Strip Mine Report – April 19

Posted on by Troy Jackson

My latest outing on the Knox County public strip mines produced a whopping total of fifty-seven bass (and a crappie). While it sounds impressive, most of the specimens left much to be desired. Read on for the rest of the story.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: April 19
Location: Knox County public strip pits (4 lakes)
Time: 10:45am-4:30pm (5.00 hours fishing)
Totals: 57 bass, 1 crappie
Weather: Overcast/windy, 56F
Lures Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 36 bass, Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (smokin shad) aka “Ned Rig” – 17 bass/1 crappie, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 4 bass
Top Bass: 4-14 (Chatterbait)
Top 5 Weight: 10-4 (4-14,1-8,1-8,1-3,1-3)

2:48pm – Top Bass at 4-14 (20.5″) on a chatterbait

Notes and Nonsense

Choices – I’d love to spend the whole day roaming the Knox County strip mines as there are a dozen parking areas that provide access to close to one hundred lakes. Each lake has its own history, personality, and appeal but time, energy, and weather can be limiting factors. The DNR made the call for me this time as a Conservation Officer who was stopped at one area was in the process of doing some checks. While I admire the job those folks do, and I fish legally, I just didn’t feel like a chat, preferred to get to casting and drove to another access area. Plan B worked out okay.

Dark Sleeper – I purchased a Dark Sleeper earlier this month after solid reviews from internet anglers and a thumbs up from our own Top 5 participant, Jim Junk. It made the starting lineup for this trip, and it didn’t take long to get a few short strikes that were either small or bad aim. When the first solid bite occurred, I set the hook and promptly snapped my line. So, the jury is still out for me on the new bait. I did learn one thing; I should have purchased a back up bait. Jim also gave me a lead on some less pricey purchases so I suspect that I will give the lure another shot.

Bonus crappie at 11.5″ on the Ned Rig

Ticks are out as I found eight on this outing

Mission Accomplished – Lots of little bass on this outing but I hit each of my goals.
Goal #1 – No shutout
Got this one out of the way thirteen minutes into the trip.
Goal #2 – Establish a Top 5 (five bas at 12” or better)
At 2:11pm, I landed my fifth keeper, but a big boost was on the horizon
Goal #3 – Post a double-digit Top 5
When you fool a 4-14, you are nearly halfway there, and four more decent fish were enough to push me past the ten-pound mark.

 

Winning lures

There’s a lot to package from this outing but I find it best not to ramble too long on these reports. Instead, I hope to pass along other aspects of the trip via individual posts. We’ll see if that plan works out or if more fishing reports get in the way. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Two more fish this week give a pair of anglers a significant boost. Jim Junk gets one bass closer to completing his Top 5 and I was able to fool what is currently our Top Bass of 2025. Read on for the details on the catches.

Weight: 2-14
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 16
Location: Peoria County Pond
Lure: Dark Sleeper
Angler Comments: Went out Wednesday after work. Four bass total, three short ones and this 2-14. All came on a Dark Sleeper in just under two hours of fishing.
Top 5 Weight: 9-10 (3-13,2-15,2-14)

Weight: 4-14 (20.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 19
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with Strike King Rage Swimmer trailer (sexy shad)
Structure: Flat/trough
Angler Comments: A chatterbait comes through in a trough that sits between an expansive point and a lengthy flat. Throw in a direct hit from the wind and you have a textbook spot that produced a big bite.
Top 5 Weight: 11-15 (4-14,1-15,1-15,1-11,1-8) culls 1-8

Good luck if you get out there and stay tuned for the full report from my latest outing. Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – April 11

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Brent keeps the blog chugging along with a full report on his recent Lake Storey outing for today’s post. On this outing he was literally on the water as he launched the kayak for the first time in 2025. Dangerous business out there with large muskies on the prowl. Read on for his multispecies encounters.

