Category: Fishing Reports

Hennepin Canal Report – July 15

Posted on by Troy Jackson

For this trip, I set my sights on a lengthy stretch that was quite weed choked back on May 30 when I made a thirty-minute stop for an exploratory hike. This time around, I opted for biking over hiking to cover the entire stretch. My aim was to find the froggiest looking spots among the near solid weed cover and clean house with my recently purchased Spro Flapppin Frog. Well, it is always good to have a backup plan as detailed below.

7:41pm – First bass after nearly two hours of fishing

Stats
Date: July 15
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:50pm-8:20pm
Totals: 2 bass
Weather: Hazy/calm, 82F
Lures: 7.5” Yum Ribbontail Worm (plum) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 2-8 Plastic Worm
Top 1 Weight (only 1 at 12” or better): 2-8

Winning Lure

Notes and Nonsense

Frog Fail – Riding high after a July 2 frog catch on another stretch of The Canal, I was all in on prospecting a potentially productive pool. However, I was disappointed as the only action was a green sunfish popping my frog at my feet in a narrow stretch of open water between the bank and an extensive weed mat. The pool was much shallower than I anticipated, and everything looked the same; darn near bank to bank weed cover. I hit areas where there were open pockets, weeds mixed with wood, channels along the riprap bank, and any other variations among the vegetation. That’s a solid approach, right? Look for something different or a combination of cover in otherwise identical looking water. Well, it sure didn’t work for me on this outing. And while you may suggest looking for deeper water adjacent to the surface weed cover, on this stretch the only choices were shallow and shallower.

Looked like Frog City but I couldn’t buy a bite

Plan B – Having reached the end of my initial stretch of water after ninety minutes without a bite, I was left with only about thirty minutes to fish. This prompted a decision to take a stab at the next pool rather than fishing my way back through the unproductive water. This also meant a change of tactics as the lock featured a deep pool with limited weed cover along the banks. Cue the Texas-rigged worm cast to the weed edges which resulted in two bass, one other lost after a brief battle, and a couple short strikes. While I was quite happy to avoid the embarrassing shutout, I also kicked myself for not bailing on the first pool earlier. But that’s how fishing goes. Take your hindsight, file it away, and draw upon it in the future.

8:00pm – Top Bass at 2-8 (16.5″) on a Texas rigged worm

Final Bite – I figured that my Texas rig catches would be my last bites, but it turned out that I was wrong. As I rode my bike back along the towpath to the truck, one of my fingers suddenly felt like it was on fire. Glancing down, I spotted the business end of a bee stuck in my finger. I stopped the bike, flicked the bee off, and then had to brush the stringer out. Been a while since I got stung and it was just an unfortunate situation for the bee that we collided as we were both zipping along just minding our own business.

Although the catching was lacking, the learning continues. And before the summer is out, I intend to put the lessons learned on this outing to work. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – July 2

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I had only thrown my boat in The Canal a couple times in the last six weeks, spending more time walking and exploring on several occasions instead. With a few late afternoon hours to spare on this day I decided to pack up the boat and hit a stretch that I had yet to visit in 2023. Between extremely low water levels and abundant surface vegetation, the spot hadn’t been on my list. But there’s bass all along The Canal and it was time to give it a shot.

3:57pm – Top Bass at 0-15 and the only “keeper” of the afternoon

Stats
Date: July 2
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 2:30pm-4:45pm
Totals: 8 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 79F
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (white) – 5 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 2 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 0-15 Buzzbait
Top 1 Weight (only 1 at 12” or better): 0-15 (0-15)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

3:46pm – Got the frog bass that I have been seeking

Monkey (or Frog) Off My Back – The struggle is over as I finally get a frog bass in the log from The Canal for 2023. If you have read my prior Canal reports, you are aware that I just don’t have the touch with a topwater frog on a waterway custom-made for such an approach. However, I think I found a frog that gives me some confidence and a catch sure helps out. The Spro Flappin Frog caught my eye at an area baitshop as I picked up three repaired rods a couple of weeks ago. The flapping legs were what I was looking for to cause more commotion than the living rubber strands on the frogs that I had been throwing. The frog also turned out to be thicker skinned, giving it a bit more heft for casting. The short bass ended up tearing the guts out through the belly of the frog, but it all went back together with no noticeable damage. One bass down and hopefully more (and bigger) to come.

