I was able to hit The Canal for the third day in a row and selected another stretch that was lacking an initial Top 5 Weight. My only prior visit to the area was on May 25 of this year when I logged  four bass in two and a half hours of exploring. Only three of the bass were keepers with a combined weight of 5-2 (3-2,1-1,0-15). My aim on this outing was to fool two more keepers to fill the Top 5 for the pool and then see if I could bump the weight with a few more. Read on for the results.

12:43pm – Second “keeper” at 1-0 (12.5″ to fill out an initial Top 5 for this stretch of The Canal

Stats
Date: October 22
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 12:00pm-3:15pm
Totals: 11 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 50-58F
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 9 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with Bass Pro Shops Twin Tail trailer (Houdini) – 1 bass, Strike King Squarebill Crankbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-9 Spinnerbait
Top 4 Weight (only four at 12” or better: 4-14 (1-9,1-8,1-0,0-13)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

The Pool – This particular stretch of The Canal covers two miles of water between a pair of culverts. During my only other visit back on May 25, I fished the eastern half of the stretch prior to turning around to fish back to the truck before it got dark. Wouldn’t you know that I caught all four of my bass in a forty-minute time frame near where I decided to turn around. This left me wondering what lay beyond, and on this outing, I was committed to finding out.

Catch Chronology
12:30pm – 12.5” (0-13) Chatterbait
12:43pm – 12.5” (1-0) Chatterbait
12:56pm – 11.5” Chatterbait
1:09pm – 11” Crankbait
1:15pm – 11.5” Chatterbait
1:21pm – 9.5” Chatterbait
1:26pm – 11” Chatterbait
1:47pm – 11.5” Chatterbait
2:04pm – 14.5” (1-8) Chatterbait
2:41pm – 11.5” Chatterbait
2:48pm – 14.5” (1-9) Spinnerbait

2:48pm – Top Bass of the Day and my final catch at 1-9 (14.5″) on a spinnerbait

Top 5 Established – My first two catches were “keepers” and took the pressure off having to find the fish needed to establish the initial Top 5 for this pool. As the day ended, I did manage to fool two larger “keepers’ to boost the overall weight. With these results, my Top 5 for this stretch currently sits at 8-3 (3-2,1-9,1-8,1-0,0-13). Ultimately, I would like to boost the total into double digits, but that will be a task for another year.

 

New Stuff – I’m always enthused to see new sections or new parts of stretches that I haven’t fully explored. Granted, a lot of The Canal looks the same and, in many instances, rather bland when viewing from the towpath. However, there are many details that come to light when able to get on the water in a boat or kayak. This stretch was no exception as I found one of the few beaver lodges that I have observed, several nice piles of riprap, and many logs/fallen trees that looked like a good hiding place for a bass. This time around, some held a fish, some didn’t but all had potential for some future casts.

Is this so long to The Canal for 2023? It’s been another good year of exploring.

Responsibilities and shorter days have kept me away from the water with this outing being my last opportunity to chase bass. My annual goal is a November bass, but it may be extra challenging this year. I have my sights set on a future date with The Canal, but time will tell if it works out or if I can outsmart that final fish. It’s been a very good year though, no matter how it all winds up. Talk to you later. Troy

I headed out to The Canal on October 20 in search of nine bass to meet my goal of 447 bass for 2023. The mark would give me 1,000 bass over the last two years after a new personal record of 553 bass in 2022. After a tough bite to start the day, the bass came through as detailed below.

Chose this pump at a gas station along the way for good luck 

Stats
Date: October 20
Location: Hennepin Canal (three pools)
Time: 10:40am-5:35pm (5.50 hours fishing)
Totals: 10 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 54-60F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with Bass Pro Shops Twin Tail trailer (Houdini) – 6 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 3 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- Crankbait (red craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-10 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight (three pools combined): 8-6 (3-10,1-12,1-1,1-1,0-14)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Slow Start – Arriving at my first destination, I was greeted by another angler who had just launched. We had a brief conversation to compare some notes and I elected to head for an alternate location to stay out of his way. The second location was new water, and the bass were not as welcoming as I had hoped. It took me forty-five minutes to get my first and only bite. I hung around for a total of two hours and gave it a good effort before heading for an area I had only seen from the bank on a family outing this summer.

1:41pm – New Top Bass record for me on The Canal at 3-10

New Top Bass – Fully aware that there are no guarantees in fishing, I opted to gamble on another stretch of unfamiliar water rather than any regular stomping grounds as I searched for eight more bass. I had previously seen about fifty yards of this area from the bank and that was while playing fishing guide for Julie and the kids in June. Two more hours of rowing and casting was much more successful with six bass, but I was still two bass shy of my goal. The highlight of the stretch, however, was a 3-10 bass that set a new Top Bass mark for me on The Canal, topping a pair at 3-6.

4:34pm – Bass #1000 as described below

Bass #1000 – Stop number three was a spot that I had fished twice before with the last visit being a week prior. That trip had produced a solid bite with fifteen bass landed. And with recent decent weather, I was hoping for a repeat performance. An hour and a half only produced three bass but that was one more than I needed. At 4:34pm, a chatterbait fooled a 12” bass that weighed in at 0-13 for Bass #1000. No matter that it was not a trophy in terms of size, it made the mark.

4:44pm – A new trick with a bass caught on an unusual piece of structure, a dead deer

Deer Bass – Having Bass #1000 in the log made my day but I still had some daylight left and some distance remaining to row back to the truck. The next hour only produced one more bass, but Bass #1001 turned out to be a memorable catch as well. I had fished the spot where it was landed a week earlier and thought that it set up perfectly. The shoreline featured a stretch of chunky riprap at and below the water level. This rocky run served as one edge of an open water trough that was lined with lilypads on the channel side. I had worked it over on the previous visit without a bite but figured that it was worth another look. As I approached, I observed what I thought was a log at the leading edge of the channel side of the trough. As I got closer, I realized that the log was actually a dead deer. It turns out that the added “cover” was just what the spot needed to produce a bite as a chatterbait duped a 12.5” (0-14) bass. It made for a good fish story (and video for a future post), and that’s what it’s all about.

 

It’s all icing on the cake from this trip forward as my days on the water are numbered with October drawing to a close. My annual aim is to finish the year with a November bass and the new month only lies a few days away. But I am getting ahead of myself as there are still a couple more October outings to report. Talk to you later. Troy

I hit The Canal last weekend lacking twenty-six bass for my 2023 goal of 447 bass. Saturday evening consisted of a bike ride while Sunday found me dragging the boat along. Read on for the report and status on reaching my target.

October 14 – Top Bass at 1-1 (13″) on a squarebill crankbait

Stats
Date: October 14-15
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 4:05pm-6:05pm, 2:15pm-5:00pm
Totals:2 bass, 15 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy, 55F
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 7 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- Crankbait (red craw) – 4 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with Bass Pro Shops Twin Tail trailer (Houdini) – 4 bass, Strike King Rattling Squarebill (sexy shad) – 1 bass, Yum Wooly Bug (green pumpkin) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-2 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight (combined trips): 8-5 (2-2,1-14,1-13,1-7,1-1)

Winning Lures – October 14 (left) and October 15 (right)

Notes and Nonsense

Two Bass on Two Wheels – With only a couple hours to get away and windy conditions (yes, even on The Canal), I opted for bike over boat. I chose a mid-distance destination (less than 25-minute drive) with the days getting shorter and a late afternoon departure. The stretch features solid bank access and is home to several quality catches over the last two-plus years. With all of that said, it didn’t really work out as well as I’d hoped with two bass in the pound range and a similar fish that got away. All three catches were within a fifty-yard stretch although I did cover several miles on the bike.

