Month: September 2017

Lost Grove Lake Report 9/23

A decent, abbreviated morning on the water across The River in terms of quantity and I also managed to discover a bit about the quality of the fishing hole along the way, kinda the hard way.

Stats
Date: September 23, 2017
Location: Lost Grove Lake, IA
Time: 6:40am-10:10am
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy
Air Temp: 70-81F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 13 bass
Lures:
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (pearl white chartreuse shad) – 6 bass
5” Senko wacky rig (pumpkin black flake) – 3 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 3 bass
Strike King KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 1 bass
Top 5 Weight: 4-10 (1-3,1-2,0-13,0-12,0-12)


8:03am 13″ 1-2 Buzzbait

Notes & Nonsense

Rough Start – Getting a jump on official sunrise (6:50am), I was on the water at 6:40am, not a soul in sight and re-tying my lures all set to hit a spot where I’d heard a large surface explosion several minutes prior while dragging my boat to the launch. In fact, it was the exact area where I’d landed my personal lake record of 2-3 back on June 20. As I re-tied my buzzbait in preparation for its lead-off role in the lineup, a fellow pulls up in the lot, hops out of his truck and launches his first cast directly at “my spot” about 25’ from where I’m sitting. Seconds later the surface erupts and he begins hollering that he’s got a good one, which I already know, because I nearly got splashed by the spray (okay maybe a bit of an exaggeration). So, there goes my shot at the fish that I’d heard earlier, had in my sights and was mere seconds and cast away from possibly fooling.

Gut Reaction – This guy’s bass briefly hangs in some moss, then dislodges and as he drags it in towards his perch on the bank he continues to provide further details stating that it’s a five-pounder. I assure him that I can see it is a good one, adding “Yeah, you beat me to it” then instantly thinking that my comment wasn’t really necessary but just kind of involuntary. So, I mentally take a step back, remember that I do not own the lake and that I too know the limitations encountered as a bank angler; time to shift gears and appreciate a fellow angler’s success.

Do the Right Thing – I offer to help from the water as the fellow isn’t certain about getting the bass up the bank on what he describes as “light line.” However, he’s got it under control and gets the bass in hand but does request an assist with some pliers. I’ve got him covered and ask that he meet me a few yards away at the boat launch. As he arrives, he is very excited and can’t stop talking about his good fortune as I hand him my needle nose pliers to extract what I now see is a topwater popper. Not only am I impressed with the bass but I’m also starting to get caught up in the guy’s excitement over this “five-pounder.” As such, I offer to take a picture for him as a fish of this caliber deserves a better shot than a selfie with its angler. He obliges and I snap a pair of shots with his phone. And while I also have a scale on board, I elect to keep it in my tacklebox rather than offer it up for an accurate weight. Having seen more than a few bass over the last 35 years or so, I knew that it would not tip the scale at the five pound mark as seen through his eyes. Not my fish, and not my fish story. Even so, I kind of hope he’s telling it as a six-pounder by now.  Kudos to the fellow too for releasing the catch.


8:22am Top Bass 13″ 1-3 Buzzbait

I also caught a few bass, the Top 5 of which combined may have only barely exceeded the weight of the “one that got caught by somebody else.” I suppose I’ll spare you many more words and simply let the accompanying pics of my catch suffice for my contribution to another enjoyable and interesting day on the water.

You know, an old fishing standard states that you should “learn something new” each outing. No doubt that I did just that this time around. I gained some insight on the fishing hole, was able to view the pursuit through the eyes of a fellow angler and even discovered something about myself in the process. Oh yeah, I also need to stick with my regular routine of re-tying my lures the night before, won’t make that mistake again. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

A welcome influx of fish as we head into fall as it’s been a pretty lean summer for the Top 5.

Weight: 2-4
Angler: Paul Kessler
Date: September 17
Location: Johnson Lake-Banner Marsh
Lure: Buzzbait (black) with Flappin’ Hog II trailer (June bug)
Angler Comments:
Top 5 Weight: 13-3 (3-4,2-12,2-10,2-5,2-4)

Weight: 2-9
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: September 17
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Emiquon Special spinnerbait
Structure: Log
Co-Angler Comments (actually mine): First cast after changing from a white spinnerbait resulted in the Top Bass for the day.

Weight: 1-11
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: September 17
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Emiquon Special spinnerbait
Structure: Log
Co-Angler Comments (actually mine): Second cast after changing from a white spinnerbait resulted in the runner-up Top Bass for the day, pretty cool immediate results.

Weight: 1-6
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: September 17
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait (red/yellow)
Structure: Point
Co-Angler Comments (actually mine): Flurry of activity on this shallow crankbait along a historically productive stretch adds to the creel.
Top 5 Weight: 10-2 (3-2,2-9,1-11,1-6,1-6) culls 1-5,1-5,1-2

Bonus Species – Muskie

Length: 29”
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: September 17
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait
Structure: Flat
Angler Comments: A bass fishing “accident” hits at the boat prompting me to hit the button on my baitcaster and free spool to let the fish run, pretty exciting stuff.

Don’t put those poles away quite yet, plenty of good fishing left as we head into some more fall like temperatures in the coming day. Send ‘em when you catch ‘em. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 10 Trip Tunes 9/11 Part II

Finishing off yesterday’s post with the Top 5.

5. Stone In Love – Journey (1981) – “Those crazy nights, I do remember in my youth, I do recall, those were the best times, most of all.” Okay so maybe not so crazy and likely equaled or surpassed for best times over the years but still a sucker for those reminiscing tunes that get better as you get older and good tunes never get old.

4. Turn To Stone – ELO (1977) – Dig how this one fades in from nothingness and keeps driving for about four more minutes. A cool mix of voice and tune with traditional and unique instrumentation as only the Electric Light Orchestra (and Jeff Lynne) could do. The call and response mix of lead vocal with harmony and/or strings is a winner.

3. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits (1978) – I have no musical ability nor do I know any technical details of guitar hijinks. Nope, I rely directly on how it feels I guess for lack of a better description, kind of hard to put into words, but you know what I mean.  At any rate, Mark Knopfler’s work on this one feels really good. And always found a rock band singing a song about a rock band to be fun (see also Shooting Star, Jukebox Hero, Rock & Roll Band…)

2. The Boys Are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy (1976) – Rock and roll at its finest. Ever remember the old “Name That Tune” show and the daring move of “I can name that tune in one note?” Got this one covered.  And you want lyrics? How about fighting, drinking, a jukebox, some crazy “cats” and one feisty “chick”? Folks, if I ever get around to narrowing down my Top 100 lifetime playlist, this one’s got a spot.

1. Killer Queen – Queen (1974) – First Queen cut I remember hearing on the radio, dug it ever since and can name that tune in one finger snap. Quirky, overblown, unique, distinctive in retrospect with so much more fun to come from this foursome. Still a winner over 40 years later as my six year old, Zac, makes requests for “dynamite with a laser beam.” Classic.

With that, another batch of trip tunes bites the dust. We’ll see what the next six weeks or so holds in store in terms of fishing trips to determine whether I wander off on this tangent again. Top 5 Update headed your way tomorrow and have another fishing report for next week detailing yesterday’s outing across The River. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 10 Trip Tunes – 9/11 Part I

Okay, I have fun with this so let’s do it one more time with the results from my drive to Johnson Sauk Trail Lake a couple weeks ago. Top 10 Trip Tunes headed your way, five today, five tomorrow.

10. “The Tide Is High” – Blondie (1980) – A 13 year old boy during the peak of Blondie chart success, occasional glimpses of Debbie Harry on The Midnight Special, American Bandstand or other random shows and MTV on the horizon, those were the days.

9. “Brother Louie” – Stories (1973) – The One Hit Wonder of this trip with a tune that went all the way to the top of the charts. Cool voice, edgy cut and sometime you should count how many times the name “Louie” appears in the lyrics. Let me know.

8. “No Time” – The Guess Who (1970) – A true treat as I never hear these guys on the radio so always fun to “rediscover” and wade back through the catalog of tunes I’ve collected over the years. You should take some time and revisit them too, worth your while.

7. “In The Dark” – Billy Squier (1981) – 8th grade about to wrap up, Don’t Say No album hits the record stores and this cut leads it off, don’t get much better than that. And the rest of the album does not disappoint. Squier was outstanding, at least until the strange and unfortunate “Rock Me Tonite” video seemed to coincide with fading popularity, just odd.

6. “More Than A Feeling” – Boston (1976) – The standard Boston offering for this version of the countdown and as a guy who has way more radios than televisions it’s a daily occurrence when I’ve “lost myself in a familiar song.”

Top 5 tomorrow. Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report 9/17

The Fall drawdown on my lifelong “home” lake and fishing with my brother, Brent, meant it was gonna be a good day whether the fish were biting or not. And after a bit of a slow start, they sure were.

Stats
Date: September 17, 2017
Location: Lake Storey
Time: 6:45am-1:30pm
Weather: Overcast to sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 72-76F
Water Temp: 75-76F
Totals: 27 bass, 1 muskie (Troy – 18 bass, 1 muskie Brent – 9 bass)
Lures (Troy)
Mann’s Baby 1- Crankbait (Tennessee Shad) – 15 bass, 1 muskie
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (chartreuse shad) – 2 bass
Terminator Spinnerbait (firetiger) – 1 bass
Lures (Brent)
Mann’s Baby 1- (red/yellow) – 5 bass
Spinnerbait (white or brown/orange) – 4 bass
Top 5 Weight (combined): 8-3 (2-9,1-11,1-6,1-5,1-4)


10:02am 12.5″ 1-4 Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait

Notes & Nonsense

Slow Start, Strong Finish
6:45am-9:19am = 4 bass
9:20am-10:55am = 13 bass, 1 muskie
10:56am-11:56am = 2 bass (back to back casts)
11:57am-1:30pm = 8 bass


10:11am 14″ 1-6 Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait

The Spots – Several reliable spots proved tough over the course of the day with only 4 bass coming on about eight targets ranging from specific pieces of structure to lengthy stretches of bank. However, one other stretch that can waver in terms of consistency turned out to be the big winner. A couple scattered bites got our attention followed up by a lure change after a lull and we were onto the bite we were after. We worked the area over thoroughly and the reward was 13 bass and a muskie in an hour and a half, all of them on the Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait.


9:47am Muskie “accident” 29″ Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait

Close Quarters – Just prior to the Baby 1- bass flurry I landed a muskie that hit the same lure right next to the boat. It suddenly appeared in the stained water as I was ending my retrieve with maybe ten feet of line beyond my rod tip. As quick as the strike occurred it is still interesting how things kind of happen in slow motion for that split second. In this case, I was able to recognize what was going down, set the hook, get my thumb in gear to put my baitcaster in free spool while also maintaining enough pressure to avoid a backlash and let the fish run long enough to give me some more room to have some control. A solid job on the net from Brent and we had a bonus species in the boat. At 29”, not a trophy by any stretch, but always cool and really kind of lucky as if it were much bigger it may have jerked the rod right out of my hand or likely broke me off on the strike.


11:21am 17″ 2-9 Emiquon Special spinnerbait (note the back injury on this fish)


11:23am 14″ 1-11 Emiquon Special spinnerbait

Emiquon Special – Brent’s legendary spinnerbait (another story) added yet another tale to its exploits. Originally casting a white spinnerbait, Brent got snagged on some brush and I employed my lure retriever to rescue the lure. I told him I was not responsible for any abrasions on his line after the save and unbeknownst to me he elected to retie but switched to the legend. Next thing I know, he’s reeling in our Top Bass (2-9) from a log on the very first cast. We were still laughing at the good fortune when his second cast with the bait produced our Top 5 runner-up at 1-11 from the same spot. While he would only land one more bass on the lure the rest of the day, the back to back bass made for a story that will certainly be told each time we cast to that log in the future.

Winning Lures – Emiquon Special and Mann’s Baby 1- 

Prediction vs. Results – During a visit the previous day with my brother-in-law, I mentioned the upcoming Lake Storey outing noting that a six or eight bass day would be a reasonable outcome as those bass can be a bit hard to fool at times. Our haul of 27 definitely shattered that prediction but every once in a while you get it right. The mid-morning flurry certainly beefed up our totals but the back to back bass and three others in four minutes off of a solid piece of structure were also quite rewarding.


12:15pm 13″ 1-5 Emiquon Special spinnerbait

Nothing trophy size given up by our old friend this time around but wouldn’t change a thing about our visit. Plain and simple, the bass here aren’t real easy to fool. Even after close to 35 years on the chase, I still get a charge out of fooling any of them regardless of size. For my money, there is more of a sense of accomplishment when landing these fish than anywhere else I make my casts. Talk to you later. Troy

Johnson Sauk Trail Report 9/11

I took a recent Monday off work after the previous week wound up lengthier than normal due to being on the road for four days to Lincoln, NE and Wichita, KS. With Julie working and the kids in school I essentially had no responsibilities from about 8:00am when the last kids boarded the bus until around 3:00pm when they got back home. Guess what I did.