The frog took a beating on its lone bite but no worse for wear after reassembly

Compliment of the Day – A fellow was riding his bike along the towpath as I began my afternoon, and we chatted as he made a brief stop. On his return, he stopped a ways ahead of where I was slowly drifting down The Canal firing away with my buzzbait. As luck would have it, I hooked a bass in his direction while he observed. While it happened to be the biggest bass of the trip, that wasn’t saying a whole lot. However, the biker was evidently impressed by my approach and catch as he offered up, “You really look like you know what you are doing.” I thanked him and related that I’ve had plenty of practice. The solitude that most of my fishing offers is good for the mind but I will admit that it is kind of fun when you catch one while somebody is watching.

A timely strike can make it look like “you know what you are doing.”

Not a whole lot more to report on this outing as I couldn’t muster up any quality bites. Enough to “keep me interested” but “nothing to write home about” as the old sayings go. But there’s always a report to pass along. Got a couple more in the works and a Top 5 Update coming your way tomorrow. Talk to you later. Troy

Twenty Year Trip – June 30

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Pre-casting predictions

To end June, I took a half day off work to visit an old fishing hole with a longtime fishing partner. The significance of the trip taking place on June 30, is that it would mark twenty years to the day since the last time I made a cast on these waters. The name of the West Central Illinois public water will remain a mystery for now. If the backdrop in the pictures and clips look familiar, perhaps you already know. Read on for the results and notes.

June 30, 2003 – twenty years since my last visit to this fishing hole

Stats
Date: June 30, 2023
Location: West Central Illinois public water
Time: 2:50pm-8:50pm
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy
Air Temp: 85-65F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 19 bass (Brent – 11, Troy – 8)
Lures (Troy): 5” Yamasenko wacky rig weighted (natural shad) – 5 bass, 7.5” Yum Ribbontail Worm (plum) – 3 bass
Lures (Brent): Senko or Yum Dinger wacky rig – 6 bass, Mann’s Chug-N-Spit Popper – 5 bass 
Top Bass: 3-2 Plastic Worm (Troy)
Top 5 Weight: 12-2 (3-2,2-10,2-10,2-4,1-8)

7:03pm – Top Bass at 3-2 (18.5″) on plastic worm

Notes and Nonsense

Background – I fished in these waters as far back as the late 1980s and as noted in the intro, my last visit was June 30, 2003. Fast forward to a discussion with my friend and fellow Top 5 angler, John Kirkemo a couple of years ago where the location came up as a suggested destination. Lucky for me, John took a scouting trip or two and provided impressive feedback including a 15-11 Top 5 (4-2,3-5,2-14,2-11,2-11) from June 13, 2022. My personal Top 5 covering data from May 4, 1989, through June 30, 2003, tipped the scales at 10-1 with a Top Bass of 3-8.

Winning Lures

Texas Rig – Two and a half hours into our outing, Brent and I had nine bass in the log, all on a Senko wacky rig. However, only two were “keepers” for a combined weight of 3-7 (2-10,0-13). At that point, I elected to add a Texas-rigged worm to my presentations, a setup that was a mainstay in my arsenal in the 1980s and 1990s. For various reasons, I moved away from such a presentation, primarily using creature type baits for Texas-rigged setups, and relying heavily on a Senko wacky rig as my plastic worm approach. Upon making the change, I was able to end a drought of over an hour without a bite in landing a 2-4 on my Yum Ribbontail worm. The Top Bass of the trip would later fall to the same lure, weighing 3-2 and landed at just after 7:00pm.

