While my quest for double-digit Top 5 limits on The Canal is ongoing, I gave it a break on this trip. Instead, I hit a spot that I hadn’t fished for two years in search of seven bass that would push my all-time total on the stretch to one hundred bass. The results ended up being what I would call a classic fish story.

7:40am – Bass #94 on a buzzbait, and yes, they all count, no matter how “big”

Stats
Date: June 7
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:30am-9:55am
Totals: 7 bass
Weather: Hazy/calm, 63-70F
Lures: Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 6 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-4 Senko
Top 4 Weight (only four bass at 12” or better): 7-1 (3-4,1-9,1-4,1-0)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Bye Bye Love – The Cars (1978)
With the haze from the ongoing Canadian wildfires, the lyric “It’s an orangy sky” comes to mind. In the day, you can look at the orange sun obscured in the haze, while at night the moon reflects a similar hue.

Notes and Nonsense

Background – Being a stat guy, I am always looking to pursue some “milestones.” Coming into this trip, I spent just under thirty hours on this pool and landed 93 bass. Top Bass consisted of a pair weighing in at 2-12. And the Top 5 for the stretch sat at 12-8 so I had not invested any time on this water since July 2023. So, I set out in pursuit of seven bass and any boost to my Top 5 weight would simply be a bonus.

9:31am – Bass #97 on a buzzbait and Top Bass Runner-up for the trip at 1-9 (15.5″)

Fellow Anglers – My launch was slightly delayed after an informative and enjoyable conversation with a knowledgeable angler in the parking area. Shortly after launching I gave a wave to a shore angler who showed up as I drifted down the waterway. Midway down the stretch, I chatted with a Canal regular as he stopped his pedaling to catch up on our fish stories. Not long after, I spoke briefly with a father-son fishing duo as they made their hike along the towpath headed back to their vehicle. Good chats along the way and the shore angler took time to comment later in the day on social media.

Results – I had two bass in the first half hour before a lengthy drought of over seventy minutes. Being up against a time limit to head to Galesburg and watch the Cubs with Dad, I admit that I was a bit worried. However, four bass in the next thirty-five minutes had me one bass away from my goal and roughly forty-five minutes left of fishing.

9:55am – Bass #100 on a Senko, Top Bass of the trip and Top Bass all-time for the pool at 3-4 (19″)

Bass #100 – At 9:55am, I hit a spot with a pocket of the deepest, clearest water on the pool. The area also featured a dense, expansive weed mat with a fair current making a direct hit. Up to that point, I had relied exclusively on a buzzbait and frog, but this spot set up well for the Senko wacky rig. I cast my Senko to the weed edge and let it sink with the current towards the weed mat. Since the Senko was a light color, I could see it fluttering down and shortly it was being pushed to my left, typical of a panfish nibbling at the bait. As the panfish lost interest (or was perhaps scared away) and the Senko began to drift back to the right, the wacky rig disappeared. At the same time, a tug on the line triggered my brain to set the hook and the fight was on. After a couple dives and briefly hanging in some subsurface weeds, I lipped Bass #100.

Winning lures

A True Fish Story – Bass #100 was a quality fish. In fact, it set a new Top Bass mark for this pool knocking out a pair at 2-12 (5/27/2022 and 9/20/2022). Bass #100 was caught on the only cast that I made with a Senko. After catching Bass #100, I called it a morning and made the eighteen-minute row back to the truck without a single cast. Sure, I could’ve kept casting for Bass #101 and beyond but those will have to wait for another day as I was more than satisfied with my last cast of the morning.

Mission accomplished. Talk to you later. Troy