October 15 at 2:36pm- Top Bass Runner-Up 1-14 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Sunday Gamble – Saturday’s struggle left me needing twenty-four bass to meet my goal and Sunday didn’t get off to such a hot start in terms of weather. Originally, I intended a late morning trip but waited out some unappealing weather and hit the water mid-afternoon instead. With a larger window of several hours to fish, I opted to drive a bit farther than normal to a section of The Canal that I had only visited twice. Those outings had resulted in ten bass in just over three hours of fishing from a boat. Beyond those results, I just had a good feeling about the spot.

October 15 at 4:13pm – Top Bass 2-2 (17″) on a chatterbait

Sunday Success – My gamble paid off to the tune of fifteen bass from 2:15pm to 5:00pm. I will admit that I did waver a bit upon arrival as the water was rather murky. The alternative would have wasted twenty minutes of fishing time while driving and instinct held that my first choice was still the best choice. My second cast with a Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait provided all the feedback that I needed, and it was game on. Along with the Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait, I mixed in a War Eagle Spinnerbait, and a Z-Man Chatterbait enroute to a solid day. Top Bass for the day came in at 2-2 and hit a chatterbait along a mix of riprap, sparse weeds and a ledge, a classic combination on The Canal. In fact, I found bass in all the right places as this stretch features an appealing mix of rock, weeds, wood, depth, and manmade structure.

 

Thanks to the successful Sunday, I am now only nine bass from my goal. With the weather and water still maintaining temperatures on The Canal to keep the bass active and feeding, I make as many casts as I can as tight to structure as I can and hold on. Hopefully, the activity level remains on the upside through the weekend, and I can get one more shot before I may have alter some presentations. Talk to you later. Troy

Access is drawing to a close on the Knox County public strip mines, so Snakeden Hollow was the choice for a getaway last Sunday. My goals were twofold. First, I wanted to land six bass to reach four hundred for the year. Secondly, I intended to bike and hike to a few remote spots to learn new stuff on an area that I have fished for over thirty years. Both missions were a success with further details below.

1:03pm – Top Bass at 1-6 (14″), which also happened to be Bass #400 of the year

Stats
Date: October 8
Location: Knox County strip mines (9 lakes)
Time: 10:40am-2:40pm (2.25 hours fishing, the rest hiking/biking)
Totals: 10 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy
Lures: Mann’s Baby 1- Crankbait (grey ghost) – 8 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (peanut butter and jelly) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-6 Mann’s Baby 1- Crankbait
Top 5 Weight: 6-1 (1-6,1-5,1-4,1-2,1-0)

Notes and Nonsense

The Mission – I packed along my bicycle to cut down on travel time to the far reaches of Snakeden Hollow. From there, I switched to foot travel across weedy stretches unfit for pedaling. For even after thirty-four years of exploring, there were still a few places out there where I had never set foot. Several bodies of water did not even exist when I first stepped into Snakeden Hollow back in 1990 while others have undergone significant changes over the years. And one I had not seen since 1990 as a worker at the site. Lots of stories. Perhaps another day.

That’s the sign post up ahead, and it means you have gone off the beaten (although nicely mowed) path

The Results – All told, I made casts in nine different lakes. Six were “known” lakes where I had varying degrees of experience and catch data. The only surprise was a fifteen-minute stop that produced a fourteen-inch bass, the largest of a handful of bass landed from the lake over the years. Therefore, it made my list for some more casts in the future. Three other bodies of water were previously unexplored, and none produced a bass in fifteen to thirty minutes of casting on each. Bank access was limited and while not a thorough test of potential, my first impressions were not positive. One was very weedy and tough to fish, one showed signs of life only in the form of tiny bluegill, and the other showed no signs of life at all.

 

Grey Ghost – The Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait in the grey ghost pattern was a winner on this trip landing eight of my ten bass. I’ve got a story about this lure. Actually, after forty plus years of chasing bass, I’ve got a story about most everything. Anyway, close to thirty years ago, Brent and I got stuck listening to a batch of fish stories at the Spring Lake tackle trailer over near Manito. The proprietor related how he and his son bought every Mann’s Baby 1- in the grey ghost color in the Peoria area to keep them out of the hands of rival anglers. True story? Not sure. Effective color? Not noticeably for me as I like the red craw color better. But on this trip, the old grey ghost came through. You know, I have another story about how I met the Mann’s Baby 1-. Perhaps another day.

Winning Lures

Oh yeah, there’s also a new story about the Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait from this trip as it landed Bass #400. Check out the catch video below.

 

Now that I have Bass #400 in the log, I have my sights set on reaching 447 bass. Combined with the 2022 total of 553, that would give me 1,000 bass over the last two years. After this trip, I stood at 404, leaving a ways to go and a short time to get there.

So long to Snakeden for 2023 but still more fishing left before I put the poles away.

A Lake Storey report is in the works as a cooperative batch of bass earlier this week knocked out a chunk of those forty-three bass that I am seeking. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

It is that time of year again when most of the Knox County public strip mine access shuts down to anglers in favor of waterfowl. And as we head into October, I know that my time on the water in general is also drawing to a close. With those factors in mind, I decided to spend the final day of September chasing bass on a couple solid spots. Read on for the results.

9:55am – Top Bass (tie) at 3-2 (19″) on a creature bait

Stats
Date: September 30
Location: Knox County strip mines (one public, one private)
Time: 7:35am-11:35am, 1:00pm-2:45pm
Totals: 23 bass
Weather: Sunny/windy, 63-87F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (peanut butter and jelly) – 11 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 5 bass, Yum Wooly Bug (crawdad) – 4 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 2 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-2 (tie) on Yum Wooly Bug and Spro Frog
Top 5 Weight: 11-1 (3-2,3-2,2-10,1-2,1-1)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Autumn Arrives – As I type up this report exactly one week after this trip, the Saturday morning temperature reads at forty-four degrees with a predicted high of fifty-nine. In contrast, I launched my boat last Saturday morning and it was already in the mid-sixties on the way to a high of eighty-seven degrees. Yes, fall has arrived. But somewhere along the way, those bass will turn on for a late season feed and I hope to be on the water at least once to take my shot.

Public Numbers – My morning was spent on a public body of water and four hours of casting resulted in thirteen bass. Top Bass was 3-2 and the Top 5 Weight tipped the scales at 8-11. I worked from top to bottom, from fast to slow, and while I never got a real pattern going, 3.25 bass/hour is still a very good catch rate. Sometimes, it is odd when on the water and focused that the bite doesn’t seem so great. But when looking back at the log, I had a solid morning. Bites were spread out evenly between three lures with five on a spinnerbait, and four each on a Senko wacky rig and a Texas-rigged creature bait.

1:32pm – Top Bass (tie) at 3-2 (19″) on a frog

Private Numbers – For the afternoon portion of the program I headed over to Little John Conservation Club, an area that I have neglected over the last several years. For various reasons, my focus has been on public waters and some new ones at that with The Canal and a couple strip pits. While I have a long history with those Little John bass, and I dig fishing the collection of lakes, I find it more fun to blog about chasing fish on water that everyone can access. The Little John bass haven’t forgotten about me at least, as ten showed up in just under two hours of fishing. A Senko wacky rig was the top producer with seven bass, while a lipless crank fooled one, and a topwater frog got two including my Top Bass. That Top Bass was also a 3-2 and my weight only consisted of two “keepers” totaling 4-4.

Fall Calls – During the morning portion of the outing, I heard several pheasants and saw a couple flush. Those were some welcome sights and sounds as they take me back to the early nineties when we first started roaming the strip mines. Darn near every trip, one of those birds would take flight at our feet as we traversed the grassy expanses. I am no pheasant hunter and that is probably a good thing because those birds flushing always scared me half to death as I plodded along daydreaming about what lay in store at the next fishing hole.

 

A very good outing both in terms of quantity and quality. The twenty-three bass left me fourteen bass shy of landing four hundred this year. With that in mind, I hit a favorite stretch of The Canal the following weekend. Stay tuned to see if I was able to outsmart enough bass to hit the milestone. Talk to you later. Troy