For my return to The Canal, I chose a stretch that is popular with other anglers. My hope was that a sunrise start on a Sunday morning would beat the crowd and that indeed proved to be the case. The primary aim of this trip was to get a boost of two ounces to my Top 5 to reach double digits for the pool. Read on for the results from my first visit to The Canal in nearly a month.

Welcome to The Canal where you get a side of “summer salad” with your bass

Stats
Date: August 4
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:50am-8:50am
Totals: 8 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/breezy, 66-77F
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 5 bass, Whopper Plopper (bone) – 3 bass
Top 5 Weight: 6-13 (2-5,1-4,1-3,1-1,1-0)

7:36am – Top Bass Runner Up at 1-4 (13.5″) on a Whopper Plopper

Notes and Nonsense

Top 5 Quest – In my ongoing quest to post a ten-pound Top 5 from every pool on The Canal from Colona to the Feeder Basin, I selected a spot where my Top 5 sat at 9-14 (2-8,2-3,1-15,1-11,1-9). As such, I needed a 1-11 catch to knock out the lowest member of the Top 5 and gain the two ounces I was lacking. Reports from fellow anglers have shown that there are plenty of quality bass in the pool, but my previous efforts have found me coming up short. Just have to keep on casting.

Winning Lures

Topwater Commitment – The depth and cover on this area set up well for a topwater bite like most stretches of The Canal. However, a lack of clouds and the angle of the sunrise had the stretch in full sun shortly after my arrival. Even so, I went nearly all in on topwater with only limited casts of a swimbait, spinnerbait, and Senko wacky rig. Part one of my thought process was to stick with topwater as close to the weed cover as possible where I expected the bass to be hiding from the sun. Part two of the topwater approach was a willingness to sacrifice quantity in exchange for a quality bite. The first two hours were tough with only four bites (three on a Whopper Popper) including two “keepers” and a Top Bass of 1-4. For the final hour, I switched to a buzzbait and had better “luck.”

8:50am – Top Bass at 2-5 (17″) on a buzzbait with the last cast of the morning

Last Cast – Pushing three hours into the morning, I was still lacking the bite needed for my Top 5 boost. Adding to the disappointment was the fact that I had recently had a solid blowup on the buzzbait by a bass that lacked good aim. It’s a guessing game on how big such a bite could be but in my mind the strike was the fish that I was seeking. Luckily, at 8:50am I got a second chance when a bass nailed a buzzbait as it neared the boat on the end of a retrieve. As I battled the fish, I knew that it would make the mark. I did have trouble getting a grip on its lip but got it in the boat where it tipped the scales at 2-5. Mission accomplished in pushing my Top 5 weight for the pool to 10-10. With that bass in the bag, I elected to call it a day with the successful final cast. After a picture, I thanked the fish, released it, and rowed back to the truck.

 

Mark another spot off the list with a double-digit Top 5. Still more work to do and I was back at it the following morning on a stretch with a Top 5 mark of 8-2 that was established in my lone visit back in June of 2023. Stay tuned for that report and talk to you later. Troy

Back to the strip mines as I continue to give The Canal a rest. This time, Brent and I opted for a new wrinkle on our old hikes with a “float trip” approach. Read on to see how this stunt worked out.

Pre-hike Guesses, we did not do well on the weights but far exceeded out estimates on total bass

10:16am – Top Bass at 1-14 (16.5″) on a buzzbait

Stats
Date: August 3
Location: Knox County public strip pits (3 lakes)
Time: 5:45am-11:40am (5.25 hours fishing)
Totals: 64 bass (Brent – 36 Troy – 28)
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 68-88F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures (Troy): 5” Yamamoto Senko (blue pearl/silver flake) – 11 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 9 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 7 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 1 bass,
Lures (Brent): 5” Yamamoto Senko (green pumpkin with large black flake) – 20 bass, Chug-N-Spit (black/chrome belly) – 13 bass, Spinnerbait – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-14 Troy (Buzzbait), 1-10 Brent (Spinnerbait/Popper)
Top 5 Weight (combined): 8-6 (1-14,1-12,1-10,1-10,1-8)

Winning Lures – Brent

Winning Lures – Troy

Notes and Nonsense

The Departure – Our plan consisted of what we referred to as a land and water based “float trip.” Park one truck at the ending point and drive the other truck to a departure point and walk/fish our way through. Along the route there were seven or eight lakes to choose from and we wound up fishing three. A fourth was merely used as portage as we opted to call it a day in the oppressive heat.