Stats
Date: September 11, 2017
Location: Johnson Sauk Trail Lake, Henry Co. IL
Time: 10:15am-1:15pm
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 64-74F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 5 bass
Lures:
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 3 bass
Booyah Counterstrike Spinnerbait (salt & pepper) – 2 bass
Weight (only two bass at 12” or better): 2-1 (1-2,0-15)


11:06am Short bass but on the board after 50 minutes of searching

Notes & Nonsense

Dilemma – Public and private, I have a fair amount of fishing holes to choose from so sometimes it gets to be a challenge when deciding where to go on a day off with roughly seven hours to escape, travel and fish, combined.  I’d hit the Knox County strip pits pretty hard and gave my Iowa stomping ground a go a few days prior so I was up for a change of scenery to do some research.  The family had visited Johnson-Sauk Trail State Recreation Area earlier this summer and the lake looked inviting so I figured that this day was my opportunity to give it a shot. Funny thing is, while driving down the interstate I completely missed my exit as autopilot had me headed back to Knox County.  Only cost me maybe 10 minutes and good for a laugh.

Impression – I had not been on the water at this lake since 2002 as my first impression was not favorable. When fishing with my brother, Brent, that year we found it to be so weed-choked that it was essentially unfishable. On this return visit, I still found one half of the lake to be rather difficult to fish due to being extensively shallow and weedy with virtually no shoreline cover having deep water access in close proximity. Venturing to the other half of the lake I was able to find a steeper contour containing some visible structure that resulted in four of my five bass.


11:09am Top Bass 13.5″ 1-2 Red Eye Shad


12:50pm Only other “keeper” 12″ 0-15 Red Eye Shad

“Accident” Potential – Although I was targeting bass as usual, I did have visions of crossing paths with a muskie as the 58-acre lake does have some history when it comes to large specimens of these toothy fish. The camp store on site has a mount of a 48-inch muskie along with a couple photos or recent and released mid 30”+ fish. And then there’s a fish sampled by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources back around 2002 that weighed in at just under 43 pounds, easily topping the 38-8 state record. Nothing of the sort for me on this day but the “what if” factor is always a bonus.

Assessment – I was a bit frustrated with a slow start and the shallow, weedy conditions coupled with a late morning launch had me wondering if I made the right choice. However, two bites in three minutes and finding some water to my liking turned things around. I did have a contour map which provided some clues but rowing around in an eight foot johnboat without a depthfinder on an unfamiliar lake can be a challenge. But that’s how I roll, so no complaints, just takes some work.

Five bass between 10 and 13.5 inches in three hours was not quite the smashing success I was looking for but a reasonable day on the water for this amateur angler.

Will I be back?

Tough call, as I’ve got a lot of other fishing holes that I know a lot better. Still, always fun to see and learn some new water and at 58-acres this one isn’t very overwhelming. Perhaps as a joint trip with another fishing hole in the vicinity, we’ll see. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

A pair of belated entries push our Top 5 leader over the 30-pound mark for the second consecutive year. Hey, if you’ve wavered on submitting any fish, don’t sweat it as it’s not too late for some earlier 2017 catches.

Weight: 6-3
Angler: Mark Balbinot
Date: June 18
Location: Fulton Co. IL strip mine lake
Lure: Spro Frog (white)
Water Temp: 80F
Structure: Open water about 15’ of water
Angler Comments: I realized that I had forgotten to send a catch from a Father’s Day trip with my daughter this past June. We have fished together the past few years on this day.

Weight: 6-6
Angler: Mark Balbinot
Date: August 27
Location: Fulton Co. IL strip mine lake
Lure: Strike King Sexy Dawg (white)
Water Temp: 78F
Structure: Tree top in about 20’ of water
Angler Comments: Went out early with blue skies and fished over 7 hours. Caught a lot of small ones to start and then a cold front approached that afternoon and the skies clouded up. Water was like glass, air was still and not even a bird was chirping. I knew a storm was getting close and the topwater bite turned on.
Top 5 Weight: 30-15 (6-15, 6-6, 6-3, 5-15, 5-8) culls 5-2 and 4-2

And check out Mark’s video from the August 27 outing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTq2v2Fo-rg

Way to go, Mark, two for two on meeting and beating a 30-pound limit to go along with a 32-13 bag from last year which tied the all-time Top 5 record. Still some time to go with the bass looking to strap on the fall feedbag here at some point once the weather heads towards fall conditions. So, don’t put those poles away quite yet, folks, as you’ll miss out on some good fishing. Got a few more fish for next week already that came in after I’d scheduled today’s post as well as a couple reports from my latest outings and a few other associated bits to pass along. Good luck, stop back by throughout the week and talk to you later. Troy

Flashback – A Tale of Two Muskies

Five years ago today on the water produced the following fish story, selfishly one of my favorites. As such I can’t resist going back in time today with a revisit of the original blog posting from 2012.

It was the worst of times; it was the best of times.

First things first before any lit teachers, scholars or aficionados elect to point out any perceived potential incongruity between my title and tease. I do indeed know that my title borrows from Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities) while my tease reworks some Tolstoy (War and Peace). I just thought that they were both well suited for what’s headed your way today. And while I know enough to be dangerous about each book, I will fully admit that I have read neither novel, nor do I have any desire to read them in the future. Okay, enough education/trivia/nonsense, on to my own classic tale, a literal, not figurative, fish story.

The One That Got Away – If you happened to catch my Lake Storey Report entry last Thursday, you are aware that I lost the biggest muskie me and my brother, Brent, had ever battled. Right around lunchtime the fish hit a Strike King KVD Rattling Squarebill crankbait about three cranks into a retrieve in maybe three feet of water. The first thing my brain processed was that I’d snagged a big old carp until the fish surfaced and more than got our attention. I fought the biggest muskie we’d ever seen for several minutes with Brent having to duck my line and me walking from front to back to front to middle of the boat as the beast made line striping runs and one spectacular water clearing leap while giving my six foot rod spooled with twelve pound monofilament all it could handle. Following the leap the fish was actually headed away from us with the line wrapped around its body and coming out from beneath a thrashing tail. Somehow it rolled or turned and everything got back to some semblance of normal and the still excitable fish came boatside. I mistakenly advised my net man to hold off on attempting a dip as the fish certainly exceeded the normal size of catch for our tool. Bad, bad move on my part as a subsequent headshake must have been just enough to cut the line and our fish was gone. I was pretty bummed but occasionally able to still cling to the hope that something good was still to come.

Moral Victory – I tried not to beat myself up too bad but told Brent that it was difficult to quell the sick feeling that kept cropping up in my stomach for the next couple hours (the scenario still plays out in my mind). I was proud though upon asking him if I swore after losing the fish and he said he didn’t think so; I didn’t think so either but it was all kind of a blur. I’m not really a profanity fan but would certainly excuse a spate of colorful language from a fellow (or even a lady) under the circumstances and would not pass judgment. I was also proud that I kept my composure in light of the fact that we had an audience of five within earshot including a little guy who had come down near water’s edge from a nearby walking path with his parents. And not that there’s anything wrong with tears, but I also didn’t cry; wanted to, but toughed it out.

   

Karma –At one point I pondered aloud to Brent about karma and what the fishing gods might have in store for the rest of our day. As we kept moving and casting, I offered that I would take a six pound bass to soothe the punch in the gut of the lost fish. Brent responded, “That’s right, you’ve never caught a six pounder” in recalling that my personal best jumps from a 5-15 runner up to a 7-3 Top Bass. I also reminded him that he’d only barely joined the six pound club (in a good way) with his Top Bass of 6-15.

Ah yes, the old fish stories, a little good natured ribbing and the next cast all help to facilitate the healing process. I was far from over it, but could feel tinges of the way that time does its thing. Sure there’s a whole list of things in my life that are a lot more important than some feisty, powerful, toothy, four foot fish but it sure would’ve made a sweet picture before it was released to maybe get fooled again someday (when it grew up a little bit).

Now, I don’t know what I deserve or what I don’t, if anything at all. But I play by the rules, respect the hobby and the quarry and relish the time on the water when flying solo or joining forces with fishing partners young and not so young. It’s hard not to sound overly dramatic but I’ve been around for forty five years and that fish literally represented the fish of a lifetime. I’m pretty sure that more than a few fellow anglers can relate; a tough pill to swallow that could really ruin your day, you’ve got to just keep casting and that’s what we did.

Second Chance – Not more than a couple casts after lamenting to Brent that the big old muskie sure would’ve made a nice blog picture, my Booyah Counterstrike spinnerbait stopped dead in a spot featuring a small stump and a couple fallen trees in about four foot of water. I hollered to Brent, “Got a second chance!” while also adding, “If he gets anywhere near the boat take a shot and if we get him, we get it, if we don’t, we don’t.” Well, the muskie wasn’t listening initially as he made a run under the boat prompting me to dunk my rod in the water to keep the line from hitting the underside. I could actually hear the fish splashing on the surface on the opposite side of the boat, behind me, but didn’t dare look as I was concentrating on the rod, waiting for the fish to move and hoping it was towards my end of the boat and deep enough to stay out of the trolling motor. The muskie cooperated on both accounts, came within reach and Brent did an excellent job of putting him in the net. I’m far from Mr. Excitement but let out an involuntary, excited and relieved, “Yes!!!” and did some kind of double fist pump that would have perhaps even impressed some of today’s exceedingly celebratory athletes. As Brent shot a few quick photos prior to the release I commented that I hoped they worked out alright as I was shaking. Looks like me, the photographer and the fish all did just fine with the latter leaving my release, swimming back into the stained water and fading from sight.

