Hennepin Canal Report – November 10

After achieving my goal of landing a November bass a couple weeks ago, I was content to put the gear away. However, a stretch of mild, stable weather led me to reconsider, and I hit the water again.

Stats
Date: November 10
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 12:25pm-2:45pm
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Overcast/very windy, 58F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-15 (Spinnerbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 4-3 (1-15,1-5,0-15)

Winning Lure

Notes and Nonsense

Destination – Initially, I intended to hit my top producing spot on The Canal. Since first fishing The Canal in June of 2021, this stretch leads the way with one hundred and ninety-two bass. However, I have not caught a single bass on the pool this year as my focus turned to other less fished pools. So, as I drove to the fishing hole, I changed my mind and opted to stick with the seldom fished trend instead. I chose a spot where I had only spent a total of five hours and landed sixteen bass, so it was deserving of further attention.

12:32pm – Top Bass at 1-15 (15.5″) on a spinnerbait

The layout of The Canal often provides an escape from a mighty wind

Wind – A cool thing about The Canal is that on most days you can find a spot to get out of the wind. For a guy who rows around in an eight-foot johnboat the narrow, mostly tree-lined corridor of The Canal is a winner. Especially this time of year, as I want to focus on casting over boat control and getting my lure as tight to as many targets as possible. As the water cools, the bass are not going to be as prone to chasing lures that aren’t in close proximity to where they are hanging out. Wind makes this precise presentation tough and hinders the ability to hit a target with multiple casts to work it over. My spot on this day was a solid choice as there was only one short section of unprotected bank that caused a bit of frustration. Not a problem as there was no way that I would have been able to fish more wide-open body of water effectively.

1:00pm – Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-5 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Top 5 Quest – The spot I chose was also in need of a Top 5 boost as the all-time weight was 8-12, which falls short of my double-digit goal. The first bite on this outing came in at 1-15 only seven minutes after launching and set a new mark for Top Bass on the pool. The catch had my hopes up, but I did not get another boost from the other two bass that I landed. I also had one other fish hooked that came loose on the way to the boat, but it would not have been large enough to give me the boost I needed. Therefore, a return trip will be required in search of a fourteen-ounce bump in weight.

Top 5 Weight increased from 8-12 to 9-2
Starting Top 5 = 8-12 (1-14,1-13,1-13,1-11,1-9)
New Top 5 = 9-2 (1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13,1-11) culled 1-9

1:45pm – Final bass of the day, will it be the final bass of the year?

Every catch at this time of the year is a bonus and it remains to be seen if these are the final “bonus bass” of the year. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

I normally get the stat update posted at the beginning of each month but got lazy this time around. Hard to believe there is only a month and a half remaining in 2024. Time flies when you are reeling in some fish.

Bass Totals (largemouth and spotted)

2024 Totals
March = 15 bass
April = 16 bass
May = 11 bass
June = 12 bass
July = 7 bass
August = 1 bass
September = 4 bass
October = 1 bass
November = 2 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
March = 18-3 (4-6,3-14,3-10,3-4,3-1)
April = 11-0 (2-8,2-7,2-4,2-0,1-13)
May = 14-15 (3-6,3-4,3-0,2-12,2-9)
June = 14-7 (3-12,3-0,2-10,2-9,2-8)
July = 16-2 (3-15,3-3,3-2,2-15,2-15)
August = 1-3 (1-3)
September = 11-5 (3-10,3-6,3-2,1-3)
October = 3-9 (3-9)
November = 3-2 (1-15,1-3)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 49 bass
Bank = 20 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 17-12 (3-15,3-12,3-9,3-4,3-4)
Bank = 18-14 (4-6,3-14,3-10,3-10,3-6)

Public vs. Private
Public = 68 bass
Private = 1 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 19-9 (4-6,3-15,3-14,3-12,3-10)
Private = 1-3 (1-3)

The Baits
Jerkbait = 18 bass (Top Bass 2-8 John Kirkemo)
Chatterbait = 10 bass (Top Bass 4-6 Jim Junk)
Plastic Worm = 9 bass (Top Bass 3-15 Brent Jackson)
Frog = 8 bass (Top Bass 3-10 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 8 bass (Top Bass 3-0 Troy Jackson)
Popper = 5 bass (Top Bass 3-12 Brent Jackson)
Lipless Crankbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 2-6 Jim Junk)
Spinnerbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Brent Jackson)
Buzzbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 2-9 Troy Jackson)
Crankbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 1-11 Troy Jackson)

