Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Two more bass this week, one each of the primary species. A smallie from north of the border and a largie from…well, you know where if you are a regular reader of the Top 5. If you don’t read this stuff regularly, you really should.

Weight: 1-6
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: September 12
Location: Green Lake, WI
Lure: Shallow running Rapala (black/silver)
Water Temp/Depth: 72F/12-13’
Weather: 70F with bright blue sky
Structure: Open water trolling
Angler Comments: This fish struck a trolled Rapala 15 -20 feet from the shoreline. I fished the lake about four hours a day between September 10 to 12. Tried plastic lures, crankbaits, buzz baits and topwater lures. My best day was Tuesday, September 11 when I had three hits on a trolled small perch colored shad rap. Lost first two fish before landing a 10 inch smallmouth (not worthy of a picture.) One of the lost fish appeared to be a walleye, but threw the hook at the boat before I got a good look. It did not act like a bass. Lame excuses for not doing better: Never fished Green Lake; have seldom fished for smallmouth in lakes; bright blue skies; water a bit too warm. Trip tunes too numerous to mentioned when listening to Siriusxm’s “80s on 8” during a 560 round trip, but “Eye of The Tiger” by Survivor comes to mind.
Top 5 Weight: 8-8 (2-7,2-0,1-9,1-6,1-2) culls 1-1

Weight: 4-4
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: September 16
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Wacky worm
Structure: Shallow pocket in the middle of weeds
Angler Comments: A couple hours fishing this morning netted a 3-5 and this 4-4. Both came from a shallow pocket in the middle of weeds.
Top 5 Weight: 22-5 (5-2,4-9,4-5,4-4,4-1) culls 4-0

Good looking fish fellas, thanks for the continued contributions (and Trip Tune, maybe need to add audio on here for effect with that tune).  Less than a week until fall but still plenty of time to get some good ones as they beef up for you know when, not gonna write it. Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – September 17, 2003

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A solid day on a longtime fishing hole south of Galesburg, Illinois for me and Dad featured a couple interesting and unexpected catches. Both are detailed below in an excerpt from the original report posted to family and friends.

Original log entry from this day on the lake

Date: 9/17/2003
Location: Lake Bracken
Angler(s): Me and Dad
Time: 6:00 am-11:45 am
Bass: 24
Crappie: 3
Bluegill: 4
Channel Catfish: 1
Lures:
Mann’s 4- crankbait (wounded alewife) – 8 bass
Spinnerbait (white) – 5 bass, 1 catfish
Quad Shad Spinnerbait (salt & pepper) – 4 bass
Mann’s 1- crankbait – 1 bass
Twister tail (white or chartreuse) with spinner (gold) – 6 bass, 4 bluegill, 3 crappie
Top Bass: 2-15 Troy – Mann’s 4- crankbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-6 (2-15,1-5,1-4,1-1,0-13)

10:32am Top Bass 18″ 2-15 Mann’s 4- crankbait

Top Lure for the day Mann’s 4- crankbait (wounded alewife pattern, I think)

Between 9:14 and 9:16 am we end up with four bass in the boat at one time although we are practicing catch and release. Along the dam, I hook a small (9″) bass on my Mann’s 4- crankbait (wounded alewife) that falls into the bottom of the boat as I lift it out of the water. Not wanting to waste time trying to find this fish I go ahead and fire another cast. A couple cranks into my retrieve I’ve got another hit and set the hook. About the same time, I see Dad ram the hooks of his Mann’s 1- crankbait into a hungry bass. As we each battle our fish to the boat, I let Dad know that I’ve got an unusual result on my crankbait. It turns out that I’ve caught two fish on one lure for the second time this year. It’s now 9:16 am and there’s one fish flopping around in the bottom of the boat, Dad’s unhooking his bass and I’m hoping neither of my bass fall off before Dad can snap a picture. Both of my bass cooperated and we got a nice picture of a 12″ bass on one treble hook and a 13″ bass on the other.