Editor’s Note: A different April look as the lake level has not recovered after a dry winter, which is just fine by me

Stats
Date: April 11
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 6:00pm-7:15pm
Totals: 3 bass, 1 walleye
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (chartreuse sexy shad) – 2 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass, 1 walleye
Top Bass: 1-11 (Chatterbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 bass at 12” or better): 4-7 (1-11,1-9,1-3)

Winning lures

 

Editor’s Note: Per the eyewitness description, the muskie appeared to be in ths size range below.
(Photo from 11/8/1999 courtesy of the vast Troy Jackson Outdoors archives)

More memories from the old “home lake”, and I am always excited to get a report from someone taking the Lake Storey challenge. Those fish are wily and you never know what you may find on the end of your line. I am encouraged by Brent’s report and hope to get a shot before the water returns to normal pool. I feel the lower water level in the spring will be a boon to anglers as the predators beef up for spawning and the prey have a many less places to hide. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Trip Tunes- March 30

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Getting caught up on the Trip Tunes as I bide my time to get back on the water.

5. Just Like Paradise – David Lee Roth (1988)
Roth is certainly one of a kind and made the original version of Van Halen better than the Van Hagar version in my opinion. He later made a few splashes on the solo side with a variety of entertaining tunes, from remakes to originals. And “original” definitely describes Diamond Dave.

4. Electric Blue – Icehouse (1987)
By 1987, Top 40 radio had lost me as a dedicated listener. I was more in tune with another wave of hair bands and country music, quite a combination. Of course, there were still plenty of popular tunes that caught my ear, and I always liked this one. When researching the tune for this post, I learned something new. The co-writer on the tune was John Oates, of Hall & Oates fame.

3. Rhiannon – Fleetwood Mac (1975)
As a kid, I had no idea there were multiple incarnations of Fleetwood Mac going back to the sixties. While I do enjoy songs from the early catalog, the 1975 and forward version was my Fleetwood Mac. Similarly, there are many great Stevie Nicks vocals, but this is my Stevie Nicks. The image, the sound, the persona, the whole works, what a way to introduce yourself as a member of the band.

2. Time – Pink Floyd (1973)
I love my tunes for lots of reasons and this one has many reasons for liking. Start with timely sound effects, move to an ominous intro, and then hit you upside the head with a vocal blast. But here’s what really hits home over the years, “And then one day you find ten years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.” And those guys wrote this stuff before they reached thirty.

1. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon (1975)
As I was eight years old when I first heard this song, I had no clue about content or story, just knew it sounded cool. I am a big fan of unique words in lyrics, but it would be many years before I had any inkling that “misconstrued” was in there. I am also a fan of songs with names and this one makes for a great trivia question. What tune features the likes of Jack, Stan, Roy, Gus, and Lee? And while the song does not deliver precisely 50 ways as promised, who cares.

Next up, another report from Brent, this time covering an evening on the old home lake, Lake Storey. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – April 6

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I have been on the sidelines for a bit, so it is good to have a fishing brother who keeps me up to speed. For this post, I will convey the report via his pics and texts while also adding a dose of my two cents. Read on for the results of Brent’s first outing of 2025 as he took a hike around a Knox County strip mine.

Stats
Date: April 6
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Time: 12:50pm-3:50pm
Totals: 17 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 13 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 4 bass
Top Bass: 4-10 (Red Eye Shad)
Top 3 Weight (only three at 12” or better): 6-15 (4-10,1-5,1-0)

Editor’s Note: “I think I had a 5-pounder out of here a couple years ago.” Correct, with a 5-4 on 4/24/22. My money says he’ll get one bigger than his 4-10 before the year is through as there are lots of casts remaining. 

Winning lures

Editor’s note: Brent is quite adept with a spinnerbait so a thumbs up for giving the chatterbait some casts.

And there you have it. Thanks to Brent for keeping me posted on his solid early season success. The 4-10 was a very good fish and currently stands as Top Bass for the 2025 Top 5 project. Stay tuned for another report from Brent as he recently took his kayak out on Lake Storey. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Brent was able to get in a few short outings last week and caught plenty of bass. The “keepers” below allowed him to complete his initial Top 5 and cull several fish to boost his weight. He also added a bonus species while fishing Lake Storey. Read on for all the details.

