The Top 5 Canal Quest was back in action on a stretch that I had only fished one time back on May 8 of this year. That outing was a tough day as I came up two bass shy of a Top 5 for the pool with three keepers weighing in at 4-0 total. Read on to see of I could avoid a shutout, catch at least two keepers, and ideally boost my Top 5 weight to double digits on this trip.

Stats
Date: June 29
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:45am-9:15am
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/breezy 75F
Lures: Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 3 bass
Top 2 Weight (only 2 bass at 12” or better): 5-9 (3-0,2-9)

6:01am – First bass of the morning was Top Bass at 3-0 (18.5″), catch video below

 

Notes and Nonsense

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad (Part I) – Just over forty minutes into the trip, I had two good bass in the log with a 3-0 at 6:01am and a 2-9 at 6:27am, both on the Whopper Plopper. In the roughly three hours that followed, I caught a lone short bass, also on the Whopper Plopper. Disappointing to say the least, but if I am only going to muster three bites, it is good when two are quality fish.

Tried ’em all but only the Whopper Plopper (lower right) was a winner

Kitchen Sink Approach – My lack of bites wasn’t for a lack of adjustments to find a winner. When reviewing my morning post trip, I determined that ten different lures hit the water, covering the water column top to bottom. When I say top to bottom, that encompasses about four feet maximum on this stretch of The Canal. My “depthfinder” is one of my oars and I have yet to find a spot where I don’t hit bottom before I run out of oar. Anyway, only one of the ten lures resulted in any bites. That’s a rough day.

New Trick? – As I wrapped up my morning, I crossed paths with another angler with whom I had briefly chatted earlier. When we spoke around 7:00am, I had my two quality bass in the log and was feeling confident about my prospects for a banner day. Fast forward to 9:00am and I was scratching my head after only landing one more short fish. I spied what he was using but incorrectly assessed his presentation. He gave me the scoop and I went shopping online with one of my ancient gift cards when I got home. Stay tuned for the reveal and the results in an upcoming report as I have already put the presentation to use.

6:27am – Top Bass Runner-Up at 2-9 (18″), catch video below

 

Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad (Part II) – As noted in the introduction, my aim in visiting this stretch was threefold: don’t get shutout, land two keepers to complete a Top 5 for the pool, and then find enough weight to push that Top 5 into double digits. I had met the first two goals in no time but the third eluded me as the boost to my initial Top 5 of 4-0 still comes up short at 9-9.

All I needed was one more decent bite. But that’s kind of how fishing works, always looking for that “one more bite.” Talk to you later. Troy