So, the calculator app shows that 1.88 pounds equals 1 pound 14 ounces (.88 x 16), but my brother can tell you the same thing quicker

The Abacus – I am not too hip on current bass angler nicknames but back in the day I followed fishermen going by the monikers of “Ike”, “G-Man”, “KVD” or “The Kalamazoo Kid.” Well, after this outing I may start referring to my brother, Brent, as “The Abacus.” I currently use a pair of backup digital scales as my prime scale gave out last year due to water damage. The scales only display in decimals which requires some calculation. As far as numbers such as 1.10, 2.25 and so on, I am good. However, my brain isn’t quite as sharp when it comes to 1.34 or 2.84 and I must use the calculator app on my phone to dial in the exact ounces. Insert Brent on this trip as a solid substitute as he would tell me how many ounces before I was able to punch the numbers into my app. Granted, I did check him for accuracy, and he was right on the money every time.

8:00am – Brent Top Bass at 1-10 (14″) on a spinnerbait

The Return – After just over five hours of fishing, a mile and quarter of hiking, and a heat index exceeding ninety degrees, we were worn out. As we stood on the bank of a final lake, we elected to call it quits and head for home. We made it back to the truck soaked with sweat and with little left in the tank.

Breakdown of a morning of roughly 7,000 steps (approximately 110 steps per bass)

Crazy vs. Dumb – The final tally was sixty-four bass, a darn good morning. At one point earlier in the day, we had pondered a shot at landing one hundred. The fish were there, the energy was not. In hindsight, we nearly bit off more than we could chew and should have saved the stunt for cooler weather. I got a chuckle out of a social media comment from an angler we chatted with as we ended our day as he stated, “After you guys told me your route, I thought man these guys are crazy and weren’t playing around today.” Well, we did have a mission, and I thanked him for using the term “crazy” as Brent and I had a later conversation where we referred to our stunt as “dumb.”

 

A successful hike and another instance when I ponder how many more years I want to undertake such an adventure. One of these days, a few of these lakes may get the farewell tour. But do you know what? After I got home and had a nap, I actually thought “that wasn’t so bad.” Talk to you later. Troy

I do not typically reveal my exact location in fishing reports, instead choosing to simply include a screenshot of the general location displayed by the weather app on my phone. However, this report is an exception as I will tell you exactly where I launched as a sort of public service message. If you elect to put a watercraft in at the Lock 23 Campground, stick to that short pool and do not attempt to pass through the tube headed east.

That tube is among the lengthiest on The Canal and possibly the least traveled based on the sheer volume of cobwebs and spiders that call the dark passage home. As I emerged from a tough upstream traverse, I was covered in webs, sharing my boat with various arachnids, and paraphrasing Dr. Seuss (including a few words that are not found in his entertaining writings).

So, with a nod to Theodor Geisel, here we go with another fishing report.

9:33am – Top Bass at 1-12 (15″) on a topwater frog

Stats
Date: July 7
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:50am-12:15pm
Totals: 8 bass, 1 freshwater drum
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 63-80F
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 4 bass/1 freshwater drum, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 2 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with Bass Pro Shops Twin Tail trailer (Houdini) – 1 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko (pumpkin/black flake) – 1 bass
Top 5 Weight: 6-4 (1-12,1-8,1-0,1-0,1-0)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Oh, the Places You’ll Go (1990) – This trip checked off another mile of previously unseen water in my quest to row/fish all thirty-four miles from the Rock River in Colona to the Feeder Basin just northwest of Sheffield. To do so it requires a bit more effort than other fishing holes that feature convenient parking lots and functional boat ramps. And that is part of the appeal of this adventure.

These were not too intimidating but their relatives below did creep me out a bit

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937) – Partially obstructing the downstream entrance to the tube were mulberry tree branches. My efforts to enter and begin moving through the tube caused not only several mulberries to fall into the boat but also a batch of the resident spiders to come along for a ride. I am not a huge fan of spiders, but these wispy web weavers were not very intimidating. The interior residents of the tube, however, were a whole different story.

Not a Dr. Seuss composition but in the same vein from Al Perkins and quite fitting.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960) – Okay, maybe more like green fish, silver fish as two species were caught, largemouth bass and freshwater drum (above).

Cool looking spider on my boat cushion but not real cool when a bunch of them are crawling around in an eight-foot johnboat

“I do not like them, Sam-I-Am” – Green Eggs and Ham (1960), Dr. Seuss

“They live in tubes of steel and tin,
I don’t like spiders, Hen-nep-in
Not in a boat,
Not on my float,
Not in a tunnel,
Not on my gunnel,
No not at all,
It’s just no fun-nel,
I do not like them in my stache or beard,
Or on my hat, it’s just plain weird,
I don’t like the spiders, Hen-nep-in,
I will not pass that tube again!”

Troy Jackson (2024)

 

I have done a few things over the years in pursuit of those green fish that have prompted me to question if it was worth the effort or potential consequences. You know, things like poison ivy, ticks, storms, distance, terrain, and a little borderline trespassing. For all the above, despite knowing better the first time, I did them again. Maybe I am getting older, wiser, or both, but I can confidently say that I will never pass through the tube at the Lock 23 Campground ever again. Talk to you later. Troy