Date: September 16, 2012
Location: Lake Storey (no further specifics on either fish, sorry)
Time: 2:31pm
Lure: Booyah Counterstrike spinnerbait (snow white)
Length: 43” (originally thought 44.5” until reviewing photos, hey I was excited)
Weight: 19 pounds 8 ounces
Perhaps my most important detail: Released (voluntarily, unlike his counterpart)

Well, there you have it, maybe a bit longwinded but nowhere near the Dickens novel or Tolstoy tome referenced above. Try as we may, “the one that got away” is a recurring fishing staple for those of us who have invested our time and effort in pursuing this wonderful hobby. I’m sure we’ve all been there; you get over it, move on, find another one that doesn’t “get away”, life gets better and the old fish story is retold with a little less heartbreak as time and tales go by. I’m a very pleased to have the photos and memories of a new personal best muskie yet can’t help but wonder…

For in true “one that got away” fashion, Brent mentioned, “I think the other one was bigger.”

Of course, I think so too.

As dedicated anglers know, a full day of fishing may only be punctuated by a few scattered batches of catching (and nearly catching). But within those few minutes can lie a tale to last a lifetime. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 10 Trip Tunes 9/9 – Part II

And our countdown resumes with the Top 5.

5. Still The Same (1978) – Bob Seger – A great piece about somebody or a collection of somebodies we’ve all met. Maybe you can put your finger on ‘em, maybe it’s just a bunch of bits and pieces of personalities.

4. Hair of the Dog (1975) – Nazareth – Good old rock, lyrics reference “poison ivy” yet avoid the song title entirely, title cut to album with a cool cover, cowbell and yes, still so much fun to hear a bad word on the radio, over and over and over…

3. Travelin’ Man/Beautiful Loser (1975) – Bob Seger – Dig it when you get two songs for the price of one like the live versions of this pair. Another cool look at personalities and memories including some that you may resemble.

2. You’re So Vain (1972) – Carly Simon – While hip hop popularized the “diss track” to disrespect others, this 70’s bit of spite is one of my all-time faves. And you gotta dig a song that includes the word “gavotte” to go along with yacht and apricot, great stuff.

1. One Night In Bangkok (1984) – Murray Head – Tough to explain here so I won’t but this song actually ranks among my favorite fishing songs. Many years ago, high school in fact. Oh yeah, it was co-written by the guys from ABBA, how cool is that?

Well, that was fun. More fishing stuff headed your way over the next week or so with a look back at a classic catch, some video clips from recent trips, a welcome Top 5 update and hopefully a couple more fishing reports.  That sounds like fun, too.  Hope you’ll tune in and talk to you later. Troy

Top 10 Trip Tunes 9/9 – Part I

Another round of jams from a recent round trip to the Knox County strip mines. First half today, Top 5 tomorrow.

10. Rock and Roll Band – Boston (1976) – As I noted in a previous post, Boston is pretty much a given on the list so this story song about the band’s history makes the cut even though it is a bit of musical fiction.

9. Hey Jude – The Beatles (1968) – Just not enough Beatles songs on the airwaves anymore so still kind of a gem when a classic pops up.

8. Life’s Been Good – Joe Walsh (1978) – Do you have a song that left such a mark that you know exactly where you were the first time you heard it? Eleven year-old kid, hanging with Dad and visiting some friends at a Boy Scout campout when I heard this coming from one of the older kid’s radios and thought “What is that?” Sometimes I still do.

7. Cherry Bomb (1987) – John Cougar Mellencamp – “Seventeen has turned thirty –five” and then some these days. Long had a soft spot in my musical heart for a reminiscing sort of song and they seem to mean even more the older I get.

6. In The City (1979) – Joe Walsh/Eagles – Takes me back to the soundtrack of the classic gang flick, The Warriors, viewed many times on those free HBO weekends.

Thanks for playing along as I wade off into the occasional tangent, let’s do it again tomorrow. Talk to you later. Troy