For the third time in a week, I chased bass on the same stretch of The Canal in search of a big enough bite to push my Top 5 for the spot into double-digits. I guess the third time was a charm as a good one cooperated. Read on for the rest of the story.
Starting lineup
Stats
Date: May 10
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 9:15am-12:30pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Sunny/windy, 64-75F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with twin tail trailer – 2 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 2-6 Frog
Top 4 Weight (only four at 12” or better): 5-13 (2-6,1-7,1-3,0-13)
Tune of the Trip
“Why Can’t We Be Friends” – War (1975)
10:46am – First bass, not much but darn glad to get it
Notes and Nonsense
Slow Start – For the first hour and a half, I made a lot of quality casts to a lot of quality spots and wound up with absolutely zero bites. I’ve done this long enough to know that the bites will come, but I will admit that the confidence wavers a bit and thoughts of getting shut out dance in my head. You’ve just got to keep casting, maybe change things up a bit and hang in there. That approach paid off with four bites in the next hour.
11:25am – First frog bass of the year at 1-7 (14″)
Frog Time – Two quick bites on the spinnerbait were encouraging but they came at the end of my “spinnerbait water”, meaning a stretch filled with a lot of fallen trees. Next up, was a length of weedy bank bordered by riprap and nearly devoid of any wood. For me, on The Canal, this means frog. Warming weather, increasing weeds, and spawning panfish will get some bass prowling the area and a topwater frog is a good presentation to get their attention. Two more bass joined my creel courtesy of the frog including the Top Bass of the trip at 2-6.
11:50am – Top Bass at 2-6 (18″) on a frog
Top 5 Quest – The spot that I chose on this outing had an all-time Top 5 weight of 9-3 so I needed a thirteen-ounce boost to reach double-digits. The 2-6 knocked a 1-7 out of the creel for a fifteen-ounce boost. Mission accomplished as I can check off another stretch in reaching a Top 5 weight of 10-2.
Winning lures
I sure didn’t knock ‘em dead as The Canal bass are being stubborn for me this year. However, I got the one bite that I was seeking and then elected to shift my focus to the strip mines for my next outing. Stay tuned for the Trip Tunes from this Canal trip and the report from the strip mines. Talk to you later. Troy