7:55pm – Vintage Chug-N-Spit still gets the job done at 2-10 (18″)

Chug-N-Spit – While my worm presentation represented an old school technique that I have neglected for many years, Brent did me one better with one of his choices. A Texas-rigged worm is no rarity among anglers, but I suspect that Brent’s old Mann’s Chug-N-Spit topwater popper is not a mainstay in very many tackleboxes. Not because it doesn’t work, but more because it may qualify as an antique and is no longer on the market. A quick internet search did not produce any details on the sales life of the Chug-N-Spit but when referred to as “vintage” among the search results, it is an oldie.

Fellow Fisher – The belted kingfisher is a cool bird in appearance, call, and habit. If you hang around the water long enough, you will encounter these birds that make a living out of fishing. Sometimes they give themselves away with their rattling call while other times you may spot them first on a shoreline dead limb surveying the fishing hole. Even better is when you observe one swooping down and grabbing a meal with a splash. Well, we heard and saw all the above in addition to a new kingfisher trick, swooping down on a lure. As shown in the video clip below, luck was on our side as the kingfisher opted not to nab Brent’s lure, allowing our intended quarry to get the Chug-N-Spit instead.

 

Guessing Game – For several years, when I get together with Brent or a few other anglers for a full day of fishing, I solicit predictions prior to making our first casts. Most spots where we are fishing, there is some history behind our guesses. But on this spot we had only John Kirkemo’s input as we had not been on the water for twenty years. John’s Top 5 day of 15-11 was a tall order and our predictions reflected such with Brent guessing 8-7 while I was a little more optimistic with my 12-13 guesstimation. We also post our guesses for overall Top Bass and a combined catch total. When all was said and done, Brent came closest on Top Bass and Total Bass while I took the Top 5 prediction.

Final Results

 

It’s tough to beat a day on the water with my brother and even better when there is a little something extra with the Twenty Year Anniversary aspect. Once again, a big thank you to John Kirkemo for the incentive to get on the water. Add a pat on the back to me for coming up with the idea to revisit on the twentieth anniversary of my last casts on the water. Throw in a thumbs up to Brent, me, and our employers for time away from work. Finally, a nod to the bass for cooperating and the IDNR for their efforts in restoring a lake that has experienced population challenges over the years. Glad we were able to take our shot and suspect that I won’t wait another twenty years before I try it again. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report II – June 24

Posted on by Troy Jackson

While at a family lunch get together, my brother, Brent, and I cooked up a plan for an evening fishing trip. I’d already spent four and a half hours on the water to begin the day but there’s no such thing as too much fishing. So, off we headed to Little John Conservation Club with just over two hours on the clock to fish.

8:18pm – Top Bass at 2-0 (16″) on a Senko

Stats
Date: June 24, 2023
Location: Little John Conservation Club (2 lakes)
Time: 6:40pm-8:50pm (2.00 hours fishing)
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy
Air Temp: 91-85F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 8 bass (Troy -5, Brent – 3)
Lures (Troy): 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 3 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (white) – 2 bass
Lures (Brent): 5” Yamamoto Senko wacky rig – 2 bass, Mann’s Ghost topwater (chartreuse) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-0 (Brent)
Top 5 Weight: 7-5 (2-0,1-11,1-8,1-1,1-1)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Guiding The Ghost – The clip below features Brent fooling his Top Bass of the outing at 1-11 on a hollow bodied topwater lure known as The Ghost from Mann’s Bait Company. The lure itself deserves a story but for now that aspect will reside in the “one of these days” files. Obviously, Brent knows what he is doing but, in this case, as I was on rowing duty, I positioned the boat and said, “Maybe hit that other pocket…” A missed strike and a follow-up cast later he had a bass. So, it appears that while I cannot physically land a bass on a frog type lure myself, I can guide others to a catch. Perhaps I need to comb through my 1980s tackle archives to see if I can find an old Mann’s Ghost before I continue searching for a slop bass bite.

 

Low Water I – The dry year has had a noticeable effect on the smaller bodies of water that I fish. Former shallows are now nearly devoid of water and areas that once held a few feet of water have become solid weed mats, humps are exposed, and underwater points are shoreline. While such conditions dictate shifting gears from tried-and-true areas and presentations, they also afford a chance to learn.