9:16am – A rare “double” during a flurry when we had four bass in the boat at one time

A second unusual catch occurred later as Dad hooked a fish on his white spinnerbait. Actually, that part is rather common, as the white spinnerbait is one of his deadliest weapons. However, the way the fish fought and the body plan upon our first glimpse suggested something other than our targeted species. I grabbed the net and soon we had a decent catfish in the boat posing for a picture. The fish makes a Grand Slam for Dad with four species along with largemouth bass, crappie and bluegill.

Dad’s white spinnerbait is also a winner with a “whiskered” bass

Always a good time on the water and definitive proof that you just never know what lies in store with each outing. And yet again reinforces why I feel that fishing trips can always use a few tools beyond rods, reels and lures. A camera, a log book and a word processing program (after a rough draft with pen and paper on the old, trusty clipboard) all help to preserve the details for revisiting the tales anew more than a few years down the road. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

How about nearly ten pounds of bass for our leader, Jim Junk, for this week’s update? Already over the 20-pound mark, he cashes in on an early onset of a fall feeding frenzy to up his haul by nearly two pounds. Not an easy feat and even more impressive while doing the casting from the bank.

Weight: 4-9
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: September 6
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Structure: Weed edge, stumps
Angler Comments: A couple hours fishing last night produced two smaller bass and this beautiful 4-9. He came out of a little highway that runs between bank weeds and some semi-submerged stumps that has been very productive this year.

Weight: 5-2
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: September 8
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Texas rigged Senko
Structure: Weed bed
Angler Comments: Well, the extremely strong wind was both a curse and a blessing today. It was so strong that I could only fish banks with wind at my back. The areas that I intended to fish were futile and I was cursing the wind. Went to a bank that had been sporadic at best. Had produced fish before but no big ones. There was a lot of water though and with the wind at my back I was able to cast to places I had never been able to reach before. Went with a weightless Texas rigged Senko because there were semi-submerged weed beds mixed in open pockets of water. Fished for a couple hours and managed three solid 2 to 2.5 pound bass. Then I was reeling in another very long cast and was slowly working through a weed bed. Twitched off a small snag and felt pressure. Thought the hook had been exposed and caught more weeds. As I began to put more pressure on the line I felt a tug so set the hook. At this point I thought I had a nice fish and a lot of weeds. Had no idea that I had a real nice fish. Got him to the bank and landed with no problem.
Top 5 Weight: 22-1 (5-2,4-9,4-5,4-1,4-0) culls 3-15 and 3-14

Way to go Jim and thanks for a great start to September. Don’t put those poles away quite yet folks as plenty of good fishing remains for 2018. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Back with another batch of stats as fall looms on the horizon. It was a lean summer which isn’t entirely unexpected. Tougher bite at times when trying to beat the heat for some dog day bass and lots of stuff going can push fishing to the back burner. In addition, if you’ve amassed an impressive haul like our current leader, well, it can be tough to add those pounds or ounces to the total. Here’s the latest rundown of the numbers for our 68 bass, 2 muskie and I channel cat in the 2018 Top 5 database through August.

2018 Totals (* = new record)
*January = 5 bass (old record 1 in 2017)
February = 5 bass
March = 0 bass
April = 12 bass
May = 24 bass
June = 10 bass
July = 8 bass
August = 4 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month (* = new record)
*January = 13-5 (3-15, 2-7, 2-6, 2-6, 2-3) previous record 2-11 in 2017
February = 7-3 (2-6,1-7,1-5,1-2,0-15)
March = no submissions
April = 14-15 (4-0,3-0,2-12,2-10,2-9)
May = 19-5 (4-11,4-8,3-10,3-7,3-1)
June = 18-10 (4-5,4-1,3-9,3-7,3-4)
July = 18-13 (4-0,3-14,3-13,3-11,3-7)
August 11-6 (3-15,3-10,2-12,1-1)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 28 bass
Bank = 40 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight (* = new record)
Boat = 18-2 (4-0,3-15,3-10,3-9,3-0)
Bank = 21-9 (4-11,4-8,4-5,4-1,4-0)

Public vs. Private
Public = 56 bass
Private = 12 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 20-4 (4-5,4-1,4-0,3-15,3-15)
Private = 19-4 (4-11,4-8,4-0,3-1,3-0)

