The Canal bass continue to outsmart me in 2023 as I am really struggling to find bites on the waterway. The latest results consist of three short bass over two trips for a combined four hours. As always, I promise a fishing report no matter the “luck” so here we go.
Lone catch of May 10 but good to get on the water with a fishing partner
Stats
Date: May 10 & 12
Location: Hennepin Canal (two locations)
Time: 5:00-6:45pm & 4:55-6:55pm
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy & mostly cloudy/breezy
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (white) – 2 bass, Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 1 bass
Top Bass: not applicable as none at or > 12”
Top 5 Weight: not applicable
May 12 Top Bass but half-inch shy of a “keeper” at 11.5″
Notes and Nonsense
May 10 – I was able to get one of my boys, Jayce, out for a quick evening trip and chose a section of The Canal that we had fished last spring. On that previous outing, he shut me out two bass to zero including a Top Bass of 2-3 along with a 1-4, both on a Whopper Plopper. Well, the bass turned the tables on Jayce this time around as they dealt him a shutout. I didn’t fare much better with one short bass and a decent bite winding up being “the one that got away.”
Hopes were running high with some evening cloud cover but I couldn’t get much going
May 12 – As noted above, I hit The Canal on this evening with expectations running high due to overcast skies, decent water clarity, and warm stable weather. It then took me an hour and a half to get my first bite. Twenty minutes later, I had my second fish in the boat, both short. Ten minutes later, I loaded up to head home and tune in on the radio to the Cubs game. Those Canal bass left me perplexed again but the Cubs came through with a victory over the Twins thanks to some late innings run production.
Relied heavily on topwater but just couldn’t find many bites
Topwater Time – While the results weren’t especially convincing, topwater time is in full swing and much of The Canal is well suited for such an approach. Jayce and I relied almost exclusively on such presentations during our trip although sunny conditions are not prime. I call this “force feeding” or the “swing for the fences” approach. We had a couple hours, I wanted to cover a lot of water quickly, and I was hoping for at least one or two quality bites. I employed a similar tactic on the May 12 outing with much more favorable conditions but struggled yet again. That’s just the way it goes sometimes but we will be back for another try as the year rolls on.
New life jacket will be much more angler friendly for my young fishing partners
New Gear – The outing with Jayce featured an overdue item to enhance his fishing experience. I purchased an A/M 24 Auto/Manual Life Jacket which is much more comfortable than the older life vests I have on hand. Jayce had borrowed one from my brother, Brent, on an outing for several hours last year and I could see that it was the way to go. In addition, I have pieced together a pair of reasonably priced baitcasting setups, we just need some practice. He opted to stick with the spinning rigs he has but one of these days we will find some wide-open space and open his eyes to a new approach.
This guy bounced into my passenger seat at about 40mph, would have been exciting if I had a partner along, right in their lap
Even if the fish are not cooperating, it is always good to get some fresh air and take your shot. Also cool to get one of the kids on the water and hope to do so more once school wraps up. Stay tuned for the latest Top 5 Update and more. Talk to you later. Troy