Weight: 1-11
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 11
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Chatterbait

Weight: 1-9
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 11
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad

Weight: 1-3
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 11
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad

Weight: 2-1
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Chatterbait

Weight: 1-7
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Chatterbait

Weight: 2-3
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 13
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 12-2 (4-10,2-3,2-1,1-11,1-9) culls 1-7,1-5,1-3,1-0

Walleye

Weight: 1-6
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 11
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Chatterbait
Angler Comments: I think this may be a first, a 1-6 walleye on a chatterbait. I’m not sure if I have ever caught one before.
Top 5 Weight: 1-6 (1-6)

Great results for Brent last week and with warm, stable weather through Easter Sunday the bite should continue improving. Good luck if you get out and send your catches my way. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Trip Tunes – March 27

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Catching up on the fishing reports also means keeping up with the Trip Tunes feature as it returns for 2025.

5. Come On Eileen – Dexy’s Midnight Runners (1983)
An MTV classic that was different even among the wide range of different that was Music Television in those early years when the channel stuck to music videos. A different delivery and sound combined with a different look in the video, it was definitely a hit. Number One, in fact. And forty years later, I still have no grip on many of the lyrics. Of course, the intent is loud and clear. Like most songs, it’s a love song.

4. Too Young to Fall in Love – Motley Crue (1984)
I guess that I would have been a high school junior when this tune was gaining popularity with my peers and caught my ear. Admittedly more of a pop or light rock guy, this hair band thing got me hooked and I was a fan of the genre through the rest of the decade. Funny thing, as I approach sixty, I’ve realized that I was a fan long before The Crue and their brethren took the stage. At this time, I would direct you to give a listen to Sweet and their catalog of tunes. You can thank me later.

3. Uncle John’s Band – Grateful Dead (1970)
My brother, Bub, is a true Deadhead and currently provides me with a weekly Grateful Dead tune to check out as he prepares for a trip to Vegas to catch Dead & Company. All the tunes he suggests are first listens to me as my Dead knowledge covers maybe ten songs. This tune remains my favorite Dead song while Bub’s suggestions have also added “Black Muddy River” to my listen list.

2. Feelin’ Stronger Every Day – Chicago (1973)
The band has reinvented its sound over the course of nearly sixty years but for my money, the old Chicago was the best Chicago. I did like many of the tunes during their 1980s Peter Cetera led resurgence, but it is tough to beat songs like this one. And you’ve gotta love those 1970s rock/pop tunes with horns as a prominent feature.

1. Lady Madonna – The Beatles (1968)
Let me start by saying that there are not enough Beatles songs on the radio (at least on my local presets) and the variety is also lacking. I have tracked the Beatles songs that I hear on the radio over the last two years with Come Together (16 plays) and Back in the USSR (9 plays) leading the way by far. Fine tunes but I would encourage programmers or DJs to do better. For instance, this tune that I’ve heard once this year and twice last year. Two and a half minutes of The Beatles doing what The Beatles did best as I will be singing the tune for the rest of the day.

Next up, is the Monday Top 5 Update as the bass are biting. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – March 30

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I have had this report completed for nearly a week but work, life, and lethargy have combined to delay the submission. So, better late then never, here is the latest fishing report.

Stats
Date: March 30
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 12:30pm-2:45pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Overcast/very windy/light rain, 59-55F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with twin tail trailer – 4 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 Spinnerbait
Top 2 Weight (only two at 12” or better): 2-12 (1-8,1-4)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones (1969)

1:39pm – First bass at 1-4 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Notes and Nonsense

Weather – Initially, I had no plans to get on the water on this cool Sunday, but free time opened up and as the old saying goes “the best time to go fishing, is any time you can.” With the temperature reading just shy of sixty degrees, it sounded like it wasn’t too bad out there, but wind and lack of sun made things chilly. As the afternoon progressed, the “feels like” reading had dipped to forty-two degrees. Now, I can fish all day but on this afternoon I will admit that I wasn’t too disappointed in having a projected quitting time. And this time, I stuck to it.

Winning Lure

Lone Lure – On three out of the four trips this year when I have landed bass, success has come courtesy of a single lure per outing. In the case of this trip, it was a War Eagle spinnerbait that got the job done. Similarly, all catches on March 14 fell to a chatterbait, and on March 27, a lipless crankbait was a winner. Granted I am not knocking them dead with between two and four bass per outing, but it seems the bass are picky early in the season even though I present them with multiple offerings each time I hit the water.