Monthly Top Bass
March
4-6 Jim Junk
April
2-8 John Kirkemo
May
3-6 Brent Jackson
June
3-12 Brent Jackson
July
3-15 Brent Jackson
August
1-3 Brady Jackson
September
3-10 Troy Jackson
October
3-9 Brent Jackson
November
1-15 Troy Jackson

2024 Top 10 Bass
4-6 Jim Junk 3/3
3-15 Brent Jackson 7/19
3-14 Jim Junk 3/18
3-12 Brent Jackson 6/27
3-10 Jim Junk 3/3
3-10 Troy Jackson 9/29
3-9 Brent Jackson 10/19
3-6 Brent Jackson 5/4
3-6 Troy Jackson 9/29
3-4 Jayce Jackson 3/31
3-4 Brent Jackson 5/5

Angler Weights
Brent Jackson 17-14 (3-15,3-12,3-9,3-6,3-4)
Jim Junk 17-5 (4-6,3-14,3-10,3-1,2-6)
Troy Jackson 16-5 (3-10,3-6,3-3,3-2,3-0)
John Kirkemo 10-9 (2-8,2-7,2-0,1-13,1-13)
Julia Jackson 8-12 (2-10,1-10,1-10,1-8,1-6)
Jayce Jackson 3-4 (3-4)
Brady Jackson 1-3 (1-3)

Other Species

Bowfin
Troy Jackson 3-13 (3-13)

Channel Catfish
John Kirkemo 2-3 (2-3)

Freshwater Drum
Troy Jackson 2-10 (2-10)

Gar
John Kirkemo 28” (28”)

Striped Bass
John Kirkemo 9-13 (3-5,2-6,1-12,1-6,1-0)

Trout (brown and rainbow)
John Kirkemo 24” (12”, 12”)

While we won’t hit the one hundred bass mark this year, the Top 5 project is a treat no matter the haul. Stay tuned for the latest fishing report from The Canal as the casting in our neck of the woods winds down. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

A pair of November bass shows up this week. And while neither was large enough to boost either angler’s Top 5 Weight, it sure is nice to still be catching bass as the year winds down.

Weight: 1-3 (spotted bass)
Angler: John KIrkemo
Date: November 6
Weather: Partly cloudy
Air Temp: 70s
Water Temp: 72
Location: Lake Keowee (near the Fairfield Inn on Route 123, Seneca, SC
Lure: Rapala X-Rap (perch)
Angler Comments: Trolled a shallow running silver and black Rapala for a while without any hits. Switched to the Rapala X-Rap which is a deeper running suspending lure and caught this fish trolling through the area indicated on the attached map. I turned around and began trolling the same lure across the same area in the opposite direction and hooked another fish but lost it before I could get it close to the boat. No other hits during 2 hours of fishing.
Top 5 Weight: 10-9 (2-8,2-7,2-0,1-13,1-13)

Bonus pics from John of the Rapala X-Rap and an “X” marks the spot of where to troll it

Weight: 1-15 (15.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: November 10
Weather: Partly cloudy, very windy
Water Temp: Not available
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white)
Structure: Drop
Angler Comments: This was the first bass of the outing, and it bit five minutes after launching. I had high hopes, but the bite turned out to be slow with only two more bass in the next two hours. All good though as they are all “bonus” bass at this point in the year.
Top 5 Weight: 16-5 (3-10,3-6,3-3,3-2,3-0)

Time will tell if we get any more submissions, but the weather up here is still holding out, so you just never know. And those South Carolina bass should still be plenty active with water temperatures in the seventies. Stay tuned for an overdue Top 5 Stat Update soon and there’s a fishing report to submit to cover my November 10 visit to The Canal. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – November 2

One of my annual goals is to land a November bass before I put the gear away. So, I hit the Canal on November 2 and managed to get it done. I was also in search of the quality bites needed to boost some Top 5 totals into double-digits on three different pools.