 

Low Water II – As noted above, the low water conditions offer an excellent chance to expand your knowledge of any body of water. If you have access to any ponds or strip pits, this is prime time to get out there and roam as it can provide unprecedented shoreline access. In many instances, ledges and flats are now exposed allowing you to walk around to areas that were once tough to get to or entirely inaccessible. Shoreline cover is laid bare and offshore targets may be revealed. Pull on your boots, jot down notes, shoot pics and videos, try some new presentations, and learn. You cannot predict the weather and never know when you may get such an opportunity again.

 

No big bites but always fun to take a shot at Little John, especially as I had neglected the area completely in 2022 for whatever reasons. In addition, Brent is not a member, so it is good to have him along to try his luck. Not only do I enjoy the company but also having a skilled partner in the boat means an additional lure/presentation in the water. With only a couple of hours of daylight, we did a run and gun with a quick lap around two lakes and managed to find a few. Less than a week later, we were back in the little boat together again. But that’s another fish story. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report I – June 24

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A return trip to a public strip pit that had produced very well in May, found the water in a late spring/early summer aquatic vegetation boom. Combined with other conditions described below, this made for some trial and error to find a winning presentation. Read on for a morning on the water that I refer to as “work harder, feel smarter.”

7:46am – Top Bass at 3-2 (18.5″) on a Senko wacky rig

Winning pattern – read on for the details

Stats
Date: June 24
Location: Knox County public strip mine
Time: 5:40am-10:10am
Totals: 10 bass, 1 bluegill
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Lure: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 10 bass, 1 bluegill
Top Bass: 3-2 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 13-5 (3-2,2-12,2-11,2-6,2-6)

 

Notes and Nonsense

Plan A (Topwater) – With an hour drive, it is tough for me to get on the water before sunup this time of the year, even when I get up at 3:43am. The bright sunny morning did not provide a prime window for an early bite, but I am stubborn, and force fed the bass an offering of a buzzbait, Whopper Plopper, Pop R, and frog, anyway. Some days you can still get a few in these conditions early or late but on this day, I could not muster a single strike.

Plan B (Texas rigged plastics) – In the early 1980s when I first started thinking I was a bass fisherman, I used to throw a lot of Texas rigged plastic worms. As time moved on, I also added plastic creature type baits to my arsenal. Nowadays, I hardly ever slow down unless the fish ignore my faster, noisier presentations such as the topwater approach in Plan A. Well, the bass were not interested in Plan B either, so what to do next?

Plan C (Senko wacky rig) – The lake that I was fishing was roughly 75% covered in surface vegetation. Among that weedy percentage, close to half of it was too shallow as the water level was low from our lack of rain. Now, it doesn’t take much water to hold a bass, but their backs would have been getting sunburn in these shallows. To complicate matters further, about 50% of the deeper, open water areas were stained with an ugly brown tint. As the morning unfolded, I found a few in the ugly water before resorting to finding larger bass in smaller, open pockets with clearer water. These open pockets ranged in size from smaller than the on-deck circle to maybe as big as the free throw lane. Such a tactic would produce all ten of my catches and I visually observed several of the bass dart out of the peripheral walls of weeds to grab the Senko.

With the bass in the weeds, some catches come aboard with “salad”

 

So, what can be learned from today’s fish story? For starters, the bass will tell you what they want, or don’t. On those fortunate days when you and the bass are in synch, you can stick to your approach and reel them in until the fish change moods. Such days make you feel smart. But it’s the days when I must work a little harder that make me feel smarter. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 20

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Courtesy of a couple vacation days, I found myself making some casts on The Canal for the fifth consecutive day. The stretch that I chose had been on my list since I started fishing the waterway two years ago. I’d seen positive reports from a skilled angler on social media over the years, but he also reported that sometimes the spot can be hit or miss. I found it to be a miss and as a result spent vastly more time exploring than fishing before the long day was over. Excuses, stats, and notes below.

