’s stance for a pic and not need help getting back up.

1:44pm 16” 1-12 Jig & pig

IRAP – Next stop was some public access Knox County strip pits accessible via the Illinois Recreational Access Program which I have taken advantage of dating back to 2013 with solid results.  Walk-in only access is a double edged sword at the site.  On the upside, it offers off the beaten path angling and a stick and jab approach with numerous potholes; no bites in fifteen minutes or so, move on to the next body of water.  The downside is the fact that my iPhone Health app recorded a total walking distance of 5.2 miles from 10:19am when I left my truck until 5:50pm when I got back (13,365 steps, by the way, for any Fitbit fans out there).  And this ain’t some leisurely stroll around the neighborhood as undeveloped strip mine terrain pretty much stinks.  Last fall I performed a similar stunt and wasn’t sure I wanted to pull it again.  However, as I surmised, an early season trip is much more user friendly as the weeds are manageable (both terrestrial and aquatic) and no mosquitoes yet compared to the previous outing where I darn near needed a transfusion.

 

So you wanna do the walk-in only access thing?  And that’s only covering seven of the couple dozen possible fishing holes.  That “Flights Climbed” thing gives me a chuckle too, sure would be nice if some of those strip pit banks indeed had stairs.

Weather – Though I wound up a bit sore, bank fishing was definitely the right choice on this day as the wind was howling out of the south and would have been a bear to deal with in a little johnboat.  In addition, the recent heavy rains in the area had really pumped up the lakes to a fuller pool than I have ever seen before.  Even so, they were not muddied up and with the wind chop on the surface and the windblown banks being riled up it really made for some favorable conditions.  If there was anything that was less than optimal it was a lack of cloud cover but after barely seeing the sun in early April, no complaint, I can deal with it.

Textbook Success – Top Bass came in a classic spot on my first cast after relocating to IRAP fishing hole number three.  This narrow cut/pothole runs north to south meaning that on this day the wind was just pounding a ledge on the north end that drops pretty rapidly from about two feet into ten plus.  My jig and pig offering was met with a telltale tick after a couple hops down the drop and the result was a 3-6 with an impressive well-fed gut.  Pretty cool when it works like that but I will also admit that during the course of the day there were many other similar, can’t miss setups that just didn’t pan out despite considerable effort.  Runner up Top Bass at 2-1, however, did show up in a windblown chute on a spinnerbait after the jig and the underspin proved ineffective.  Lesson here is that if you think a spot sets up to hold a fish give it a variety of offerings before giving up.

1:52pm 14” 1-8 Spinnerbait – Always fun trying to get a shot of the catch on a regular camera instead of a selfie in the crazy terrain.

2:16pm 14” 1-5 Spinnerbait rounds out my Top 5 for the day

A productive day on the water and what a nice day to be outside. I’d waited all the way since February for this one, kind of a weird year.  Between the sun and wind I even wound up looking like a real bass fisherman with a burnt nose, cheeks and neck combined with pale eyes and forehead.  When it was all said and done, my back put up some protest regarding my habit of hauling too much tackle and one knee was a bit stiff but overall I was pleased with my ability to successfully pull off this stunt one more time.  Might just have to do it again…today. Report to come.  Talk to you later.  Troy

 

 

Strip Mine Report 3/26

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Today’s posting is the second of three catch up fishing reports to get things up to speed while I await my next outing (maybe this weekend).  As reported last week, my initial 2017 outing on March 4 produced only one bite but it was a good one to kick off the year and my Top 5 at just over six pounds.  For trip two I was looking to fill my Top 5 and hoping to fool a few more big ones.

Stats
Date: March 26, 2017
Location: Little John Cons. Club/Snakeden Hollow
Time: 10:15am-1:15pm/2:15pm-3:45pm
Weather: Overcast/windy/occasional drizzle
Air Temp: 52F
Water Temp: 51-52F
Totals: 6 bass, 1 crappie
Lures
Jig & Pig (black/blue) with #11 pork frog (black/blue) – 4 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Ned Rig (electric shad) – 1 bass
3/8 oz. Underspin (white) with 4” Keitech Swing Impact trailer (electric shad) – 1 crappie
Top Bass: 1-15 Strike King Red Eye Shad
Top 5 Weight: 7-7 (1-15,1-12,1-10,1-3,0-15)

10:36 am First bass, Top 5 entry #2, 15.5” 1-12 Jig & pig

11:57am Top 5 entry #3 15.5” 1-10 Jig & pig

12:10pm Top Bass, Top 5 entry #4 16” 1-15 Lipless Crankbait

Notes & Nonsense

Conditions – While the forecast looked halfway decent when checking the weather on the previous night, it never quite lived up to the prediction.  Instead, it wound up cooler, windier and wetter than what was offered up by those in the know.  Fortunately, the drizzle never amounted to enough to actually get wet, I packed an anchor to beat the wind and I never lost feeling in my fingers despite hauling that anchor up at least half a dozen times.  A handful of decent bass always make the weather better as well.