The Baits (* = new record)
Plastic Worms = 37 bass (Top Bass 4-5 Jim Junk)
Crankbaits = 13 bass (Top Bass 3-15 Mark Balbinot)
Chatterbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 4-11 Chris Schwarz)
Spinnerbaits = 4 bass (Top Bass 2-8 Chris Schwarz)
Creature Baits = 3 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Paul Kessler)
Buzzbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 3-10 Paul Kessler)
Jigs = 2 bass (Top Bass 2-12 Brent Jackson)
Lipless Crankbaits = 2 bass (Top Bass 1-13 Troy Jackson)
Topwater Frog = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-7 Nick Tiska)

Monthly Top Bass (* = new record)
January
3-15 Mark Balbinot (old record 2-11 Mark Balbinot 2016)
February
2-6 Troy Jackson
March
No submissions
April
4-0 Chris Schwarz
May
4-11 Chris Schwarz
June
4-5 Jim Junk
July
4-0 Jim Junk
August
3-15 Jim Junk

Top 10 Bass (* = new Top 10 all-time)
4-11 Chris Schwarz 5/26
4-8 Chris Schwarz 5/26
4-5 Jim Junk 6/27
4-1 Jim Junk 6/30
4-0 Chris Schwarz 4/28
4-0 Jim Junk 7/19
3-15 Mark Balbinot 1/27
3-15 Jim Junk 8/4
3-14 Jim Junk 7/4
3-13 Jim Junk 7/22

Angler Weights (* = new Top 5 record, old mark 32-13)
Jim Junk 20-4 (4-5,4-1,4-0,3-15,3-15)
Chris Schwarz 18-12 (4-11,4-8,4-0,3-1,2-8)
Mark Balbinot 13-5 (3-15, 2-7, 2-6, 2-6, 2-3)
Troy Jackson 12-2 (3-0,2-9,2-6,2-3,2-0)
Paul Kessler 11-15 (3-10,3-9,2-12,2-0)
Brent Jackson 8-13 (2-12,2-10,1-14,1-9)
John Kirkemo 8-3 (2-7,2-0,1-9,1-2,1-1)
Jayce Jackson 7-8 (2-5,1-13,1-5,1-4,0-13)
Nick Tiska 3-7 (3-7)

Other Species

Muskie Length Totals
70+” John Kirkemo (40”, 30+”)

Channel Catfish Totals
8-2 (25”) Chris Schwarz

Already have an outstanding pair of September bass all set for a welcome Monday Top 5 update. Tune in tomorrow and get out there for a head start on that fall feeding frenzy. Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – September 1988

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Original log entry detailing the September Ponder’s Pond bass featured in the photo shoot below.

A May posting in the Friday Flashback series took a look at a spot called Ponder’s Pond (aka “The Ponderosa”) and we’re back again for another batch of memories.

Couldn’t resist creating my own fishing card mimicking the classic “In Action” series included in the 1972 Topps baseball set

Today’s post comes courtesy of a decent bass landed back in September of 1988 at the fishing hole which was a favorite spot for a group of fishing buddies. One of those buddies is a fellow by the name of Matt Reynolds (aka “Hacksaw” or “Hack”). He and I spent a fair amount of time prowling the pond in the late 80s which resulted in some solid catches and more than a few fish stories.

Hack was on the camera end for this catch and I’ve long been grateful to him for taking the time to shoot this series of “In Action” photos. To me it’s just kind of a cool glimpse of yesteryear, four images frozen in time as the catch comes aboard. Not so easy to do for a photographer back in the day shooting with some sort of basic camera in the days of film with no do overs or previews of your pics.

Plenty of other fun in the shot as well. Still got me a jean jacket all these years later and about time to bust it our again with fall on the horizon. Been many years since the flannel period and many baseball caps since my Knox College Siwash model. And throw in some old, bleach stained jeans with more than a few holes, luckily there was no dress code at the East End or Green Diamond taverns on the way home, actually fit right in.

Also included is a nostalgic glimpse of my old Berkley Lighting Rod spinning rig that caught many a fish before getting the tip shut in the trunk of a vehicle. One of my first two true bass fishing rods courtesy of a Berkley buy one get one free offer back in the mid-80s. Even remember purchasing it at Al’s Sporting Goods, a classic Galesburg, Illinois shop that is now long gone as well.

Boy, can you say “those were the days”? Talk to you later

A September Bass

Posted on by Troy Jackson

My boy, Jayce, gets us on the board for September

In conjunction with a weekend work errand I was able to swing a visit to the Knox County, Illinois strip mines, Little John Conservation Club to be specific. A last minute change of plans also had me playing fishing guide as opposed to struggling angler desperately trying to fool some more respectable bass for his less than impressive Top 5 total. Perhaps some time for that later this month as taking one of your boys fishing should take priority.

And it did.

As expected, however, it put just a little different spin on the outing. The nine-year old version of a fishing trip is considerably briefer and a bit more prone to distraction than the fifty-something guy who thinks he’s a Bassmaster version. We put in maybe 45 minutes on the water/bank and fooled only one bass but nonetheless had an adventure complete with some education, celebration, imagination and one’s that got away.

Jayce’s request for a heavier version of the wacky rig was the right call as the Zappu Inchi Wacky Head saved the day

Education – Rather strong winds were not only a challenge for the guide while rowing the boat but also raised a red flag for my young fishing partner. His weightless Senko wacky rig just didn’t have much sink to it in the choppy conditions prompting Jayce to ask, “Dad, do you have anything with weight?” Indeed I did and I was quite impressed with Jayce’s assessment that his presentation needed an adjustment from the only way he’d ever previously fished the highly effective wacky rig. Enter the Zappu Inchi Wacky Head which proved to be a winner mere minutes later. Well done, young man!

Well done, young man, on this task also as its kind of nice to just chill in the truck

Celebration – Like a dummy, I did not have my GoPro rigged up to catch the exciting action of our lone bass but we did do a post catch interview. Just like the big boys we ran down the details on the lure that got the job done even though we have yet to market our skills to some sponsors (Gary Yamamoto, if you’re out there reading though…). Unlike some of the big boys, however, we actually reported the stats on our catch to the nearest half inch and ounce. A little education here as well, the old “honesty is the best policy” standard.

 

Imagination – Don’t know if anybody else out there is into this “The Meg” thing but my boys sure are “obsessed with it” (Jayce’s description). If you are unaware, it’s “Jaws” for the new generation with a giant, prehistoric shark known as a Megalodon terrorizing ocean goers and facing off with a band of heroes out to save the day. Well, what I didn’t know is that apparently “The Meg” is not relegated to salt water as it had a bead on our eight foot johnboat while headed back to the ramp (insert classic boat line from “Jaws” here). Other than a handful of lightning storms or high winds, I have never rowed so fast during my decades on the business end of some oars. I’m not sure how “The Meg” ends as I’m still wavering on whether viewing is such a good idea for a seven and nine year old but in our adventure the good guys lived to fish again.

My assessment of how it feels as you attempt to escape the colossal “Meg”

Ones That Got Away – About ten minutes in, Jayce started to holler. “Dad! Dad! Dad!” and I observed the tip of his bowed rod nearly hitting the water’s surface. Jayce then stated, “It’s pulling good” before the lure came shooting out of the water as the fish had let go. Who knows but sure looked like it could have been a quality fish. Near the end of our afternoon Jayce told me to go ahead and fish as he prowled the bank messing with little frogs. A cast to a productive laydown got me a bite and from my perch on the bank about six feet above the water I actually got a decent look before my fish also let go. Looked to be one pushing the two pound range which qualifies as a “good one” in my book and a downright trophy bass for my rough 2018.

Chalk up another adventure that played out a bit different than the original plan but good stuff during some rare one on one time with one of the kids. Although the haul was only one bass I was encouraged by three bites in limited casting and less than ideal water conditions as the normally clear lake still features a substantial stain to the water. Solid call on altering his lure presentation by my protégé and good practice for him in casting for bass from a watercraft as opposed to the bank, he did quite well.

A welcome exclamation point to our outing

Oh yeah, and we tuned into the radio on the ride to hear the makings of a Cubs victory as they played longball on a young Phillies Cy Young Award candidate. A great day all around. Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – September 5, 2013

Posted on by Troy Jackson

These old fishing reports come in real handy for the Friday Flashback series, kind of nice how that works out several years down the road when just a bit too busy to get on the water. Eases the load on writing as well. Here we go with the original report in its entirety as posted on September 10, 2013.

Nothing like a farm pond to break a fishing drought.

The start of the school year has understandably and rightfully put a damper on goofing off. Thus I’ve submitted no blog entries for 32 days and logged my last bass at 11:46am on August 1. I guess it must be something about months that begin with the letter “A” as I went 0 for April earlier this year. Hopefully the next couple months or so will provide a few opportunities now that the family is finding some sort of routine amidst work, school, running, soccer, dance and so on. Kicking off my “fall finale” was a welcome trip with Dad to a local farm pond for some good old multispecies fishing.

9:37am Quickly on the board with the first bass 15″ 1-10 Crankbait

Stats
Date: September 5, 2013
Location: Warren County Farm Pond
Time: 9:30am-noon
Weather: Sunny/calm
Air Temp: 75F-80F
Water Temp: Not available
Totals: 31 bluegill, 5 bass, 1 crappie, 1 redear
Lures (bass): Strike King Pro Model crankbait (sexy shad) – 4 bass, Senko wacky rig (natural shad) – 1 bass
Bait (panfish): Waxworms on a jighead hung from a bobber
Weight (2 bass at 12” or better): 3-12 (2-2, 1-10)
Top Bass: 2-2 (Troy – Strike King crankbait)

9:44am Top Bass 16″ 2-2 Crankbait

Notes & Nonsense

Out of Practice – Having not used my fishing gear for a while, I was a little lost on some last minute prep. Throw in a real busy two year old to keep an eye on and things get a bit wild and prone to distraction. Dad was quick to point this out when I arrived at his house minus oars prompting a return trip across town to my garage. Looking on the bright side, however, at least I didn’t forget the kid instead.

Who needs a fish basket?

Runs in the Family – Upon arriving at the pond, Dad found that he too had forgotten an item, his five gallon panfish bucket. He combed a nearby barn to no avail so we just went with what we had and tossed our keepers into the back of the boat. Looking on the bright side, however, Dad commented that we certainly had plenty of room in the 12’ fish basket for some cooperative fish.

Just Like Riding a Bike – Seven minutes into casting I reeled in proof that I still knew how to fool a bass. Seven minutes later I boated bass number two which engulfed my crankbait as soon as it hit the water next to a fallen tree. The 2-2 was a nice fish to break the bass drought and fell one once shy of the pond record, a 2-3 that I caught on September 10, 2010 on a wacky rigged Senko (interestingly the first bass I ever caught at the pond). We made roughly one lap around the pond pursuing bass from 9:30-10:45am winding up with five fish (all released).

Multispecies day – Crappie? Check!

Round Two – The second half of our trip focused on pursuing some panfish with waxworms hung from a bobber. Dad has a couple productive spots where he plants his lawn chair for solo outings so we hit one only to find that the fish weren’t to be found. Moving around a point he began to pick up a handful but felt we should try a consistent area near the dam. His suggestion paid off and we spent our final thirty minutes hooked up on a pretty solid bite.

Redear sunfish?  Check!

The Title – Back when we used to target whatever would bite our Beetle Spins, we’d award an unofficial “Species Title” to the angler who reeled in the most different fish. Dad and I spent much of this trip knotted at two apiece with a bass and a bluegill before his late additions of a crappie and a redear gave him a runaway victory. He’s also tangled with several good catfish on his ultralight over the years but none of them paid a visit this time around. In the interest of honest reporting I will also admit that he soundly whipped me for the overall catch title as I only managed seven bluegill to his twenty six panfish.