Fellow Fisherman Report – The cooler than expected weather did not keep a couple other anglers off the water. I spoke with a kayaker mid-trip who was struggling for a bite. At that point, we both only had “one that got away.” A bank angler that I chatted with prior to my launch had fared better, reporting four bass in the general area of the lock. That turned out to be my total even though I fished a mile of water compared to his limited access. While I prefer having free reign of the entire stretch, there is something to be said about working over a small area more thoroughly when that is all you have available.

2:18pm – Top Bass at 1-8 (14″) on a spinnerbait

To the Rescue – As I began rowing upstream after my launch, I spotted the bank angler mentioned above with a bend in his pole. I had witnessed one of his earlier catches but in this case, he was snagged. I hollered at him to hold on, not break it off, and I would see what I could do from a boat. Luck was on our side as his crankbait was snagged on a submerged branch within reach for me. He thanked me for the assistance, and I told him that as an old bank angler myself, I was happy to help save a few bucks and maybe a lucky lure.

Four bass fell short of my expectations but considering it took me an hour to get the first one in the boat, I was happy with a solid finish. It’s been a slow start to the year and circumstances are keeping me off the water for another week. Luckily, I have a pair of secondhand reports from my brother, Brent, and some Trip Tunes to fall back on until I get back to casting. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A slight delay on the normal Monday Top 5 Update but better late than never. Today’s featured anglers are our most recent Top 5 champs. Brent Jackson (2024 Champ) posts his first three entries of 2025 and Jim Junk (2021, 2022, 2023 Champ) adds his second quality bass of the year.

Weight: 4-10
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 6
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad)

Weight: 1-5
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 6
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad)

Weight: 1-0
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 6
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad)
Angler Comments: Three hours of fishing, seventeen bass. Overall, it was a decent day, and it was nice out. The sun was shining, and the wind was mild.
Top 5 Weight: 6-15 (4-10,1-5,1-0)

Weight: 3-13
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 6
Location: Peoria County Pond
Lure: Dark Sleeper
Angler Comments: Spent about an hour throwing a chatterbait and a Dark Sleeper. Again, one bite and one fish landed, a nice 3-13 on the Dark Sleeper. At this rate, I’ll have my Top 5 completed in three more weeks.
Top 5 Weight: 6-12 (3-13,2-15)

The weather looks to continue improving through the weekend and beyond so here’s hoping that it will result in another batch of submissions next week. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – March 27

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Fishing can deliver some much-needed stress relief and on this recent Thursday evening, I needed to check out for a couple hours. While I did not slay the bass, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Stats
Date: March 27
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:20pm-7:05pm
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 60F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-15 Red Eye Shad
Top 3 Weight (only three at 12” or better): 3-15 (1-15,1-2,0-14)

Staring lineup (chatterbait, ned rig, lipless crank, and jig)

Tune of the Trip
Hells Bells – AC/DC (1980)

6:02pm – Top Bass at 1-15 (16″) on a lipless crank

Notes and Nonsense

Fun For All Ages – In the parking lot and along the tow path, I spoke to seven fellow anglers over course of two hours. The age range of the fishermen covered the spectrum from young to not as young. Four were teenaged boys, one guy looked like he was in his thirties, another was my age, and the last fellow was more than a few years my senior. Fishing is alive and well on The Canal with some fooling more fish than others from shutouts to five bass.

6:12pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-2 (14″) on a lipless crank

Top Day – While the bite was not fast and furious, this trip did represent my best day on the water for 2025. The three bass total was an improvement over two bass on each of the two previous outings. The 1-15 Top Bass for this trip also tied the Top Bass thus far for 2025 and rounded out my initial Top 5 for the year.

Marketing – Quite a few years ago, I had some business cards printed up to promote the blog, the YouTube channel, and a Twitter presence. I’ve handed out a few over the years when crossing paths with other anglers but for the most part just shot the breeze and left the cards in my pocket. So, this year, I committed to handing them out to each angler that I encounter. On this outing, I got some feedback as a couple of the young anglers noted that we had crossed paths earlier and they had watched the latest YouTube videos. Kind of fun to hear and we’ll see how things go as the year progresses.

Winning lure – Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw)

While we have now reached April, I still have one more March fishing report to pass along. In addition, I am trying to keep up with the Trip Tunes this year. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy