There’s an entertaining bunch of young fishing YouTubers out there who pursue various species in spillways around the country. Such posts bring back memories of scaling the slope down to the Lake Bracken Spillway. Tales that date back to my first visit in the late 1970s with several teammates from the Galesburg Little League Rangers.

May 24, 1997 – Geek and the Top Carp of the outing at 7-8

But the trip featured today was with another former teammate and longtime friend, Mark “Geek” Junk. We spent plenty of hours chasing the carp that called “The Spillway” home as well as many more hours on other pursuits. Basketball, baseball, golf, darts, concerts, and just a few beers along the way. Many good memories. Some I remember, others are a little fuzzy.

May 24, 1997 – yours truly with a 7-6 carp

Watching the modern Spillway YouTubers, I smile at those youngsters and their pursuits. And as I officially head into fisherman “old-timer” status, I can’t help but think that we were doing this sort of thing before most of them were even born. Years of adventures from The Spillway with the likes of Geek, his brothers, Jim and John, my brother, Brent, and Matt “Hack” Reynolds. I must admit that there is a tinge of jealousy at times, wishing that we’d had GoPros and YouTube “back in the day.”

But then I come to my senses and realize that it is probably for the best that some of our hijinks were not preserved for posterity. Talk to you later. Troy

Senko fishing on the strip mines can be a sight to see when the conditions are right. Fifteen years ago this week, the stars were aligned, and the bass dealt me a winning hand. Below is the original report from that outing as posted to family and friends before becoming a blogger.

Original log entry from May 19, 2007

Julie was headed for Jacksonville for a stamping workshop, the girls were in Canton, and I didn’t have to work until 3:00 pm so I decided to give Little John another try. Initially I thought I would try Muskrat Lake but passed the gate and headed for Club Lake instead. Being a Saturday morning, I was not surprised to find a boat already fishing near the ramp, so I opted to head for Skeet Lake. This small lake also had a fisherman, and I didn’t want to share so I continued up the road to Long Lake. A guy was just loading his boat onto the trailer and said luck was fair at best. We talked for a while, and I eventually made my way back to Muskrat Lake where I was intending to start in the first place. As I wished, I had the lake all to myself. My delayed start would prove rather fateful as I had quite a day once my Senko hit the water.

Stats
Date: May 19, 20007
Location: Muskrat Lake – Little John Conservation Club
Time: 8:45am-11:00am
Weather: Sunny/windy
Air Temp: 65-75F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 15 bass
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad)
Top Bass: 5-3 (Senko)
Top 5 Weight: 15-9 (5-3,4-6,2-1,2-0,1-15)

I began fishing at 8:45am and told myself that I would stay until around 11:00 am before heading home for lunch and to get ready for work. The Senko wacky rig (natural shad) was responsible for all fifteen of my fish and set the lake record, twice. After catching only two bass in the first forty-five minutes, I finally happened upon a successful pattern. The bass were hiding under overhanging bushes on the southern banks of the many chutes and fingers of the lake. Such cover provided a shady ambush point as opposed to the bushes on the northern banks which were exposed to direct sunlight. This stuff is textbook bass fishing and really makes you feel smart when you read the conditions right. At one point, I tried an experiment that boosted my confidence even further. I was sitting in a narrow chute with overhanging bushes on the north exposed to the sun and overhanging bushes on the south creating a shadow on the surface. A cast of the Senko to the northern bushes came up empty. In contrast, a healthy two-pound bass nailed the lure seconds after it splashed under the shady, southern bushes. Man, what I wouldn’t have given for an audience.

9:21am – a new Muskrat Lake Top Bass at 4-6 on the Senko wacky rig

At 9:21am, my pattern produced a 4-6 to best the lake record of 4-0 set by Tim on 4/12/00. This record would be short lived as my final bass of the day proved to be my best ever from the strip pits at Little John. Just southwest of the Fremont Road boat ramp is a tree sitting in 8-10 feet of water just out from the deep edge of a lengthy weed bed. On 7/19/03, Dad had nailed a nice 2-3 on a jig off this piece of structure while we fished together. I intended to make the spot my last stop and fired my second cast to the tree right at 11:00am. As soon as I set the hook, I knew that I had a good fish but was still surprised when the bass broke the surface. Upon landing the fish, I thought that it had a shot at the six-pound mark which would be a new personal best. However, the fish fell well short as it only weighed 5-3. I was not at all disappointed despite my error in judgment. The bass sets the bar pretty high for Top Bass 2007 but there’s a whole lot of year left.

11:00am – a bad pic of a good bass at 5-3 on a Senko to break the Muskrat Lake Top Bass mark again

All told, six bass joined the record book in my best ever outing on Muskrat Lake. The top two bass were the heaviest two fish combo I’ve posted in one day eclipsing a 4-10 and a 4-0 caught at Lake Bracken on 4/14/99. Not only were the conditions right for the particular pattern I was fishing but I’m also convinced that I wouldn’t have caught most of the fish were it not for the Senko wacky rig. The slow, tantalizing fall of the lure continues to produce impressive results. Along with the previous trip on Hopper Lake, the Senko has posted the best results that I’ve ever had on these two lakes and there are still several other lakes at Little John where I have yet to give it a try. I feel it would also be appropriate to pass along a word of thanks to the nameless anglers who beat me to the other lakes that morning.

Senko wacky rig in the natural shad pattern, best color ever but they quit making it for some unknown reason

Quite a showing by the bass in the early days of fishing the Senko. No doubt that it revolutionized our bass fishing, particularly on the strip mines. Well, it’s May and high time to see what the Senko can do fifteen years down the road. Talk to you later. Troy