11:29am – November bass in the books at 1-12 (16″) on a spinnerbait

Stats
Date: November 2
Location: Hennepin Canal (3 pools)
Time: 11:25am-3:30pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy, 52-61F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 2-5 (spinnerbait)
Top 4 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 7-10 (2-5,2-0,1-12,1-9)

Winning lure

Notes and Nonsense

Pool One – Four minutes after launching on my first spot, I had a bass in the boat and the pressure to catch a November was off. Unfortunately, it was the lone bass on the stretch in an hour of casting. I was also seeking a boost of two ounces as my all-time Top 5 on the area sat at 9-14. To reach a double-digit Top 5, I needed at least a 1-11 to knock out a 1-9, and I got it with a 1-12.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 9-14 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-9)
Top 5 Boost: Caught a 1-12 at 11:29am
New Top 5 Weight: 10-1 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-12)

12:31pm – Top Bass at 2-5 (17″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Two – Having accomplished my aim on the first pool and struggling to find more bites, I rowed through a tube to try my luck on another area. The Top 5 Weight on this stretch sat at 8-1 meaning that I would need one big bite or a couple quality bites to reach double-digits. While the bite was not hot with four bass in seventy-five minutes, I did get the bites that I needed.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 8-1 (3-0,1-14,1-7,0-14,0-14)
Top 5 Boost: Caught bass weighing 2-5,2-0, and 1-9
New Top 5 Weight: 10-12 (3-0,2-5,2-0,1-14,1-9)

2:50pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-0 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Three – The overall bite wasn’t fast and furious, but I was pleased to have found the late season boosts I was seeking to push the Top 5 on two more pools into double digits. Well, as Meatloaf sang, “Two out of three ain’t bad.” An hour and a half on this stretch produced a lone short fish that provided no help to the pool’s Top 5 Weight of 6-12. But hey, there’s always next year.

3:09pm – Top Bass #4 of the day at 1-9 (15″) on a spinnerbait

And speaking of next year, time will tell if that is when I will land my next bass. The weather outside is far from frightful though, so perhaps there are a few more casts left in 2024. However it works out, it has been quite a year on the water. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – October 14

The Hennepin Canal has taken a back seat while I have invested more fishing time on Lake Storey and the Knox County strip mines this fall. A recent return to The Canal involved getting the little boat on a new stretch of water for the first time.

11:48am – Top Bass at 1-7 (14″) on a lipless crankbait

Stats
Date: October 14
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 11:00am-1:30pm
Totals: 5 bass (4 largemouth, 1 smallmouth), 1 buffalo
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy, 52F
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 3 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-7 (spinnerbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 3-9 (1-7,1-2,1-0)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

New Water – This trip took place on a Monday wrapping up a five-day weekend as I broke down and used three vacation days. My pursuit of some late season bass took me to a stretch of The Canal that I had briefly fished from the bank one evening last summer. I chose the spot as not only had it been on my list, but it is also what I call a “weekday” spot. Meaning that it is too populated to mess with during the weekend. It also gets a little weird in the evenings so my midday approach allowed me to steer clear of the oddballs. I’ll just leave it at that.

1:29pm – a new species on The Canal, a smallmouth bass

Lyrical Catches – If you are around my age or older, I suspect that you encountered the old “Erie Canal” song in school or somewhere over the years. Many a day on the Hennepin Canal, I have found that tune playing on the soundtrack in my head with a few alternate lyrics depending on what is going down on the water. In fact, I have even penned my own version with the intent of posting it on the blog one of these days. Upon landing a pair of new Canal species, I now have a new verse.

“I’ve hauled in largemouth in my day
And with exploring I can say
I’ve now discovered where to go
To catch a smallmouth and a buffalo”

12:06pm – another new species on The Canal, a buffalo

My fishing year is winding down as thoughts turn to the annual goal of landing a November bass before I put away the gear. Shorter days get even shorter next Sunday as we turn back the clocks. Paired with a workday that ends at 5:00pm, it is weekend fishing from here on out. I intended to be on the water this weekend, but truck trouble has me homebound writing fish stories instead. Stay tuned to see what the next few weeks holds in store. Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – October 11

As part of an extended weekend, I took a Thursday and a Friday off work. My Thursday on Lake Storey was a success, so I headed back out on Friday with my brother, Brent, along to boost our odds in the quest for a double-digit Top 5 day.

Brent’s pre-launch predictions

Troy’s pre-launch predictions

Stats
Date: October 11
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 7:40am-3:10pm
Totals: 23 bass, 1 shad (Brent – 12 bass, Troy – 11 bass, 1 shad)
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy, 51-77F
Water temperature: 69F

8:02am – Troy Top Bass (tie) at 2-15 (18″) on a spinnerbait

Lures

Troy: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 7 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 2 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass, Googan Squad Gridiron Jig (rotten pumpkin) with Net Bait B Bug (natural craw swirl) – 1 bass

Brent: Strike King Red Eye Shad (chartreuse sexy shad) – 9 bass, Spinnerbait (green/white) – 3 bass

Top Bass

Troy Top Bass: 2-15 (two fish, Spinnerbait, Chatterbait)

Brent Top Bass: 2-9 (Lipless Crankbait)

10:59am – Troy Top Bass #3 at 2-4 (17″) on a jig

Top 5 Weights
Brent Top 5 Weight: 8-9 (2-9,2-1,1-4,1-3,1-2)
Troy Top 5 Weight: 11-9 (2-15,2-15,2-4,1-12,1-11)
Top 5 Weight (combined): 12-12 (2-15,2-15,-2-9,2-4,2-1)

12:51pm – Brent Top Bass #2 at 2-1 (15″) on lipless crankbait

Notes and Nonsense

Brother Bonus – I enjoy fishing with Brent as it is always fun to chat and collaborate for on the water decisions. Besides those reasons, it is also a pleasant change of pace to let him fight the wind and position the boat while all I must do is cast and reel. When we catch a fish, it is good to have a net man on board for a helping hand. Finally, it is good to steadily have a pair of lures in the water to boost the odds of putting one in front of an interested bass.

2:36pm – Troy Top Bass (tie) at 2-15 (18″) on a chatterbait

Back End Bass – As noted above, Brent was in charge of boat control with the bow-mounted, foot-controlled trolling motor while I pitched in on longer runs with the trolling motor on the stern. My top three bass were landed by virtue of just being along for the ride and not having to “drive” and fight the wind. My first 2-15 came out of nowhere as Brent guided us down a nothing sort of bank where I was free to just fire away. I later got a 2-4 while bouncing a jig around a windblown, isolated tree that would have been difficult to fish while running the trolling motor. Another 2-15 came off a shallow branch where Brent had just landed a small bass. As he unhooked his catch, I “stole” his spot and was rewarded with a quality bass on a chatterbait.

2:58pm – Brent Top Bass at 2-9 (17.5″) on a lipless crankbait

It’s Not How You Start – Less than an hour into the trip, I had three bass in the boat including a pair of keepers (2-15 and 1-7) while Brent had yet to land a fish. He commented that the first hour for him was indeed a struggle. My response was that things often have a way of evening out in the end. About twenty minutes after this conversation, Brent got on the board and as it all shook out, he ended up on top with a twelve bass to eleven bass finish. Our combined Top 5 contributions also worked out as well as they could as I landed three and Brent landed two.

 

The Lake Storey bite continued to be productive as this fifth outing of the fall brought the totals to ninety-two bass. On this trip, there was also a muskie encounter, a couple fishing milestones, and quality catches off the beaten path. Just too much to put into one report so stay tuned for future posts relating to the additional notes from our solid fall drawdown trips. But the Lake Storey fishing may not be done for the year. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

We have our first submission from October as Brent found a good bite at the strip mines.

Weight: 3-9
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: October 19
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Spinnerbait
Editor’s Note: Brent’s full report consisted of a two-hour trip where he landed nine bass with a Top 5 Weight of 7-12, all on a spinnerbait.
Top 5 Weight: 17-14 (3-15,3-12,3-9,3-6,3-4) culls a 3-2

A solid boost late in the year is always something to cheer about. Here’s to adding a few more fish for a strong finish to 2024. Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – October 10

Lake Storey treated me well in September, so I had to see what October had to offer. I was still in search of a ten-pound Top 5 as the three prior trips came up a bit short. I’d had the quality bites on the September trips, but several threw the lures before they made it to the boat. Maybe the fourth trip would be the charm.

10:16am – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-2 (16″) on a lipless crankbait

Stats
Date: October 10
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 9:10am-5:25pm
Totals: 21 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to calm, 53-80F
Water temperature: 71F
Lures: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 13 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 6 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass, Bomber Flat A (baby bass) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-8 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 9-13 (2-8,2-2,1-13,1-12,1-10)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Pre-launch predictions

On The Lake Updates – For this outing I decided to post pre-launch predictions on social media followed by regular updates as I caught “keepers” to build and improve a Top 5. Things worked out well as the results turned out close to the predictions. My guess for a Top 5 Weight came up thirteen ounces shy (10-10 prediction vs. 9-13 result). Top Bass was off by eleven ounces (3-3 prediction vs. 2-8 result) but my totals were nearly exact (22 prediction vs. 21 result). It’s always fun to pull the predict and update stunt but I run the risk of looking foolish if the bass outsmart me. Fortunately, things worked out well as the bass made it look like I knew what I was doing.

 

3:29pm – Top Bass at 2-8 (17.5″) on a spinnerbait

Feedback – Around the halfway point of my day, I came within conversation distance of another angler. The fellow greeted me saying that he’d heard from his friend that I was sitting at a Top 5 of 7-7. I did not know the other angler and had never formally met his remote buddy, so I got a kick out of being on the water with someone who was up to date on my updates. I bet we sat in the calm, shady spot for half an hour discussing our morning results, swapping fish stories, and talking about a collection of fishing holes. Kyle, if you are out there reading, I enjoyed the conversation and nice to meet you. And tell Chad that I appreciate his looking at my internet rambles and social media posts. Most of my fishing talk is from behind a keyboard, so it is always a treat to share fish stories in person.

Catch chronology

Close But No Cigar – I had another solid day on the lake but came up three ounces shy of hitting my ten-pound Top 5 goal. I needed just one more good bass and may have had it on as the first bite of the day. Less than half a dozen casts after launching, a solid fish hit my spinnerbait only to get wrapped on a limb and come off before I could get within reach of the branch. Later, I lost another quality fish at the boat although a few casts later I was fortunate to get a 2-2 in the same area. Classic examples of “the one that got away,” but that’s fishing.

 

Stoked by a sold day, I wasn’t done with Lake Storey quite yet as I was back on the water the next morning. And I had another skilled angler on board to take our shot at that ten-pound mark. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Reports

Catching up on the fishing reports with a combined recap of four Canal visits over the past two weeks.

September 29 at 2:10pm weighing 3-6 (19″) on a frog

Stats
Date: September 29, October 5, 8,12
Location: Hennepin Canal (6 pools)
Time: 9.75 hours total
Totals: 12 bass
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 6 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 5 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-10 (Spro frog on 9/29)
Top 5 Weight (combined trips): 11-1 (3-10,3-6,1-8,1-5,1-4)

Winning Lures

September 29 at 4:10pm weighing 3-10 (19″) on a frog

September 29
Bike/2 pools/2.75 hours/4 bass/Top Bass 3-10/Top 2 Weight 8-7
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 4 bass
Goal: Boost my Top 5 of 7-6 on one pool into double digits.
Results: A 3-10 and a 1-7 achieved my goal in reaching 10-0 on one pool. The other pool also produced a 3-6, equaling its Top Bass (3-6 on 7/21/21) and boosting its all-time Top 5 to 15-11, my second-best pool on The Canal.
Highlight: I had seen that a fellow Canal angler was catching quality bass on a white Spro frog. My white (albino) frog was damaged and out of commission, but I was able to steal the guts from a brown frog to repair. The observation and decision produced my top two Canal bass of the year.
Lowlight: Four bass in three hours left much to be desired but when a pair are in the three-pound range, it is tough to complain.

Swapping the “guts” of another Spro frog into the albino body was a winner

October 5 at 10:15am weighing 1-5 (15″) on a spinnerbait

October 5
Boat/3 pools/3.00 hours/6 bass/Top Bass 1-5/Top 2 Weight 2-3
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 6 bass
Goals: Fish a “distant” pool that sat at a Top 5 weight of 7-14. Plan B was a pair of connected pools that sat at 9-14 and 7-14, respectively.
Results: The only “keepers” were a 1-5 and an 0-14, with the latter providing a three-ounce boost on one pool to raise its Top 5 to 8-2.
Highlight: My first stop was at the mid-point of an event called the “Hennepin Hundred,” a 100-mile run along The Canal. While I did not see any participants due to the event just starting in Sterling, IL, I marvel at folks taking on such a challenge.
Lowlight: I blanked at my first stop, then elected to pursue Plan B and find cleaner water. That didn’t work out so great either.

October 8 at 6:22pm weighing 1-8 (14″) on a frog

October 8
Bike/2 pools/1.75 hours/1 bass/Top Bass 1-8
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 1 bass
Goal: Revisit the pools that produced a pair of three-pounders on September 29 in search of some more quality bites.
Result: Only landed one fish.
Highlight: I did not get shut out.
Lowlight: Two good blowups on the frog were misses as the bass had bad aim.

October 12 at 9:15am weighing 1-4 on a chatterbait

October 12
Boat/1 pool/2.25 hours/1 bass/Top Bass 1-4
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Goal: Find the quality bite(s) needed to push my Top 5 weight on a pool from 9-1 into double figures.
Result: Landed one bass that was not large enough to boost my weight.
Highlight: I did not get shut out.
Lowlights: The location was a bad choice considering the direction of a strong east wind. I also missed a decent bass as the boat was drifting towards the fish and I faltered on getting an effective hookset.

The Canal continues to give me fits although the outing that produced two three-pounders was a treat. Multiple quality bites have been more the exception than the rule in 2024. Hopefully, I can get a few more shots to see if I can redeem myself but I shifted my focus back to Lake Storey for the next two outings. Stay tuned for those reports. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – September 27

This time of the year is about finales as some of my fishing holes are shutting down and cold weather is on the horizon. For my final visit to a batch of public strip pits, the plan was to hit a few lakes one last time before bidding them farewell for 2024. The goal was thirteen bass as that would establish an all-time yearly bass record of 554 bass.

Stats
Date: September 27
Location: Knox County public strip pits (5 lakes)
Time: 1:20pm-6:35pm (3.75 hours fishing)
Totals: 21 bass
Weather: Overcast/very windy, 73F
Lures: 3.75” Strike King Rage Swimmer Swimbait (sexy shad) with a Twist Lock Flashy Swimmer jighead – 16 bass Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 1-9 (Swimbait)
Top 5 Weight: 6-13 (1-9,1-6,1-6,1-5,1-3)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

3:20pm – Bass #554 at 1-0 (13″) on a swimbait

Mission Accomplished – At 3:20pm, I landed a 13” bass (weight 1-0) on a swimbait as Bass #554 of the year. I wasn’t overly concerned with what size the record breaker would be, but I was happy that at least it was a “keeper.” And speaking of keepers, ten of the twenty-one bass on this outing met or exceeded the twelve-inch mark. Not a bad percentage, but the best of the keepers only weighed 1-9.

4:05pm – Top Bass at 1-9 (14″) on a swimbait

Rare Sight – Some of these waters are well off the beaten path, so I don’t often see many anglers who aren’t my brother. On this trip, I did spy another fellow across a deep strip mine cut. The guy was a few hundred yards away as the bass swims. However, it would have taken half a mile of walking to get to have a normal conversation. I could not determine what he was casting, and I did not hear the commotion of any catches as I focused on my fishing tasks. Hopefully, he had success though as I have been in his shoes. It takes considerable effort to get to where he was standing.

Some serious wind on this day

Strip Pit Perils – Hiking the strip mines is no walk in the park. At this time of the year, terrestrial vegetation presents navigational challenges. It can range from knee high on high ground to over your head in the low-lying areas. It also hides washouts, so you must be careful not to get in too big of a hurry and not get too ambitious jumping over what appear to be small ruts. On several lakes, the banks are steep and the extreme wind on this day also rocked me on my heels numerous times. Oh yeah, and then there’s all the Argiopes (commonly called “garden spiders”) hanging between the weeds.

It’s a workout

Aftermath – The combination of four miles of challenging hiking along with standing in a boat for eight hours on the previous day left me sore. The list included a stiff lower back, a twinge in my right knee, a version of tennis elbow (I call it “caster’s elbow), a sore left shoulder, both of my heels were hollering at me, and my hands hurt. On the upside, I managed to avoid the post-trip cramps that have popped up in the last several years. Julie and I went out for lunch and a drive the following day for our anniversary, and I got along just fine. In the past, I got stuck on an elevated stool at a restaurant as my legs cramped up so bad that I was not going to be able to stand if I left the stool. Last year, I ended up sitting in my truck in the driveway for five minutes after the hour drive home waiting for leg cramps to run their course. Just can’t beat fun at the old fishing hole.

 

With record Bass #554 in the log, I have now set my sights on reaching the six-hundred mark. And I have already started chipping away with a couple trips to The Canal. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

So long to this batch of strip pits. See you again in April of 2025.