For a rare midday outing, I selected a pair of pools separated by a tube allowing me to cover two areas while only launching the boat once. The aim was to add a couple more ten-pound Top 5 limits as both were lacking a quality bite or two. The Top 5 weights on the pools were 8-2 and 8-8, respectively.

Stats
Date: July 6
Location: Hennepin Canal (two pools)
Time: 11:45am-3:10pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy/brief rain, 79-82F
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 1 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 1 bass, 5” Senko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-3 Frog
Only one bass at 12” or better

Starting Lineup

Good timing on the rain as a shelter was in close proximity

Tune of the Trip
“Ooh, a storm is threatening, my very life today. If I don’t get some shelter, ooh yeah, I’m gonna fade away.”
Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones (1969)
Okay, so maybe not quite that extreme but I did get some shelter in a tube running under the county road to avoid a downpour for about ten minutes. Worse than the storm were the spiders.

Notes and Nonsense

Late Start – My initial plan to get up around 4:15am fell by the wayside as I decided to sleep in for the second day in a row. However, I did not want to miss out on a fishing opportunity, so I opted for the rare summer midday trip. So much for beating the heat with such a stunt as it was steamy.

Clumsy and Lethargic – In terms of those two terms, I was “clumsy”, and the bass were “lethargic.” Fatigue gets the better of me some days and this was one of them. When worn out, the motor skills and focus suffer. When hitting on all cylinders and having free range of motion when fishing solo, I can drop in a spinnerbait with barely a ripple, put a frog where frogs shouldn’t go, and backhand a Senko into a narrow slot in the weeds. On this outing, I was both long and short on casts along with several snags but fortunately not in any of the abundant poison ivy lining the banks. Coupled with the “bathwater” in the shallow slow-moving Canal making the bass lethargic, catching was a struggle.

1:02pm – All-time Canal Bass #900 on a Senko wacky rig

Bass #900 – One highlight of the day was landing Bass #900 all-time from The Canal. It was not a very impressive specimen but they all count. I have my sights set on Canal Bass #1000 and it is realistically in reach before the year is done.

Top 5 Update Pool One – Two bass landed and neither large enough to provide a boost means that the Top 5 Weight remained at 8-8 (2-12,1-10,1-10,1-8,1-0).

1:27pm – Top Bass at 2-3 (16″) on a frog

Top 5 Update Pool Two – Two bass landed with one at 2-3 to provide a Top 5 boost from 8-2 (2-1,1-10,1-8,1-8,1-7) to 8-14 (2-3,2-1,1-10,1-8,1-8) as it culled a 1-7. The 2-3 also represented my largest bass on the pool to date.

A slow summer day and a tough bite but I was glad that I got in gear and hit the water even though I was not at the top of my game. My first assessment was that the bass were not on the top of their game either. However, after thinking about it perhaps they were. After all, I suppose that their objective is to not get caught. Talk to you later. Troy

As I got a day off work for the Fourth of July holiday, I opted to get up bright and early to take a second shot in a week on a stretch of The Canal that needed a Top 5 boost. Read on for the results.

Stats
Date: July 4
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:55am-9:55am
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm, 74-87F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 2-12 Frog
Top 4 Weight (only four bass at 12” or better): 7-12 (2-12,2-0,1-8,1-8)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Courtesy of the Red, White. and Blue (The Angry American) – Toby Keith (2002)
“Man, we lit up your world like the Fourth of July.”
My brain has a steady soundtrack and among the lifetime of music to choose from, this line seemed apt for a 2025 Fourth of July fishing trip.

Notes and Nonsense

Selecting a Spot – I revisited the same destination as my last trip on June 28 as I still had some loose ends to tie up with the bass that call the pool home. My Top 5 for the stretch lacked ten ounces of reaching my double-digit goal and I had not been able to find the quality bites needed for the boost on the prior visit. With the lightest fish in my Top 5 weighing 1-13, that meant a bass tipping the scales at 2-7 would take me all the way. As the morning began my Top 5 weight for the pool sat at 9-6 (1-15,1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13).

5:56am – First bass on fourth cast within sight of the boat ramp

5:56am – First Bite
I landed a bass on my fourth cast of the morning but at 11.5” it was not a “keeper” let alone a boost to my Top 5 weight. However, I took it to be good sign as it took me over two hours to land my first bass on the June 28 outing.

7:01am an exciting topwater strike on the frog

7:01am – This one gets away as that is my frog flying back at the boat

7:01am – One That Got Away
Early in the trip. I had the fish on that may have been the one I was seeking. It created a good boil as it struck the frog and put a solid bend in the pole on the hookset. As it broke the surface after being hooked, my brain registered a fish in the two-pound range during a brief glimpse. Unfortunately, the lure came flying back in my direction seconds later as the hooks did not get a grip. After one “doggone it”, several “shoots”, and a “dangit”, I took a few seconds to regroup and then resumed casting in anticipation of my next shot.

7:10am – Top Bass #2 at 2-0 (16″) on a frog

7:10am – First Cull
Admittedly disappointed in losing a decent fish, I did not have to wait long to get another strike on the frog. This one tipped the scales at 2-0 to give me a boost of three ounces (culled a 1-13) and raised the Top 5 weight to 9-9. Even better than the uptick in weight was getting two quality bites (one lost, one landed) in less than ten minutes. On an area where I have struggled in the past, a boost in confidence can outweigh a boost in weight.

