Catching up on the fishing reports with a combined recap of four Canal visits over the past two weeks.
September 29 at 2:10pm weighing 3-6 (19″) on a frog
Stats
Date: September 29, October 5, 8,12
Location: Hennepin Canal (6 pools)
Time: 9.75 hours total
Totals: 12 bass
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 6 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 5 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-10 (Spro frog on 9/29)
Top 5 Weight (combined trips): 11-1 (3-10,3-6,1-8,1-5,1-4)
Winning Lures
September 29 at 4:10pm weighing 3-10 (19″) on a frog
September 29
Bike/2 pools/2.75 hours/4 bass/Top Bass 3-10/Top 2 Weight 8-7
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 4 bass
Goal: Boost my Top 5 of 7-6 on one pool into double digits.
Results: A 3-10 and a 1-7 achieved my goal in reaching 10-0 on one pool. The other pool also produced a 3-6, equaling its Top Bass (3-6 on 7/21/21) and boosting its all-time Top 5 to 15-11, my second-best pool on The Canal.
Highlight: I had seen that a fellow Canal angler was catching quality bass on a white Spro frog. My white (albino) frog was damaged and out of commission, but I was able to steal the guts from a brown frog to repair. The observation and decision produced my top two Canal bass of the year.
Lowlight: Four bass in three hours left much to be desired but when a pair are in the three-pound range, it is tough to complain.
Swapping the “guts” of another Spro frog into the albino body was a winner
October 5 at 10:15am weighing 1-5 (15″) on a spinnerbait
October 5
Boat/3 pools/3.00 hours/6 bass/Top Bass 1-5/Top 2 Weight 2-3
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 6 bass
Goals: Fish a “distant” pool that sat at a Top 5 weight of 7-14. Plan B was a pair of connected pools that sat at 9-14 and 7-14, respectively.
Results: The only “keepers” were a 1-5 and an 0-14, with the latter providing a three-ounce boost on one pool to raise its Top 5 to 8-2.
Highlight: My first stop was at the mid-point of an event called the “Hennepin Hundred,” a 100-mile run along The Canal. While I did not see any participants due to the event just starting in Sterling, IL, I marvel at folks taking on such a challenge.
Lowlight: I blanked at my first stop, then elected to pursue Plan B and find cleaner water. That didn’t work out so great either.
October 8 at 6:22pm weighing 1-8 (14″) on a frog
October 8
Bike/2 pools/1.75 hours/1 bass/Top Bass 1-8
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 1 bass
Goal: Revisit the pools that produced a pair of three-pounders on September 29 in search of some more quality bites.
Result: Only landed one fish.
Highlight: I did not get shut out.
Lowlight: Two good blowups on the frog were misses as the bass had bad aim.
October 12 at 9:15am weighing 1-4 on a chatterbait
October 12
Boat/1 pool/2.25 hours/1 bass/Top Bass 1-4
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Goal: Find the quality bite(s) needed to push my Top 5 weight on a pool from 9-1 into double figures.
Result: Landed one bass that was not large enough to boost my weight.
Highlight: I did not get shut out.
Lowlights: The location was a bad choice considering the direction of a strong east wind. I also missed a decent bass as the boat was drifting towards the fish and I faltered on getting an effective hookset.
The Canal continues to give me fits although the outing that produced two three-pounders was a treat. Multiple quality bites have been more the exception than the rule in 2024. Hopefully, I can get a few more shots to see if I can redeem myself but I shifted my focus back to Lake Storey for the next two outings. Stay tuned for those reports. Talk to you later. Troy