The Taste – Part of the reason for the trip was to obtain some fillets for a lunch event at my workplace yesterday. For many years, staff members have put together a more or less annual feast called “The Taste of the Mary Davis Home” where employees bring in dishes of their choice to share with the kids in our charge. Life in a detention home certainly has its share of challenges, frustrations and stressors and sadly for a number of these kids, things may not be any better at home. Therefore, it’s always rewarding to have an event such as this to put life aside for a bit in favor of a tray, two bowls and two paper plates for most that are heaped with a little bit of everything. Dad’s contribution of bluegill and crappie fillets was met with several compliments from kids and staff alike and I’d like to say thanks for helping us out. All involved helped to create an atmosphere with a lot of smiles, ample debate on which dishes ruled the day and, of course, plenty of kids (and a few adults) clutching their stuffed guts yet still having room for that last cookie.

Although Zac didn’t tag along on this outing, showing off the catch is another important piece of a father-son fishing trip.

Okay, maybe a bit longwinded for a trip without any true trophies but it reinforces that there’s more to the trip than the catch. For better or worse, that’s how I fish. That’s also how I write and after a month without a blog entry you should’ve seen this coming.

I may beat a dead horse on this but darn glad that I took up writing as it’s fun to look back and remember details that would otherwise have been forgotten. Whether it’s forgettable to those who tune in, I’ll leave that to you. Personally, I think these batches of real life provide a brief, pleasant escape from much of the other real life that lies out there a mouse click away. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 10 Trip Tunes 7/28 – Part II

Posted on by Troy Jackson

On with the countdown…

5. Jane – Jefferson Starship (1979) – I dig this song on several levels. Such a cool blend of instrumentation with everybody getting in on the action and briefly taking center stage at various points as this one chugs along. Mickey Thomas’ vocals are top notch and there’s even a cool kind of grunt after the disco themed interlude which itself is a killer sort of nod to the fading fad. And I’ve got this thing for repetition, certainly a hook when it works, and 35 “Janes” (or “Janeys”) in this one does for me (may have missed a few, let me know what you come up with). Note: also see “Lola.”

4. Your Song – Elton John (1970) – One of the earliest hits from a legendary performer but how about the guy who wrote the words? Shout out to Bernie Taupin for his role in this partnership. Many characters, many stories and a whole lotta love songs including this favorite. This one is endearing and enduring, gets better the older I get. And how cool that Taupin penned these lyrics before he reached his 20th birthday. Simply amazing.

3. Stranglehold – Ted Nugent (1975) – Does it get any more fun than a rocker from Uncle Ted? A nasty groove to get things warmed up before you get hit with “Here I come again now baby, like a dog in heat.” Are you kidding me? And there’s still seven and a half more minutes of rocking to go. I don’t care if I sound old but they don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

2. You Better You Bet – The Who (1981) – I’m a fan of this pretty fabulous foursome that often seem to take a backseat to another fab quartet as well as a batch of Stones.Gotta give Roger Daltrey some props on this one too. Solid, solid frontman who could always “sing a razor line.” Great stuff here and one of the first videos to be played on something called MTV.

1. Bye Bye Love – The Cars (1978) – Endless debate, no definitive answer, but what is the finest debut album of all-time? Take a listen to this band’s self-titled 1978 release as it certainly deserves some votes. Tough to pick my favorite track, kind of depends on the mood when one of them comes on the radio. This one was the winner on this trip, fun flow to Ric Ocasek’s lyrics and outstanding delivery from Benjamin Orr mixed with a new sound coming out of my clock radio back in the late 70s, something called “New Wave.”

Ah, another fun tangent that brings back more than a few memories and finds me wandering through my own personal request line in cyberspace. This whole internet thing is indeed good for more than just telling “fish stories.” Talk to you later. Troy

Top 10 Trip Tunes 7/28 – Part I

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Hey, haven’t done one of these for a while and too busy to fish so here we go. This one was actually compiled during my last solo bass fishing outing back on July 28. Too busy to write, too.

10. Afternoon Delight – Starland Vocal Band (1976) – Okay, so gotta make the short list of dirtiest songs of all-time and extra fun because it was one of my favorites as an eight or nine year old kid back in the Bicentennial. Even has a fishing verse tucked away in there. But nowadays, with a 51-year old body and four kids running around the house all the time, a little afternoon delight is more like a nap.

9. Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In – The Fifth Dimension (1969) – Always dug this groovy ditty from when I was way too young to actually recall its original release. Must have caught it on the airwaves and seems like there was an album around the house. And what a beautiful lady and voice in Marilyn McCoo. Still a cool cut nearly 50 years later as my oldest daughter, Helena, took a liking to it when featured as a tune in a recent performance of her Quad City Music Guild group.

8. Love Takes Time – Orleans (1979) – I believe this completes the run of Orleans Top 40 hits as their two previous qualifiers have already been featured in Top 10 Trip Tunes (see “Dance With Me” and “Still The One”). Just one of those mellow tunes that finds me off in search of a playlist with the likes of Firefall, Poco, Pablo Cruise, England Dan and John Ford Coley, Ambrosia, Pure Prairie League…

7. Junior’s Farm – Paul McCartney & Wings (1974) – Kind of rock and roll meets Dr. Seuss. I really have no idea and it really doesn’t matter. Good old Sir Paul with a battery of hooks so no surprise that this one always catches my ear. Quite a cast of characters including an Eskimo, a card dealer, a politician and Ollie Hardy. And how about trios of rhyming words like “Parliament”, “President” and “cement” as well as “sense”, “fence” and “pence”? How fun would it be to have such lyrical talent?

6. China Grove – The Doobie Brothers (1973) – This whole internet thing can get distracting, weird and even a bit addictive but it’s totally worth it when it comes to song lyrics. Anybody else out there been singing the wrong words or substituting some runs of gibberish for decades? “Samurai swords”, huh? Makes perfect sense, sorta. At any rate an outstanding piece of 70s classic rock from a band with a little bit of everything sonically thrown into the mix. Hits you right from the start, ends without much warning and keeps driving all the way in between.

Round two tomorrow with another batch of classics. Talk to you later. Troy

 

30 Minutes

Posted on by Troy Jackson

So here we are, back to school for a week or better depending on the kid and, as always, wondering just where the summer went. A summer seemingly so brief and absolutely so busy that it slipped by without the normal camping and fishing we usually manage to squeeze in.

Oh, but we did get to work in just a few other things. Like baseball, band camp, Tae Kwon Do, oboe lessons, color guard camp, birthday parties, tutoring, slumber parties, summer camp, a week of work on the road, a cleaning gig, dogsitting…you get the picture.

So, when my boy, Jayce, recently asked about getting out it was pretty much a no brainer as I knew he’d been chomping at the bit for quite some time.

We hit the local bait cooler for some waxworms for panfish and dew worms for catfish. We also picked up a missing ingredient for a doughball recipe to see if we could fool a carp as well. Finally, we grabbed a couple items of terminal tackle and a soda to complete our gear grab.


Armed with a doughball, “Papa makes them different” says Jayce.

After completing doughball prep in the kitchen and tackle rigging at the tailgate it was off to our potential multi-species destination at the confluence of the Hennepin Canal and the Rock River in Colona, Illinois.

Thirty minutes later we had two bluegill on our waxworms, no bites on our doughballs or dew worms and the 90 degree heat was getting the best of my young co-angler. I could tell he was no longer feeling up to the task of chasing fish so after our second bluegill it was time to make a move. No sense in pushing it when the youngsters begin to fade so I asked Jayce if we should rebait our ultralight slip bobber rig or just call it a day. Told him I was good whatever he decided. After all, “it’s kind of hot”, “the fish aren’t really cooperating”, “we can always try it another day when the heat breaks…”

With feigned reluctance, Jayce opted to head for home and I had to grin inside as I saw the glint of relief as I seconded his decision to hit the road.

Hey, 30 minutes prowling the riverbank was just fine as such adventures are always about more than casting, reeling and catching. After all, we’d revisited the practice of making doughballs (Jayce informed me that Papa makes them with some different stuff), dumped all of our waxworms in the mud and listened to the Cubs on my trusty ancient transistor radio as we watched our poles. Throw in two fishing buddies shooting the breeze in an old pickup truck on the way to and from the fishing hole and the trip was a winner no matter the duration or the haul.

 

Talk to you later. Troy