8:39am – Top Bass at 2-12 (18″) on a frog

8:39am – Mission Accomplished
After landing a pair of matching bass weighing 1-8, I was nearing my turn around point. The sun was still low enough that shade was cast on the northern bank so I figured that I would focus most of my casting in that direction. As it turned out there was a good one hiding in the weed mat on the shady side that allowed me to reach my goal. I had a tense moment where I could not get a grip on the lip at boatside but observing that the bass had engulfed the frog, I was confident that it was not going to get away. At 2-12, the fish bumped another 1-13 and pushed the Top 5 weight for the pool to 10-8. It also represented the largest bass I have landed on the pool, displacing the 2-0 that I had caught an hour and a half earlier.

I fished for another hour after reaching my goal but never landed another bass. While that stinks, there was much relief in having the Top 5 monkey off my back. The Canal is an interesting collection of fishing holes and like anywhere, it can boost you up and it can get you down. This stretch had me down, but a couple bites can alter your attitude. That’s fishing. You just gotta keep on casting. Talk to you later. Troy

Work and fatigue have ramped up keeping me off the water for two weeks. The return to fishing featured a trip to The Canal on a stretch where the bites needed for a double-digit Top 5 weight have been elusive.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: June 28
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:15pm-8:15pm
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm, 89-82F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-12 Frog
Top 3 Weight (only three bass at 12” or better): 4-13 (1-12,1-10,1-7)

7:49pm – First Bass weighing 1-7 (15″) on a frog

Tune of the Trip
Dancing in the Street – Martha & The Vandellas (1964)
“Summer’s here and the time is right…”
Summer has indeed arrived as temperatures reached the lower nineties for a high. I waited out the heat for an evening trip when it was “only” eighty-nine.

7:54pm – Second bass weighing 1-10 (16.5″) on a frog

Notes and Nonsense

Top 5 Quest – Coming into this outing, my Top 5 for this stretch weighed in at 9-6 (1-15,1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13). This meant that a bass weighing 2-7 would gain the ten ounces needed to hit the ten-pound mark. During the three hours of casting, I could not find that quality bite. In fact, for the first two and a half hours, I did not land a single bass at all with two missed strikes on a frog including one that broke off on the hookset. Luckily, a three bass flurry in the last twenty minutes saved the day. None were large enough to boost my weight, but I sure was glad to avoid the embarrassing shutout.

8:10pm – Third bass weighing 1-12 (16.5″) on a frog

The Stretch – The bass in this area of The Canal continue to get the best of me as I just can’t find quality fish. With this trip included I now sit at 29 bass in 17.50 hours of fishing on this pool for an average of 1.66 bass/hour. Not entirely disappointing but certainly below my target of landing two to three bass/hour. I am not sure what it is about this stretch as there are plenty of good targets in the 1.3 miles of water. And I rowed up and down the entire stretch only to catch my three bass within sight of my truck as the evening ended. I will say that the water clarity is often murkier than I would like but as an angler you must figure it out. We’ll see what the future holds as I am dedicated to reaching that ten-pound Top 5.

Winning lure – Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) with its cottonwood fuzz collection

Good to be back on the water and fool a few but this area continues to be a thorn in my side. It is the lone stretch lacking a ten-pound Top 5 among fifteen sections I have designated from the Rock River in Colona running east to Atkinson. Further to the east, there are many sections that need a boost, but I am slightly less obsessed with them at present. One of these days. Talk to you later. Troy

Summer is already underway, but I must catch up on one final spring stop. While the bass were not abundant on this evening bike ride, Mother Nature was putting on a quite a display via the cottonwood trees. Read on for the rest of the story.

7:42pm – Avoiding a shutout with an 11″ bass on a Senko wacky rig

Stats
Date: June 14
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:50pm-8:05pm
Totals: 2 bass, 1 bluegill
Weather: Partly cloudy/calm, 80-77F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram) – 2 bass, 1 bluegill
Top Bass: 1-10 Senko (only bass at 12” or better)

Starting lineup lure #1 – Spro frog and all it reeled in was clumps of cottonwood fuzz

Tune of the Trip
Junior’s Farm – Paul McCartney & Wings (1974)
“Said he was hoping for a fall of snow.”
Winter is the furthest thing from my mind as summer nears but the abundance of cottonwood fuzz in the air is reminiscent of that other white stuff.

7:48pm – Top Bass at 1-10 (16″) on a Senko wacky rig

Notes and Nonsense

Frog Fail – I spent the first hour of my ride working over an area with heavy aquatic vegetation and quality bank access. I would estimate that the stretch has solid weed mat coverage on fifty percent or more of the surface. Depth is shallow, even for The Canal and the water level remains low as it has for a few years. This combination screams topwater frog as many other presentations would be frustrating. However, one hour of casting my Spro frog resulted in zero strikes.

Starting lineup lure #2 – The Senko wacky rig saved the day

Senko Save – Pedaling to an adjacent section with a lock allowed me to avoid a shutout as a Senko wacky rig fooled a pair of bass (and a bluegill). Most locks feature a strong current and I typically cast the Senko upstream or across the lock and let it drift with the flow while giving it an occasional lift or pop to move it vertically in the water column.

Cottonwood fuzz that does not get through to the spool accumualates at the line guide

Bumper Crop – Cottonwood fuzz is a regular bane of anglers this time of the year as it it nearly impossible to pick off the line. However, during my previous four years of fishing The Canal I don’t recall observing a boom in fuzz production quite like this year. The stuff is everywhere as numerous cottonwoods line the banks of the old waterway. I am curious if this year’s increase is the result of a natural phenomenon termed “masting” where trees produce a large crop of seeds. It recalls a year in the 1990s while I lived on Lake Bracken and it was “raining” acorns.

The result of cottonwood clumps, a backlash that had to be cut out and the need to respool the reel

Well, it is on to summer but I’m not sure when I will get back on the water as work is keeping me busy and more than a bit wore out. In the meantime, there’s one more Trip Tunes feature in the works. Talk to you later. Troy