For a more granular look at the 2025 stats, I have elected to expand the scope of the Knox Couty public strip pits by dividing them into three geographical locations. First is an area where I fished two of several bodies of water offered. The spots produced forty-one bass, and the numbers will increase for each location in the remaining posts to follow.
Knox County, IL Public Strip Mines I
(4 visits, 2 lakes – 5/25 through 7/23)
41 bass
13.25 hours (2.00 to 6.25 hour trips)
3.09 bass/hour
Top Bass: 3-6 Frog on 7/23
Top 5 Weight: 14-7 (3-6,3-1,3-1,2-11,2-4)
Overview
These two bodies of water allow me to drag in an eight-foot johnboat and have produced well over the years. One of the lakes lends itself to better quality bites while the other trends towards a numbers lake. In 2025, I spent more time on the quality lake (9.75 hours versus 3.50 hours).
Lures
During the timeframe that I fished these waters, the weed growth was abundant, particularly on the shallower, quality fish lake. As a result, topwater lures dominated the haul in landing 30 of the 41 bass (24 on a frog, 5 on a buzzbait, and 1 on a propbait). The remaining eleven bass were fooled on plastic worms (10 on a shaky head and 1 on a wacky rigged Senko). Six of the worm bass came from the deeper, numbers lake and five from the other body of water.
Video
The clip below is the Top Bass Runner-Up from this area as the Top Bass was previously submitted for the “12 Days of Lures” series as it represented the Top Frog Bass of 2025. For this catch, I had previously been working a buzzbait over an expansive submerged weed bed when I saw/heard a fish break the surface near a weed edge within casting distance. Such an observance always warrants a cast as I describe this as a bass “giving itself away.” The behavior typically reveals a “hot” fish, one that is feeding and susceptible to a striking a lure cast in proximity. I rapidly reeled in my buzzbait, picked up my frog rod, and fired away to the surface weeds near where I had observed the splash. Right on cue, as my frog buzzed off the weed tops into open water the bass blasted it and hooked up.
2026 Outlook
The larger, deeper lake lacks enough quality bites to have a ten-pound all-time Top 5 (currently sits at 7-7) so that is a goal. It did receive a boost with a 2-2 in 2025, which stands as the largest bass that I have landed on that body of water. In addition, there are a pair of lakes in the area that I have only fished sparingly but both take some work to access. I would like to visit them again in the future, but terrain, weather, and energy are factors that can be a challenge. When it comes right down to it though, it is hard to stay away from the quality lake in the area (all-time Top 5 of 17-6 and 19-10 when combined with my brother, Brent). This one’s up in the air for 2026 so I guess that I’ll see what my gut tells me when I get there.
Next up is another batch of strip pits so stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy