For the third time in September, I hit a stretch of The Canal that had my number in the pursuit of a ten-pound Top 5. Dating back to a July 20 trip, I have been within one two-pound bite of getting it done but haven’t been able to get it in the boat. Disappointing for sure, but the bites are there, just need to keep on casting. With a mix of determination and desperation, I was back again.

10:46am – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-7 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Stats
Date: September 25
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:25am-11:10am (with rain delay 8:50am-9:35am)
Totals: 6 bass
Weather: Overcast/calm/rain, 60-66F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with BPS double tail grub trailer (Houdini) – 4 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (black) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 2-2 (Spinnerbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 4-9 (2-2,1-7,1-0)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

History – Dating back to a productive July 20 visit to this area, I have been within one quality bite of making my mark. I’d come into 2026 with a Top 5 Weight on this stretch of 7-15 and by this outing, I remained stuck at 9-10 through my last three trips. On that July 20 outing and again on September 12, I had the needed fish hooked only to have it come loose at boatside. Two other visits were flat out stubborn bites with one bass (July 23) and three bass (September 13) and nothing even close to the weight I needed.

Rain, rain go away

Disappointment and Delay – First cast was at 7:25am, first bass didn’t show up until 8:30am (a short fish at 11.5”), and then the rain showed up at 8:50am. Not exactly a stellar start to the morning. I had a rain jacket, but no rain pants and the precipitation reached a point where I opted to shelter under a nearby bridge. After forty-five minutes, the rain let up enough that I decided to resume casting.

9:56am – Top Bass weighing 2-2 (16″) on spinnerbait to boost my creel over ten pounds

Mission Accomplished – At 9:41am, I landed a bass weighing one pound on a buzzbait. While it was certainly encouraging to get another fish in the boat, it was no help to my Top 5 Weight. Fortunately, I did not have to wait long for my next bite. At 9:56am, I got the strike that I was seeking on a spinnerbait retrieved through abundant submerged wood cover as a light rain continued to fall. The bass tipped the scales at 2-2, knocking a 1-9 out of my creel and boosting the Top 5 Weight for the pool to 10-3. A fishing “fist pump” sort of moment.

9:59am – Screenshot from the video of another one that got away

Another One That Got Away – Minutes after I landed the 2-2, a similar fish hooked up on the spinnerbait but managed to throw the bait as it thrashed the surface. I got a decent look at the fish, and it would have equaled or topped the prior catch. It marked the third such fish that I had lost on this stretch of The Canal this year. It always stinks to lose a good fish (or any fish for that matter) but I have to say that it was easier to take knowing that I already had accomplished my goal.

I was grateful to get the monkey off my back as finding bites on this pool had me scratching my head. I knew they were there but either couldn’t fool them or couldn’t finish the job when I had one on the line. This section has some of the best-looking wood cover on The Canal but with a ten-pound bag in the books, I was good to leave it alone for the rest of the year and focus on other areas. Plenty of reports to come from those adventures. Talk to you later. Troy

I was hoping that the third time would be a charm on a stubborn stretch of The Canal that was lacking only six ounces of having the sought after ten-pound Top 5. My starting point was a weight of 9-10, and I knew the bite(s) were there as I’d had them hooked twice before only to have them come loose at boatside. Read on to see if I had any better “luck” on this outing.

7:26am – First bass weighing 1-3 (13.5″) on a buzzbait

Stats
Date: September 13
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:45am-10:30am
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/breezy, 56-70F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (snow white shad) with BPS double tail trailer (Houdini) – 2 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 (Spinnerbait)
Top 2 Weight (only two bass at 12” or better): 2-11 (1-8,1-3)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

History – I have it in mind to create a series of posts covering the details on each of the twenty-five pools in my Top 5 Quest but that is quite an undertaking. Perhaps a wintertime project. For now, the brief synopsis on this pool featured a 2026 starting weight of 7-15 that got a boost to 9-10 after a July 20 trip. On that trip, I landed a 2-1, a 2-5, and had the bite the I needed within arm’s reach before it spit out my buzzbait. A return trip on September 12, saw the scene of “the one that got away” replayed as the bass I needed came loose from a buzzbait at boatside yet again. Oddly, both bites came from within a few yards of each other. I worked the spot over on this latest trip, but nobody was interested.

9:29am – Top Bass weighing 1-8 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Mystery – This spot has got my number, and I really don’t know why. It has an incredible amount of wood cover that is custom made for my spinnerbait approach or a buzzbait ran over and around. Those offerings produced all my fish on this trip, but that was only three bass. The previous day, I had been given a tip about tossing a chatterbait, but I got no interest on this outing. In addition, I spoke to a pair of anglers on this trip that were tossing creatures and wacky rigs, but they were faring no better.

Post-trip outro that I often make in the event that I ever get around to posting more YouTube clips

 

“So let’s leave it alone, ‘cause we can’t see eye to eye.”
We Just Disagree – Dave Mason (1977)
One of my all-time favorite tunes was apt to sum up this trip, and this stretch of The Canal. One of these days, those fish will bust loose and go crazy as I am confident that my approach has what it takes. In the meantime, I took my lures and tested some other spots that needed a Top 5 boost for my next adventure. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

The plan was to hit two pools that were lacking a good bite or two from establishing a ten-pound Top 5. Both have given me trouble over the years, and it was past time to check them off my list. I started on the less appealing stretch of my two destinations hoping for a quick bite to complete the quest so I could move on to the second spot. Read on to see how the plan worked out.

Stats
Date: September 12
Location: Hennepin Canal (2 pools)
Time: 6:35am-7:50am, 8:45am-12:30pm
Totals: 11 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 64-77F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: – Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (snow white shad) with BPS double tail trailer (Houdini) – 4 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (white) – 3 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (black/blue) with a Salmo Spikey Shad swimbait trailer (UV blue ice) – 3 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (strawberry cream) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-10 (Buzzbait)
Top 5 Weight: 8-8 (2-10,1-9,1-8,1-7,1-6)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

7:29am – Top Bass weighing 2-10 (17.5″) on a buzzbait

Should I Stay or Should I Go (The Clash – 1982) – Less than an hour into casting on my first spot, my second bite was the one that I needed, a bass weighing 2-10 landed on a buzzbait. It was the second largest bass that I had ever landed on the stretch and boosted my Top 5 Weight from 9-11 to 10-13 (2-12,2-10,2-3,1-10,1-10). It was great to get the monkey off my back but left me with a dilemma. Did a quality bite warrant sticking around or was I better off hitting the road to see if I could repeat the feat on pool number two. I gave it about twenty minutes before I loaded up and headed out, catching one more bass along the way.

12:00pm – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-9 (15″) on a chatterbait

Same Ol’ Situation (Motley Crue – 1990) – Back on July 20, I had the bite that I needed for the boost into double digits at boatside before it came off. Well, I had a similar bass on the line at boatside on this day and once again, it got loose at the boat. The crazy thing is that both bass were hooked within several feet of each other nearly two months apart. Could it have been the same fish? We’ll never know but you can bet that I will hit that area every time that I return.

“The one that got away” right before it got away

Get it Right Next Time (Gerry Rafferty – 1979) – While I did succeed in meeting my goal on one stop, the missed fish on the second spot still bothers me. It is a great looking stretch of water with abundant targets that set up well for my power fishing approach. Lots of wood both on the shoreline and away from the bank to buzz over and bump around with a buzzbait, spinnerbait, and chatterbait. Perhaps I should also slow down a bit and pitch some creature baits or plastic worms to the cover as well. Whatever the case, I will be back as the bites are there, just need a little better “luck” in putting them in the boat.

Something strange in the neighborhood when I stopped for an iced tea on the way home

I had the opportunity to get back on the water the following day. There was some mental debate on my destination, but I went with the “get back on the horse that threw you” approach. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

For this outing, I put one aspect of the ten-pound Top 5 Canal quest on hold. Rather than trying to fill in the blanks on the few remaining pools that lacked weight, I opted to visit a spot that had already hit the mark. The aim was to find some bites to give that total a boost. The approach would also be entirely different as the water conditions featured abundant surface vegetation unlike the other spots I’d recently been visiting.

7:16am – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 2-11 (17.5″) on a Whopper Plopper

Stats
Date: September 7
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:10am-10:40am
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm, 64-74F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 2 bass, Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-0 (Frog)
Top 3 Weight (only three bass at 12″ or better): 7-4 (3-0,2-11,1-9)

Winnng lures

Notes and Nonsense

Data and Goals – The spot that I chose had a personal starting Top 5 Weight of 10-7 (2-8,2-2,2-1,1-15,1-13). Therefore, it had already been checked off my list but resided in the low end of overall weights in falling between ten and eleven pounds. The goal on this trip was to boot the pair of one pounders to have all members of the Top 5 at two pounds or better. As an added note, Julie held the Top Bass record for the pool with a bass weighing 2-10 caught on June 14, 2024. My brother, Brent, posted a 2-5 on June 27 this year to also contribute to the combined Top 5. With those bass added, the combined angler Top 5 Weight sat at 11-10.

Sleuthing – I dig finding fishing reports online for places that I fish, such as The Canal, Lake Storey, the Knox County public strip pits, and more. While I certainly admire the catches, more important to me is any additional information that the report provides. One such aspect would be the lures/presentations that fooled the fish. Another of my favorite bits of detective work is scouring the backdrop of any photos for clues. The latter part of my sleuthing was the primary reason that I chose my destination for this outing. I’d seen a recent post reporting a batch of quality catches that revealed the technique along with a weedy background and some visual clues in one of the photos. And just like that, I knew where I was headed the next time that I found myself pondering where to go.

Starting lineup

Conditions and Presentations – The abundance of surface vegetation, shallow, clear water, and scattered open channels through the weeds screamed topwater tactics. The lone factor that was lacking was that I wished I’d had some better cloud cover to keep the fish less spooky. There were occasionally scattered clouds that moved through and a fair amount of shade before the sun cleared the tree line but predominantly full sun. I ran a Whopper Plopper or a buzzbait through open water focusing on paralleling weed edges whenever possible. The frog was cast over and around surface mats and twitched/buzzed along edges and across open area within the mats.

8:34am – Top Bass weighing 3-0 (18″) on a frog

The Results – Three bass in just over three hours was far from knocking them dead. However, two of the bites were the two largest bass that I had ever landed on the pool and the third was a solid “keeper” as well. The top two bass of the morning tipped the scales at 3-0 and 2-11, respectively. As a result, my personal Top 5 Weight on the pool received a significant boost from 10-7 to 12-6. For the combined weight with other angler’s catches (Julie and Brent) the mark now stands at 13-11.

Bonus pics of angler catches that are part of the combined Top 5 for this pool

June 14, 2024 – Julie with Top Bass #3 weighing 2-10 (18″) on a Whopper Plopper

June 27, 2026 – Brent with Top Bass #5 weighing 2-5 (17″) on a chatterbait

Once again, The Canal provided some surprises. Looking back to the first two times that I ever fished this section back in the summer of 2022, I left wondering if there were any decent bass in the pool. The water level was low, weeds were abundant, and I could see bottom on nearly the entire length of the pool. Those two outings produced only three small “keepers” in three hours of casting. In the meantime, I’ve come to learn that there are quality bites all along the old waterway and this outing further confirmed that one should not pass judgment based on first (or second, or third…) impressions. Talk to you later. Troy

For my third consecutive day on The Canal, I set aside my quest to establish a ten-pound Top 5 Weight on any of the stretches that was lacking. Instead, I opted for a slightly shorter drive to take a shot at a spot that already featured a double-digit Top 5 Weight of 10-2. The aim was the same: find the bites to boost my weight. But in this case they would all be icing on the cake and there was an ample bump on this outing.

11:42am – Top Bass weighing 3-9 (20″) on a buzzbait

Stats
Date: August 30
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 10:15am-2:15pm (with a 15-minute rain delay)
Totals: 13 bass
Weather: Overcast/breezy/rain
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (black) – 8 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with BPS double tail grub trailer (Houdini) – 2 bass, Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (snow white shad) with BPS double tail grub trailer (Houdini) – 2 bass, 5” Yamamoto Yamasenko wacky rig (cream white) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-9 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 13-1 (3-9,3-2,2-3,2-2,2-1)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

Observation and Destination – Many times when I travel east to fish stretches of The Canal further from my local spots, I take the “scenic” route on the way home. I drive along and across the old waterway to get a look at the water conditions. In doing so this year, it became apparent that the aquatic vegetation had been treated as shoreline vegetation and lily pad patches were nearly non-existent east of Geneseo. This new look prompted me to take a trip to an area that I had not visited in nearly two years.

12:03pm – Top Bass #2 weighing 3-2 (18.5″) on a buzzbait

Presentation – The lack of shoreline weed cover exposed numerous open water wood targets that were formerly under or surrounded by vegetation. Rather than having to rely on a topwater frog, the logs and brush now set up well for a spinnerbait approach. In addition, instead of only being able to run a buzzbait along weed edges, I could now retrieve it directly along and over the cover. These two approaches produced twelve of my thirteen catches on this outing. And the lone outlier was caught on Senko wacky rig follow-up cast after a bass had a swing and miss on a spinnerbait.

1:06pm – Top Bass #3 weighing 2-3 (16″) on a buzzbait

Highlights – The daily Top 5 Weight of 13-1 for this outing established a new best day on The Canal topping a 12 -1 from March 22, 2026. The 3-9 from this trip represents the Top Bass on this stretch and the 3-2 equaled the previous best. The 3-9 bass also gave my 2026 Top 5 a boost to 17-15 as it culled a 3-2. In addition, three of the day’s catches (3-9,3-2,2-3) helped to bump my all-time total on this stretch from 10-2 to 14-4.

1:30-1:45pm rain delay

Lowlights – While I landed five bass in the two-and three-pound range, there were also several missed strikes and a breakoff on a hookset. Four missed strikes on a buzzbait included three that were substantial blow-ups. I also saw the flash of a fish that swung and missed on a spinnerbait that was in the two-pound range. Had I landed those fish, who knows how high the daily Top 5 could have been. Oh yeah, I also sat out a fifteen-minute rain delay without a lure in the water.

 

It was one of those days when things just fell into place. A midday buzzbait bite is not a common occurrence, but The Canal is not a common fishing hole. Overcast conditions (with some rain), shallow water, and ample targets made it worth a shot. That’s fishing and it is rewarding when you have them figured out for a few hours. I have a backlog of Canal fishing reports to submit. Stay tuned for the ups and downs in my pursuit for double-digit Top 5 marks on the handful of spots that need a few more quality bites. Talk to you later. Troy