9:56am – Top Bass at 2-4 (18″) on a spinnerbait

Stats
Date: June 20
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:05am-8:50am
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy, 58-80F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with a BPS XPS double tail grub trailer (gold shad) –3 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 Spinnerbait
Top 3 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 4-10 (2-4,1-7,0-15)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Water Conditions – We use a saying around home that “you get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.” And that summed up my mindset upon seeing the dingy water clarity and abundance of nasty, unhealthy looking surface weeds. But I was there and determined to take my shot at fooling a Top 5. I came up short on that goal as I only managed to fool four bass with three being keepers. A late 2-4 kind of saved the day but I still have some work to do which would require a return trip. If/when I do, it would likely be earlier in the year before the weeds get bad. As far as a fall revisit, I understand that floating leaves make for a hassle.

 

Frog Saga – The frog futility continues as I had three blowups on the topwater presentation with zero hookups. I even followed up one strike with my “can’t miss” Senko offering and came up empty. I do believe that I may be cursed.

Exploring – My initial thought after struggling on The Canal was to visit the nearby Mautino State Fish & Wildlife Area. However, bright sun and hot temps pushed me to do some on the road exploring for future options on the water. Before the day was done, I had driven the entire stretch of The Canal to the furthest east access I could find at Lock 2 in Bureau Junction. But I wasn’t finished yet. Just across the Illinois River lay a place called “Hennepin-Hopper” (aka the Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge). I’ve seen and read many fish stories about the area and was enthused to see it with my own eyes. I anticipated it being weedy based on past reports, but I wasn’t quite prepared for the vast expanse of lilypads that lay before me as I stood at the ramp. Maybe someday, but not looking like in the summer.

While not much of a fish story from the time on the water, my drive and walk tour of unexplored stretches of The Canal was enjoyable. I made notes and took pics and video for future reference as it looks like there are plenty of fish stories just waiting out there off the beaten path. Maybe someday, but for now one more report to post from the Knox County strip mines, hoping for a fishing hole reunion tomorrow, and plenty of stats and recaps to come. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Family Fishing Report

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A Father’s Day weekend camping trip along The Canal offered an opportunity to get the family out for a couple hikes on Friday and Saturday evenings in search of some bites. It turns out that we had such a good time that we went exploring one more time on Sunday evening after wrapping up our camping trip. Read on for the stats, notes, and video.

June 17 evening outing with the boys

 

Stats
Date: June 16-18
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5.50 hours total
Totals: 13 bass, 24 panfish (22 bluegill, 1 pumpkinseed, 1 warmouth)
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 64-82F
Lures: Bass – Senko/Yum Dinger wacky rig, Panfish – waxworms on jighead and slip bobber
Top Bass: 2-13 Senko (Carly)
Top 5 Weight: 6-13 (2-13,1-3,1-2,0-14,0-13)

Waxworms on a slip bobber setup is a favorite panfish rig

Wacky rigged worms are a great fit for young (and not so young) anglers

Family Top 5 and totals from the weekend

 

Notes and Nonsense

Field Testing – If you are introducing kids to bass fishing, it is hard to beat a wacky rigged worm once the water warms up. It is easy to cast on a spinning setup, has only one hook, requires minimal retrieve action, and flat out catches fish. I favor the 5” Yamamoto Senko but also opted for some Yum Dingers for the kids as they are cheaper, and I anticipated a few presentations ending up in trees or not coming back from various underwater obstructions. The Yum Dingers did just fine.

June 17 family fishing evening

 

Restock – After a Saturday evening trip resulted in a couple lost Senko setups, I found that I needed to replenish my hooks. Prior to our Sunday evening trip, I grabbed another pack of fifteen hooks from a local fishing aisle. Well, by the end of our Sunday evening, many of those new hooks had also been “donated” to The Canal. A learning experience and good practice as prowling the banks of The Canal can present some casting and retrieving challenges.

Advanced “scouting” and playing fishing guide can be workout.

Exercise – As noted in the screenshot above, I got a workout on Sunday. Early morning was a solo walk on The Canal followed by more steps as we packed up at the campsite. Next was a walk through the local fishing aisle in search of more hooks and some Yum Dingers. Finally, I played fishing guide on our evening stop along The Canal. Those final couple hours featured numerous steps between the five anglers dishing out waxworms, assisting with an occasional cast or advice, retying after snags, logging catches, shooting pictures/video, and other associated tasks. I never reeled in a fish or even made a cast of my own and that was just fine.

Screenshot from Carly’s Top Bass catch (2-13). Negotiations are ongoing on whether she will let me post the full video…

Wrap-up – Everyone landed a handful of fish over the course of the weekend. Helena got us started with the first catches on both Saturday and Sunday. Carly was the Bassmaster on Saturday with five catches and Top Bass of the trip. Jayce posted a Top 5 bass among his catches. Zac also posted a Top 5 bass and tied Carly for the species title at three. Mom also posted a Top 5 catch along with several panfish while being part-time guide and pointing me to a couple bass that she saw or heard near her fishing spot.

June 18 family fishing evening

 

The Father’s Day weekend fishing adventure drew to a close as dusk approached on Sunday. But family time continued with a silly ride, Casey’s pizza pickup on the way home, and opening some gifts. It was a great weekend that kicked off with camping and some casting on Friday around 4:00pm and concluded with those final slices of pizza near 10:00pm on Sunday. And the cool thing was that everybody was still laughing and getting along after hanging out all weekend. As a dad, I couldn’t ask for more. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 19

Posted on by Troy Jackson

The new water theme continued as I took another shot at establishing a Top 5 on a stretch of The Canal I had only seen when iced over. Back on New Year’s Day, I took a walk along this portion, and it looked to contain some appealing wood structure along its length. Of course, things look a lot different in June than in January, primarily aquatic vegetation. Read on to see if I was able to coax out any bites.

 

Stats
Date: June 19
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:50am-11:20am
Totals: 9 bass, 1 green sunfish
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 64-82F
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 5 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (watermelon cream laminate) – 3 bass, Berkley Power Blade Spinnerbait (coleslaw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-14 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 8-2 (1-14,1-11,1-9,1-9,1-7)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Weeds and Wood – If given a choice between weed and wood cover, I would choose wood for reasons that would best be covered in a post of its own. For this outing, however, I had to work a combination of the two types of cover for a few bites. Several fish came off the ends of laydowns or overhanging trees that were lengthy enough to reach the edge of the abundant shoreline weeds. The weapon of choice in these cases was a buzzbait. It is always fun as you anticipate an explosion when the lure nears a suspected ambush point while your mind says, “There should be one right here…”

Buzzbait Pattern Video 

 

Lost and Found – Another lure was added to the collection as I found a topwater frog on a snag along the way. Typically, these discoveries end up in the tacklebag of my oldest boy, Jayce. The Canal has contributed a solid batch of additions to the rest of his gear received over years of birthday and Christmas celebrations. However, the frog tempted me to keep it for myself. You see, me, The Canal, and frog fishing have never seen eye to eye for some reason. As mentioned in a previous post on the blog or social media, I am the self-proclaimed “worst frog angler on The Canal.” I mean, the place is custom made for the presentation and I see plenty of reports of others having success, but I continue to struggle. Thus, I thought that maybe the frog find was an omen, but I have yet to put it to use. I did use one of my own frogs and had a couple blowups but still 0-2023 in landing a bass.

Was this discovery trying to tell me something?

Fatigue – This trip took place on a Monday after an enjoyable Father’s Day weekend camping trip with plenty of fresh air and fishing. Couple that with rising at 4:30am after about five and a half hours of sleep and I was feeling rather beat. As the years roll on, I have begun to find that fatigue has an adverse effect on my fishing, Primarily, I observe this effect in my casting. By virtue of forty plus years of practice, a guy gets pretty accurate with his presentations. But when I am tired, I pull some casts, get lazy and leave others off to the right, and my touch and distance are suspect. The result was catching many more trees, vines, roots, and weeds than normal. It all makes me realize that I am not getting any younger and why the pro tournament trail is mainly a young angler’s game.

