Prior to this outing, I had been off the water for three weeks and had not fished on The Canal since March 30. I was hoping that the bass would miss me and show up in great numbers and impressive size. Those hopes did not materialize but there’s always a fish story so read on.
2:24pm – Top Bass (tie) at 1-8 (14.5″) on a chatterbait
Stats
Date: May 3
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 1:25pm-6:45pm
Totals: 8 bass
Weather: Overcast/windy, 58F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 8 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 Chatterbait (three different fish)
Top 5 Weight: 7-3 (1-8,1-8,1-8,1-7,1-4)
Starting lineup
Tune of the Trip
Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas (1976)
3:58pm – Top Bass (tie) at 1-8 (15.5″) on a chatterbait
Notes and Nonsense
Float Trip – For this outing, I elected to do a “float trip” like Dad, Uncle Dick, and Brent were known to do on a Henderson County creek many years ago. In this case, Julie and Jayce dropped off the van at my downstream take-out area. They then rode with me upstream in the truck, dropped me and the boat, and headed back to the van. Five hours, five miles, and eight bass later, I was back at my truck.
Deer Discovery – Four hours through my float/row, I had struggled to land a mere half dozen bass and found myself in search of the nearest “bathroom.” Seclusion was found on the wild side of an unusually wide part of The Canal under some overhanging limbs next to a large fallen tree. As I stood in the back of the boat an odd-looking branch caught my eye on the other side of the tree trunk . My brain took a few seconds to register that it was an antler and not a branch at all. After completing my initial task, I rowed around the tree to find a deer skull. I would have taken it home and given it to Dad at some point, but it still had about a foot of decaying vertebrae attached, making it a little ripe. I left it in place and if I am back in the future, I will take another look. I doubt anyone else will grab it as it sits near the bank on an expansive flat with about a foot of water.
Winning lure
One Trick Pony – My starting lineup consisted of a lipless crankbait, a spinnerbait, a wacky rigged Senko, and a chatterbait. I gave the spinnerbait and chatterbait ample casts, invested a fair amount of time with the lipless crank, and only made a few casts to specific targets with the Senko. In addition, I tried a Whopper Plopper due to some topwater catches reported by local anglers. In the end, the only lure that I needed was the chatterbait as it fooled all eight bass.
6:43pm – Top Bass (tie) at 1-8 (15.5″) on a chatterbait
It’s always good to get out casting but I will say that the results were a far cry from my expectations. Both in terms of quantity and quality. But it didn’t take me long to give the bass another shot as I was able to get back on the water the next day. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy