Month: August 2021

Prowl the Canal – August 28 & 29

Posted on by Troy Jackson

 

After more than a month away, I was able to hit the canal again on back-to-back evenings last weekend. And the canal education continues each time that I look to fool some of the bass that call the lengthy stretch of water home. Despite a lull to start each evening, the results turned out alright and included the Top Bass runner-up of my short canal “career.”

Stats
Date: August 28 & 29, 2021
Location: Hennepin Canal – Henry County, IL
Time: 6:10pm-7:55pm both outings
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 80s
Totals: 11 bass (8/28 – 5 bass, 8/29 – 6 bass)
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various colors) – 10 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait (rainbow) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-4 (Senko)
Top 5 Weight: 8-6 (3-4,1-10,1-4,1-2,1-2)

Trip Lyric
“And it was late in the evening, and I blew that room away.”
Late in the Evening. Paul Simon (1980)

Notes and Nonsense

August 28 – Following 15 minutes without a bite on some proven spots, I noticed a school of bluegills rippling the surface in a broad opening among the scattered surface vegetation. Several minutes later they all scattered in a hurry, leaving me to surmise that a predator was in their midst. Sure enough, I landed back-to-back bass and four of my five catches in the next 20 minutes.

August 29 – My first stretch only produced one blow-up on a topwater frog as the formerly open water area was nearly covered in duckweed and vegetation stacked up by the current. Plan B was to move to some deeper, open water and the Senko wacky rig was a winner when cast tight to whatever “edges” I could find.

 

Lessons

1. Last month I noted, “Packing a dipnet along on a canal prowl can be beneficial as you encounter some interesting bank access. The lengthening of your ‘arm’ can save the day.” Well, I forgot to follow my own advice and had to hold my breath as I hoisted a 3-pounder up to my perch along the canal on 10-pound test. While I was successful in landing the bass, I was also lucky.

2. A nice blowup near the bank on a frog got my attention although it didn’t get a bass. I was tossing a small, cheap topwater frog and know that I should probably use this presentation more frequently and perhaps a larger bait to make more commotion among the thick surface vegetation. Any advice is welcome.

3. I am still pondering the risk/reward equation when it comes to the limited bank access along the waterway. While some “easy” spots have paid off, I also have my eye on some off the beaten path areas. Poison ivy, hidden holes, sloped edges, and unsteady riprap make for some tough decisions, but the wheels are turning upstairs…

August 29 at 6:54pm. my second largest canal bass to date at 19″ and 3-4 on a Senko wacky rig

The Canal continues to impress and provides a perfect evening getaway that is closer to home than the hour plus drive to my regular Knox County strip mine stomping grounds. I intend to make several more canal visits as the year progresses and hope that you continue to stop by the blog for the latest fishing reports. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

After a bit of a Top 5 lull, a couple more bass join the ranks as the Jackson brothers beat the heat this past weekend. Separate outings and different locations but we both managed to fool a decent bass.

Weight: 2-3
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: August 28
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Spinnerbait (white)
Top 5 Weight: 14-14 (4-0,4-0,2-5,2-6,2-3)

Weight: 3-4 (19″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: August 29
Weather: Sunny, breezy, 82F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (cream white)
Structure: Lock
Angler Comments: After a month away from The Canal it was a nice welcome back to land this one. And landing a decent bass in most spots out there can certainly be a challenge as the banks can be a little unfriendly.
Top 5 Weight: 19-0 (4-10,4-3,3-9,3-6,3-4)

Well, we sit at roughly two thirds of 2021 in the rearview mirror and 69 bass submissions for our Top 5. Generally speaking, the entries wane as the fall rolls in as it can be difficult for some anglers to find a bite that will boost an already solid Top 5 Weight. But those fall bass will strap on the feedbag at some point when sensing the cold-water period on the horizon so here’s hoping that you are on the water when they chow down.

And it’s not too late to play along. Send your catches to troy@troyjacksonoutdoors.com (must include a photo and weight/length and whatever details you are willing to provide like entries above). Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – August 2006 & 2011

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Among the open water months of the year in my neck of the woods, I would rank August as my least favorite. Several factors come into play beginning with school getting back in session earlier than ever. With it comes a series of priorities that take precedence over fishing as the family gets back in the swing of things.

On top of back to school, throw in the dog days of summer. Granted, the bass are still there but often they get a little tougher for me to fool in the hot, sunny conditions that mark mid-summer.

Of course, there is a saying that “the best time to go fishing is anytime you can.” And for today’s Friday Flashback, I offer up some Snakeden Hollow examples to demonstrate that quality fish can still show up when you take a shot at beating the August heat (particularly at the end of the month).

 

Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – August 20, 2001

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Anybody know where you were 20 years ago today?

Well, thanks to a fishing log, I just so happen to know that I was fishing with my brother, Brent.

August 20, 2001 – 15.5″ and 1-11 on a Zara Spook (blue shore minnnow)

Today’s flashback is another trip to what we called “Emstrom’s Pond” just west of Galesburg, in between US 34 and the drive-in. If you follow the Friday Flashbacks, we’ve been here before. And probably will be again.

But today, instead of focusing on the pond, I’ll look at the lures that caught the bass back on August 20, 2001. I’ll also look at a couple lures that appear in the catch photos but didn’t actually fool any bass on that day.

The picture above features the lures that were winners and appear in the log entries. Top to bottom, left to right, are a Mann’s Baby 1- (I called this color parrot, not sure what it is really called), a Zara Spook (blue shore minnow) and a buzzbait (white). All have been solid producers over the years and their current usage varies. In the case of buzzbaits, I throw them a lot, possibly too much when I should likely throw something else. I still break out the Mann’s Baby 1- crankbaits fairly often and have some specific spots on the waters I fish where they are a go to lure. As far as the Zara Spook, I don’t throw it much anymore although it was once one of my favorite summer lures. Just one of those things as some lure preferences and confidence baits tend to come and go over the years.

Other lures as noted in the August 20, 2001 pictures below 

August 20, 2001 – 3-8 on a buzzbait (white)

A couple such lures appear in the background of a pair of the pics from 2001. To Brent’s right in the photo above is a white spinnerbait, a lure type that he still wields with impressive effectiveness. In the case of his spinnerbait presentation, I don’t believe it has seen many ups and downs over the years. In fact, I can’t recall the last time we fished together when he did not have a spinnerbait tied on the end of one of his poles.

To my left in the picture below is a Bomber 15A jerkbait. For a period from the late 1990s into the early 2000s it was a solid producer anywhere I fished. Contrary to Brent sticking with the spinnerbait, however, my jerkbait choice was just a trend. I rarely use the baits anymore although I have no reason to believe that they would have lost their appeal. Just one of those things as other lures have come to prominence in my arsenal.

August 20, 2001 – 16″ and 2-5 on a Mann’s Baby 1- (parrot)

Such is part of the fun of fishing, and it makes me happy that I continue to document my catches in a log and nowadays a blog. It’s fun to look back on what has fooled the fish throughout the years. Some lures became legends while others faded away. A guy could write a whole blog series on such things.

And I have. Perhaps someday I will revisit the concept. Talk to you later. Troy

Snakeden Report – August 15

Posted on by Troy Jackson

My brother and I took on Snakeden back in mid-June to the tune of a 55 bass outing that included a two, a three and a four-pounder. Well, on this trip we were able to up the quantity but just couldn’t find any real big bites. Plenty of solid, healthy bass though made for quite a day.

6:03am – First Bass

Stats

Date: August 15, 2021
Location: Snakeden Hollow (5 lakes)
Time: 5:55am-12:15pm (5.25 hours fishing, the rest walking)
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 59-75F
Water Temp: no reading
Totals: 61 bass (Brent – 32, Troy – 29)
Lures: Senko wacky rig (various) – 26 bass, Emiquon Special Spinnerbait – 14 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 9 bass, Buzzbait (chartreuse or white) – 7 bass, Strike King Pro Model Series 4 Crankbait (sexy shad) – 3 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-12 (Brent – Senko)
Top 5 Weight: 7-12 (1-12,1-10,1-8,1-7,1-7)

Winning Lures

Trip Lyric
“And there’s not another living soul around.” – Say That You Love Me, Fleetwood Mac (1976)

Notes and Nonsense

Senko Stealers – Combined, we lost at least half a dozen Senkos to either bluegill or small bass just grabbing an end, avoiding the hook, and pulling the worm from the O-ring on the hookset. It could have been worse had we not wised up to the fact that on a couple lakes there was a substantial amount of interested small fish. The “tap, tap, tap” feeling of their hits, observing our Senkos darting around under the surface or seeing our lines taking little jumps were telltale signs to refrain from setting the hook as best we could resist. Each of the above are markedly different than watching your Senko disappear in clear or shallow water or feeling a solid thump, both of which are characteristic of a “real” bite.