I got my Top 5 from this new stretch of The Canal although I came up short of the ten-pound mark at 8-2. The upside of doing a lot of fishing is self-explanatory. The blogging aspect, however, suffers a bit as it can be tough to find time to put together the “fish stories.” One more report down, and a handful to go. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 17 & 18

Posted on by Troy Jackson

During a Father’s Day weekend camping trip, I managed to get away for a few hours while the rest of the crew were sleeping or lounging around the campsite. Turns out that they missed out as I was able to find a handful of cooperative bass as I prowled the bank.

 

Not quite Bigfoot, but a white squirrel is an unusual sighting (plenty of gnats, too)

Stats
Date: June 17 & 18
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 10:30-11:30am & 6:30-8:30am
Totals: 4 bass and 4 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 70-75F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (watermelon cream laminate) – 8 bass
Top Bass: 1-11 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 6-11 (1-11,1-10,1-3,1-2,1-1)

Winning Lure

Notes and Nonsense

Senko Sweep – All eight of the bass I fooled were landed on a Senko wacky rig. Beyond success in casting to appealing targets, a pair of the catches were what I call “spotting.” As I wander from target to target, I keep an eye on the water looking for any cruising bass. If I am fortunate enough to spot my quarry, a Senko pitched in the vicinity is often a winner. I shot videos of such catches over the weekend and intend to post more on the technique in a separate post.

June 17 at 10:56am – Top Bass at 1-11 (16″) on a Senko

Fellow Prowlers – During my walks, I crossed paths with several fellow Canal anglers. Four were boating while another angler was walking (spoke to him three times in two days and had met before). It’s always entertaining to compare notes and I am all ears having only two years of Canal experience on my resume. The main takeaways from the brief conversations were that I was fishing good water and I was tossing productive lures. Plenty of room for improvement though as I am still not worth a darn on my topwater frog approach, and I could stand to slow down with a Texas rigged worm or creature bait.

 

Lots more to come as the family did get out on the water for some quality fishing time. I also invested in a couple vacation days to explore new Canal water in search of an initial Top 5 on those stretches. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – May 29

Posted on by Troy Jackson

The Canal content rolls on as I get caught up on my recent fishing reports. Today’s post covers another May outing on some more new water. This stretch featured some quite dingy water courtesy of countless spawning carp along with sparse, scattered cover amidst a modest batch of shoreline weed mats.

6:52am – First bass and not sure there is confidence in my brother’s reply

7:26am – Second bass, smaller than the last

Stats
Date: May 29
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:25am-10:10am
Totals: 9 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 65-74F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (perch) – 4 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with a BPS XPS double tail grub trailer (Houdini) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-10 Buzzbait  and Senko (tie)
Top 5 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 4-14 (1-10,1-10,1-0,0-10)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Early Bird? – I love to be on the water when it is darn near still dark before sunrise. Well, I didn’t make it on this trip as my first cast splashed down at 6:25am. From there, I proceeded to catch a total of two bass in the first hour and forty minutes. The remaining two plus hours resulted in seven bass. Now, there are many variables in play when assessing my “luck”, but I swear that some days I get up earlier than the fish, even when I have a later arrival than hoped.

8:16am – Top Bass at 1-10 (15.5″) on a buzzbait

Vegetation Variations – I am pondering a topwater frog post or two as therapy for my lack of luck, but I will leave specifics for another time. On this trip, I gave the frog a shot in froggy spots to start the day without a ripple. Therefore, it was on to Plan B. I targeted as many variances as possible in the otherwise identical stretches of weed mats. If there was a pocket, channel, swing, or void, I took my first shot with a power spinnerbait/buzzbait approach and collected a handful of bites. As the sun began to hit the shore full bore, I switched my focus to pitching a wacky rigged Senko around such spots, especially if they combined shade, wood, or shoreline riprap with diminished weed cover. The Senko came through with four bites in forty-five minutes to somewhat save the day.

 

For the second time in four days in this general area of The Canal, I fell one bass short of establishing a Top 5 on my maiden voyage. Like the other stretch, it is unlikely that I will make a return trip anytime soon in search of that fifth bass. Now I am not naïve enough to think that my first impression is a true representation of what the pool has to offer, I just have other new waters seeking a first impression of their own. Talk to you later. Troy