First Stop – Not surprisingly, I started my morning at the Little John lake where I landed my lunker to kick off 2017.  Interior road conditions were iffy and water clarity was more stained than usual so it seemed that the area had received a fair amount of rain.  Apparently the rain originally slated for my neighborhood wound up materializing more to the south, which is just fine, regardless of what it does to my fishing holes.  No heavyweights to report on this day but quite pleased with my haul of four solid bass to fill out my Top 5 as well as a bonus crappie as the first fish ever landed on an Underspin lure.

11:25am Bonus 11” crappie, first fish to fall to an Underspin lure

Second Stop – After a lap around my starting point I drove by a couple other Little John fishing holes and found the water clarity left a bit to be desired so I elected to head for a pair of early season Snakeden producers that are reliably clearer.  These spots that I refer to as The Craters were the sites for my first bass each year from 2012-2014, the latter of which was the last time I had paid a visit to these fishing holes.  These are walk-in spots with the upside that they do not lie far off the beaten path so just right for having about an hour and a half left of my fishing day.  The downside is there are only about half a dozen spots where an angler can get close enough to the water to cast and even then you’ve got to watch out for weeds and branches as you load up to cast, suits a spinning rig much better than a baitcaster in most spots. Anyway, two of my spots gave up a bass, both in pretty cool fashion as described in the final two notes to follow.

Consider, Commit, Caught – My first Snakeden catch came on the North Crater after I cast my jig and pig as best I could in the limited casting space out beyond some overhanging bushes.  I had worked the lure most of the way back when I spied a decent bass cruising just under the surface pretty much directly over my jig which remained out of view in deeper water.  Concealed by a barrier of cattails in front of me I gently gave the jig a few small twitches and saw the bass turn as if considering lunch.  Another light twitch brought my jig into view in about 4’ of water and the bass nosed down to take a look.  One more short drag of the jig talked the bass into committing as I watched my line and the fish move off to my left.  A hookset confirmed that the jig was also moving along with the fish and I wound up with a pretty cool catch.

Ned Rig – 1/16 oz. Arkie DeD Stand-Up Finesse Head (green pumpkin) with the tail end of a beat up Senko for a body (electric shad).  A bit of contrast in the colors but the only damaged Senko I had and too cheap to rip up a new one.  It is a cool concept though to get some more mileage out of the Senkos as they typically rip in the middle leaving the end in good shape for this rig.  In addition, I purchased some cheaper knockoff wacky style worms for this purpose but accidentally forgot to pack them, maybe next time.

Meet Ned – I’ve been reading the magazines and viewing some internet videos that give high marks to an unassuming setup called the “Ned Rig” (named for the fellow who made it popular).  As shown above, Ned cracked the starting lineup today and came through as what I would call a follow-up bait, kind of like a pinch hitter or pinch runner, I suppose (Manny Mota or Herb Washington, perhaps).  Originally, I had worked a jig along a laydown and had a bass follow up until the point that I was running out of water a couple feet shy of the bank.  The fish seemed to lose interest and disappeared back into deeper water out of sight.  However, I suspected that he was still around as a possible Ned candidate.  I left my jig in the water as is customary when not using in order to keep the pig moist and cast Ned well beyond where I estimated my target was looming.  Letting the rig settle to the bottom I slowly began to drag it back and right on cue got the bite where it was supposed to be.  Only an 11” bass (smallest of the day) but first on the Ned Rig and always a treat when the bass make you look like you know what you are doing.

12:31pm Top 5 complete 14” 1-3 Jig & pig

3:21pm 12.5” 0-15 Jig & pig, no boost to the Top 5 but a fun catch and about as close to sight fishing as I get as detailed above.  The surroundings also give a bit of a feel for the somewhat confined casting space on the bulk of the North Crater.

A good day on the water in my estimation and while no early season lunkers got fooled I was certainly happy to land some quality fish to complete my Top 5.  Of course, plenty of room for improvement with my second largest bass at 1-15, but that’s all part of the fun as the year progresses.  Think about it, who would want go out and catch a limit of five-pounders the first time out and then struggle the rest of the year to boost your weight?

Well, maybe…

This outing wrapped up my March fishing and it was a couple weeks until I got to take shot number three at the bass.  Got that report headed your way tomorrow to get us all caught up for the year.  Talk to you later.  Troy