Keepers – I have long called any bass at or over 12” a “keeper” although they all get released. I refer to any over two pounds as a “good” fish. We didn’t get any of the latter variety, but a late flurry of quality bites made for a good day in terms of “keeper” percentage (KP value). 29 of our 61 bass met the mark for a KP value of 47%. Many factors come into play when pond hopping on the collection of Snakeden fishing holes. Of the five lakes we fished, I categorize one as a smaller bass lake, one with potential quality bites, and three where the jury is still out due to limited “sampling.” Those latter three, however, have gotten our attention on our two recent trips with some solid results. Even after thirty years of running around out there, there’s still plenty to learn about Snakeden Hollow.

 

Old School – I must laugh sometimes at our somewhat ragtag approach to chasing these green fish. Our boat is probably close to fifty years old, but no one really knows as it was discovered washed up in a logjam on creek in the late 1970s/early 1980s. The ends of the oars we use to propel the boat are completely chewed up, kind of gives them some personality in my opinion. And then Brent is chucking a buzzbait that he made thirty years ago with a half-melted skirt and still reeling in the bass. His old Emiquon Special spinner bait has gone through several skirts and is darn near threadbare, but he can still fool those bass. I’ve got a couple reels that make sounds they shouldn’t make and one the sometimes takes several attempts to get the spool to engage after a cast. I guess it don’t have to be pretty (or expensive) as long as it works, and you have fun.

12:05pm – Last bass

And fun, it was. It took us a while to find some decent bites, but we ended up fooling a solid batch of healthy bass on our final stop. The fact that several strikes came on buzzbaits or in close proximity to the boat just added to the enjoyment. Hope to do it again a couple times before Snakeden locks out the anglers in about two months. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A little later than normal, but it’s time for another round of stats. Three anglers added nine more bass in July bringing our total to 67 bass for the year. Here’s the latest breakdown.

2021 Totals
January = no submissions
February = 2 bass
March = 19 bass
April = 14 bass
May = 13 bass
June = 10 bass
July = 9 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = 7-3 (3-15,3-4)
March = 21-14 (5-5,4-3,4-2,4-2,4-2)
April = 21-6 (5-3,5-2,4-0,4-0,3-1)
May = 14-14 (4-6,2-12,2-10,2-10,2-8)
June = 15-8 (4-3,3-9,2-14,2-8,2-6)
July = 22-7 (6-0,4-10,4-4,3-13,3-12)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 13 bass
Bank = 54 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 15-12 (4-3,3-9,2-14,2-10,2-8)
Bank = 26-4 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-10)

Public vs. Private
Public = 63 bass
Private = 4 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 26-4 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-10)
Private = 9-6 (2-10,2-8,2-6,1-14)

The Baits (* = new record)
Plastic Worm = 26 bass (Top Bass 6-0 Jim Junk)
Lipless Crankbait = 17 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Jim Junk, Troy Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 7 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Troy Jackson)
Crankbait = 6 bass (Top Bass 4-0 Brent Jackson)
Chatterbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Jim Junk)
Jig = 2 bass (Top Bass 1-8 John Kirkemo)
Creature = 1 bass (Top Bass 5-5 Jim Junk)
Livebait = 1 bass (Top Bass Patricia Kirkemo 2-10)
Stickbait = 1 bass (1-11 Troy Jackson)
Swimbait = 1 bass (1-13 Troy Jackson)

Monthly Top Bass (* = new record)
January
No submissions
February
3-15 Jim Junk
March
5-5 Jim Junk
April
5-2 Jim Junk
May
4-6 Jim Junk
June
4-3 Troy Jackson
July
6-0 Jim Junk

Top 10 Bass (* = new Top 10 all-time)
6-0 Jim Junk (7/4)
5-5 Jim Junk (3/26)
5-3 Jim Junk (4/8)
5-2 Jim Junk (4/6)
4-10 Troy Jackson (7/11)
4-6 Jim Junk (5/25)
4-4 Jim Junk (7/6)
4-3 Jim Junk (3/30)
4-3 Troy Jackson (6/19)
4-2 Jim Junk (3/19)
4-2 Jim Junk (3/24)
4-2 Jim Junk (3/28)

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 26-0 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-6)
Troy Jackson 18-13 (4-10,4-3,3-9,3-6,3-1)
Brent Jackson 14-14 (4-0,4-0,2-5,2-6,2-3)
John Kirkemo 11-14 (2-10,2-8,2-8,2-6,1-14)
Jayce Jackson 3-7 (1-3,1-3,1-1)
Landon Hannam 2-12 (2-12)
Patricia Kirkemo 2-10 (2-10)

No August bass submitted yet, but perhaps that may change soon. Just saying. Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – August 15, 2001

Posted on by Troy Jackson

One more visit to the creek for today’s Friday Flashback post as it was a regular summer haunt for a lot of years. An earlier flashback post from the creek was chock full of what I like to think was some practical advice for wading those flowing waters. Today’s post is chock full of the names of areas on what we called “Pat’s Creek.”

 

The family that farmed the area where we camped, trapped, hunted, and fished were the Wilson’s. The father was Earl who lived a couple miles from the creek. His son, Pat, lived off the gravel road on a lane that was our access to the creek. Thus, it was Pat’s Creek, and the general area was called Wilson’s and included spots like The Waterfall, The Blue Gate, Old Faithful, Eagle’s Point and many more.

To get to Pat’s Creek we had to drive across the cattle guard, up the lane to Pat’s house, past the sheds and grain bins, turn right at the corner post, continue past the trashpile, and stop where the lane ended at the cornfield just west of The Pond. From there it was a fair walk down to Buffalo Head Tree before taking a slight left through the bull nettles and poison ivy before entering the creek.

Where We Get In was a slippery slope that witnessed a tumble or two over the years. First casts were generally in the vicinity of The Brushpile before heading downstream to The Tree Roots. From there it was a walk past The German Torpedo and The Riffle to hit The Culvert and The Deep Hole. As the wade made its way to Where We Get Out there was also a stop at The Bridge (which was gone in my days on the creek).

Of course, each of those spots has a story behind the name. Some are rather self-explanatory; some require a little imagination. Each spot also has a story or two from experiences over the years. Experiences for quite a collection of family and friends who were along for a wade throughout the course of close to 40 years of outdoor fun.

Per my records, this August 2011 trip was the next to last time Dad and I hit the creek together as the land would change hands and we would lose access. The photo album for this outing contains my two carp catches and Dad’s catfish. Since I’m writing this story and I cannot track down a fishing log entry, I guess I’ll offer up that this may represent the only time I outfished Dad in his element. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – August 1

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Last Saturday I headed back home for an overnight with my boys in tow for the second weekend in a row. While they slept in and hung out with their cousins on Sunday morning, me and Dad took our first tag team shot of 2021 at an old Knox County strip mine stomping ground.

6:44am First bass on a Senko

Stats
Date: August 1, 2021
Location: Little John Conservation Club – Knox County, IL
Time: 6:15am-11:00am
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy
Air Temp: 64-75F
Water Temp: 80F
Totals: 17 bass (Troy = 11, Dad = 6)
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various colors) – 15 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 0-15 Troy Senko
Top 5 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 2-10 (0-15,0-14,0-13)

7:27am Bonus redear on a Senko

Notes and Nonsense

The Ride – Going anywhere with two young boys is a trip as they keep you entertained with their banter. As usual, I had the tunes going on the radio prompting Jayce to implement a “no singing” challenge. I made it roughly one minute into Sammy Hagar’s “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” before I was out. The boys lasted the remaining 40 minutes of the drive although Jayce barely survived Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” and Queen’s “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions.” At one point I stated that if the Cubs were playing I would have it made. Jayce disagreed, saying that I wouldn’t be able to resist chiming in with a Pat Hughes home run call and then proceeded with his own imitation, “That ball’s got a chance…Gone!” Yep, he’s probably right, except the Cubs aren’t knocking many out of the park these days.

