The Hennepin Canal has taken a back seat while I have invested more fishing time on Lake Storey and the Knox County strip mines this fall. A recent return to The Canal involved getting the little boat on a new stretch of water for the first time.
11:48am – Top Bass at 1-7 (14″) on a lipless crankbait
Stats
Date: October 14
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 11:00am-1:30pm
Totals: 5 bass (4 largemouth, 1 smallmouth), 1 buffalo
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy, 52F
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 3 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-7 (spinnerbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 3-9 (1-7,1-2,1-0)
Winning lures
Notes and Nonsense
New Water – This trip took place on a Monday wrapping up a five-day weekend as I broke down and used three vacation days. My pursuit of some late season bass took me to a stretch of The Canal that I had briefly fished from the bank one evening last summer. I chose the spot as not only had it been on my list, but it is also what I call a “weekday” spot. Meaning that it is too populated to mess with during the weekend. It also gets a little weird in the evenings so my midday approach allowed me to steer clear of the oddballs. I’ll just leave it at that.
1:29pm – a new species on The Canal, a smallmouth bass
Lyrical Catches – If you are around my age or older, I suspect that you encountered the old “Erie Canal” song in school or somewhere over the years. Many a day on the Hennepin Canal, I have found that tune playing on the soundtrack in my head with a few alternate lyrics depending on what is going down on the water. In fact, I have even penned my own version with the intent of posting it on the blog one of these days. Upon landing a pair of new Canal species, I now have a new verse.
“I’ve hauled in largemouth in my day
And with exploring I can say
I’ve now discovered where to go
To catch a smallmouth and a buffalo”
12:06pm – another new species on The Canal, a buffalo
My fishing year is winding down as thoughts turn to the annual goal of landing a November bass before I put away the gear. Shorter days get even shorter next Sunday as we turn back the clocks. Paired with a workday that ends at 5:00pm, it is weekend fishing from here on out. I intended to be on the water this weekend, but truck trouble has me homebound writing fish stories instead. Stay tuned to see what the next few weeks holds in store. Talk to you later. Troy