7:59am my first bass and sporting my lucky shirt on the 40th anniversary of MTV

Oops – A misstep in the well of the boat resulted in me tramping on one of Dad’s poles and busting the rod tip. Always a bad break but even worse as the pole is probably 30 years old, possibly a hand-me-down from Brent when he upgraded a set up. Boat launching and loading also gave me some trouble on the makeshift ramp. Both aspects took a couple tries to hit the narrow and slightly concealed spot. It is also a fine line between not far enough and too far for the trailer as there is a rapid dropoff. To end our day, it took three tries to load the boat but fortunately there was no crowd of observers as might be the case on some public waters.

8:07am Dad’s Top Bass on a morning where we couldn’t find any big ones

Cubs Question – As we prepped to hit the road, a shore angler noticed Dad’s cap and commented on the Cubs recent dump of their veterans and others. Certainly, a shame for me as a lifelong fan and still hard to accept in my fifties that baseball is a business and career loyalty is a thing of the past. Those days are long gone, and I miss the one team players of my youth: favorites like Jim Rice, Robin Yount, George Brett, Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell and Mike Schmidt. I’d hoped that Kris Bryant could join the ranks, but I guess that I should know better. I’m not sure if even the likes of Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer can keep me entertained enough to maintain my regular radio following for the rest of the year. Maybe more evenings on the water instead.

9:53am Dad with our double and two of the only three “keepers” we managed to fool

Our morning ended with a decent quantity, but we had to work for them and just couldn’t find any quality bites. That’s August for you, but always good to get out on the water with Dad no matter what we catch. Talk to you later. Troy

Friday Flashback – August 6, 2011

Posted on by Troy Jackson

The Emiquon Preserve opened in 2009 and featured bass fishing like nothing we’d ever seen. However, by 2011, there were rumblings among some anglers that the glory days were already over. Ten years ago this week, Brent and I decided to head down to Fulton County to see for ourselves. Read on for the outcome as detailed in the original blog posting.

Originally posted on August 9, 2011 as “Emiquon Responds”

I frequently spout off about how there’s more to a fishing trip than simply the fish and I believe that. However, it’s always rewarding when you get the opportunity to put the hurt on some bass along the way. Emiquon gave us that opportunity last Saturday by revealing a few more secrets and showing some flurries of activity reminiscent of 2009. Perhaps it was a little tired of some of the 2011 trash talk, mine included. Me, my brother and Emiquon hashed things out over ten hours together and appear to be on friendly terms again.

When the log entry covers four and a half pages, that’s quite a day

Stats
Date: August 6, 2011
Location: The Emiquon Preserve
Time: 6:02am-4:02 pm
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/breezy
Air Temp: 75-90F
Water Temp: Not available but like bath water
Totals: 95 bass (Troy – 55, Brent – 40)
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 55 bass, Rat L Trap (Tennessee shad/gold) – 29 bass, Rapala Rattlin’ Rap (silver/blue) – 3 bass, Rapala Rattlin’ Rap (shad) – 3 bass, Tandem Spinnerbait (red/gray) – 2 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- (Tennessee shad) – 2 bass, Buzzbait (green/chartreuse) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 (Troy – Strike King Red Eye Shad)
Top 5 Weight: 10-9 (2-4, 2-3, 2-2, 2-0, 2-0)

Top Bass at 2-4, lots of these in there back in the day

The Numbers

95– Our second best Emiquon outing left us five bass shy of the century mark. I never count until we’re done, and I doubt we would have stuck around in pursuit of those last few fish anyway. We did take a half hour break in the midst of a good bite, but that story will have to wait until next blog posting. (Note: we assisted a fellow angler with a treble hook in his thumb and a bass attached to another treble on the lure)

94 – The number of minutes before I caught my first bass.

55 – Although I did briefly throw a Zara Spook (a couple hits), a topwater frog (one hit), a Senko (no bites), a Yum Wooly Curltail (no bites), a Quad Shad spinnerbait (no hits) and a couple Strike King Pro model crankbaits (one lost fish), my Red Eye Shad caught every one of my fish.

Strike King Red Eye Shad, the only lure I needed on this day

30 – The approximate number of times we retied our lures after our catch either engulfed the bait or wrapped the line around a treble during some aerial hijinks

25 – The number of bass I envisioned us catching despite some recent glowing reports. I didn’t foresee being quite that wrong which leads me to wonder why you don’t often encounter the word “underconfident.”

12 – The number of bass in our haul that were less than 12” in length.

The lack of small bass (<12″) in my haul was totally off the charts in terms of length distribution 

7 – The total number of boats that we saw in the parking lot all day, on a Saturday, which is fine.

2 – The number of boats that arrived before we did.

More Emiquon craziness, two bass caught on a lipless crank at the same time

1.167 – It is Basic Baseball Statistics 101 that a player bats 1.000 on a 4 for 4 or 5 for 5 day at the plate. But in fishing it’s possible to do even better as Brent demonstrated by going 7 for 6 thanks to a pair of bass coming on one of those six casts during a feeding frenzy.

Emiquon was one of a kind. Talk to you later. Troy

Fishing Lines Top 10

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Without further ado, I present the Top 10.

10. “I’m like a fish out of water, I’m just a homesick man.”
Fool for the City – Foghat (1975)
Cool band name, cool cut, and cool album cover. Takes me back to flipping through the albums at Musicland, Lindstrom’s, Co-Op, and The Platter once upon a time.

9. “Just for the record let’s get the story straight, me and Uncle Tom were fishin’ it was gettin’ pretty late.”
Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Warrant (1991)
A hair band, a story song, a fishing line, and a banjo? Poke fun all you want, but I think this is a darn good tune.

8. “Well, it’s just now and then my line gets cast into these time passages.”
Time Passages – Al Stewart (1978)
This one deals in reminiscing and what a wonderful collection of lines. To a guy who digs fishing, tunes, writing and waxing nostalgic, this song is spot on. Also see, Stewart’s “Year of the Cat” for some more sonically (and visually) appealing lyrics.

7. “And it don’t matter if we sit forever and the fish don’t bite, jump in the river and cool ourselves from the heat of the night.”
Fishing in the Dark – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1987)
I’ve long said that fishing ain’t just about catching fish and this song is proof. I guess that I’ll just leave it at that.

6. “But I got to stop wishin’, got to go fishin’, down to rock bottom again.”
A Pirate Looks at Forty, Jimmy Buffett (1974)
This tune came out when I was seven years old, I didn’t discover it until I was in my twenties and the “forty” in the title is well over a decade in the rearview mirror. Wistful and a bit melancholic with the selected fishing line expressing that there are few better pursuits than fishing to soothe what ails you.

5. “If it were easy as fishin’ you could be a musician.”
Takin’ Care of Business – Bachman Turner Overdrive (1973)
Now, BTO could rock, and I dig many of their tunes. But fishin’ is “easy”? Sure, it makes for a great lyric in a classic tune but some days, fishin’ ain’t quite as easy as these fellows might think. I suppose playing guitar ain’t a walk in the park either.

4. “Catfish are jumpin’, that paddle wheel pumpin’, black water keeps rollin’ on past just the same.”
Black Water – The Doobie Brothers (1974)
Hate to say it, but I can’t recall any instances where I’ve witnessed catfish jumping. Rolling, maybe, or perhaps I just haven’t been in the right place at the right time. These days, Asian carp would qualify but that would ruin the whole flow of the song. And besides, they are an invasive species. Regardless, is there anyone who can resist singing along to the “funky Dixieland” part of this tune?

3. “Hands are full of a fishin’ rod and the tackle on our backs.”
And It Stoned Me – Van Morrison (1970)
It don’t get much better than Van Morrison and an autobiographical tune about the exploits of a couple young boys out fishing. Been there, still do that and could say that it still can stone me all these years later.

2. “If you want to talk fishin’, well I guess that’ll be okay.”
Don’t Ask Me No Questions – Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
Some days, these lines and this song title just about say it all. I suppose that I would add music and baseball to the allowed topics as well.

1. “Now he lives in the islands fishes the pylons and drinks his green label each day. Writing his memoirs, losing his hearing but he don’t care what most people say.”
He Went to Paris – Jimmy Buffett (1973)
I’m no Parrothead but have simply always loved a good story song. Fishing, booze, writing and a bit of a recluse; there have been occasions when I’ve aspired to be that guy.

It’s been a fun ride for me this week as anytime I can work some tunes into an outdoor blog, I’m a happy camper. Here’s hoping that you may have learned something new, rediscovered a forgotten tune or have some fishing tunes of your own to offer (let me know as MTV will turn 50 eventually).

In closing, I’d like to thank J.J. Jackson, Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, and Alan Hunter. And, to paraphrase the Top 40 legend, Casey Kasem…

“Keep your lines in the water and keep reaching for the dipnet.”

Talk to you later. Troy