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

My latest outing on the Knox County public strip mines produced a whopping total of fifty-seven bass (and a crappie). While it sounds impressive, most of the specimens left much to be desired. Read on for the rest of the story.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: April 19
Location: Knox County public strip pits (4 lakes)
Time: 10:45am-4:30pm (5.00 hours fishing)
Totals: 57 bass, 1 crappie
Weather: Overcast/windy, 56F
Lures Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 36 bass, Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (smokin shad) aka “Ned Rig” – 17 bass/1 crappie, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with a BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue) – 4 bass
Top Bass: 4-14 (Chatterbait)
Top 5 Weight: 10-4 (4-14,1-8,1-8,1-3,1-3)

2:48pm – Top Bass at 4-14 (20.5″) on a chatterbait

Notes and Nonsense

Choices – I’d love to spend the whole day roaming the Knox County strip mines as there are a dozen parking areas that provide access to close to one hundred lakes. Each lake has its own history, personality, and appeal but time, energy, and weather can be limiting factors. The DNR made the call for me this time as a Conservation Officer who was stopped at one area was in the process of doing some checks. While I admire the job those folks do, and I fish legally, I just didn’t feel like a chat, preferred to get to casting and drove to another access area. Plan B worked out okay.

Dark Sleeper – I purchased a Dark Sleeper earlier this month after solid reviews from internet anglers and a thumbs up from our own Top 5 participant, Jim Junk. It made the starting lineup for this trip, and it didn’t take long to get a few short strikes that were either small or bad aim. When the first solid bite occurred, I set the hook and promptly snapped my line. So, the jury is still out for me on the new bait. I did learn one thing; I should have purchased a back up bait. Jim also gave me a lead on some less pricey purchases so I suspect that I will give the lure another shot.

Bonus crappie at 11.5″ on the Ned Rig

Ticks are out as I found eight on this outing

Mission Accomplished – Lots of little bass on this outing but I hit each of my goals.
Goal #1 – No shutout
Got this one out of the way thirteen minutes into the trip.
Goal #2 – Establish a Top 5 (five bas at 12” or better)
At 2:11pm, I landed my fifth keeper, but a big boost was on the horizon
Goal #3 – Post a double-digit Top 5
When you fool a 4-14, you are nearly halfway there, and four more decent fish were enough to push me past the ten-pound mark.

 

Winning lures

There’s a lot to package from this outing but I find it best not to ramble too long on these reports. Instead, I hope to pass along other aspects of the trip via individual posts. We’ll see if that plan works out or if more fishing reports get in the way. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

I have been on the sidelines for a bit, so it is good to have a fishing brother who keeps me up to speed. For this post, I will convey the report via his pics and texts while also adding a dose of my two cents. Read on for the results of Brent’s first outing of 2025 as he took a hike around a Knox County strip mine.

Stats
Date: April 6
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Time: 12:50pm-3:50pm
Totals: 17 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 13 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 4 bass
Top Bass: 4-10 (Red Eye Shad)
Top 3 Weight (only three at 12” or better): 6-15 (4-10,1-5,1-0)

Editor’s Note: “I think I had a 5-pounder out of here a couple years ago.” Correct, with a 5-4 on 4/24/22. My money says he’ll get one bigger than his 4-10 before the year is through as there are lots of casts remaining. 

Winning lures

Editor’s note: Brent is quite adept with a spinnerbait so a thumbs up for giving the chatterbait some casts.

And there you have it. Thanks to Brent for keeping me posted on his solid early season success. The 4-10 was a very good fish and currently stands as Top Bass for the 2025 Top 5 project. Stay tuned for another report from Brent as he recently took his kayak out on Lake Storey. Talk to you later. Troy

Roughly three weeks after my opening open water casts, I hit the water for the third time
in 2025 hoping to find some active bass. On the upside, I doubled my total for the year. On the downside, it only took two bass to achieve that feat.

Stats
Date: March 22
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:40pm-7:10pm
Totals: 2 bass
Weather: Overcast/breezy, 50-47F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (white) with a Yamamoto Zako trailer (Tennessee Shad) – 1 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-15 Red Eye Shad
Top 2 Weight (only two at 12” or better): 2-14 (1-15.0-15)

Tune of the Trip
Celebration – Kool & The Gang (1980)

Starting lineup which wound up also being the winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

Bass #1 – My first bass of the day came from a reliable spot. I had made about ten fishless casts to an area the size of a fancy truck and bass boat combo that contained several submerged logs lying in various directions. Before giving up, I opted to run my chatterbait a bit deeper along a log that laid perpendicular to my stance on the bank. The added depth on the retrieve was the ticket as I was rewarded with a bass that just exceeded the mark for a “keeper” at twelve and a half inches. The lesson learned is that if you think a spot holds a bass, work it over thoroughly before you move on.

6:06pm – First Bass weighing 0-15 (12.5″) on a chatterbait

Bass # 2 – A productive presentation this time of the year is a lipless crankbait. And on the stretch of The Canal that I was fishing, I have a spot that I always like to hit with the lure. It involves casting across the channel to a beaver lodge and a point and covering the width of the canal through scattered early spring weed growth. On this day, the spot was a winner once again as a bass grabbed the lipless crank as it rattled up to the drop on the near side.

6:21pm – Top Bass weighing 1-15 (16″) on a lipless crankbait

Crowd – During my two prior trips, I had The Canal to myself. On this occasion, I encountered seven other anglers as I rode my bike to and from my truck. I was able to speak with four and presented them with the cards that I carry to plug my blog and YouTube channel. Hopefully, they will take time to check out what I have to offer as there is a wealth of Hennepin Canal information to peruse.

The slow start to the year leaves me one fish shy of establishing my initial Top 5. On the bright side, all four of my catches for 2025 have been keepers. However, they have been nothing much to brag about. Give it time as I know that will change as I just need to keep on casting. The tough part will be finding time to cast in the near future as obligations may make it a challenge to get on the water. Talk to you later. Troy

A November Sunday with temperatures in the mid-fifties was too good to pass up in searching for more bites before I put the gear away. I tried the “float trip” approach for the first time as my wife dropped me and the boat off and then took the truck three miles downstream to where we had left the van. It was a successful experiment as I didn’t have to row back to the original launch point. And I caught some decent bass along the way.

12:00pm – First bass weighing 1-1 (13.5″) on a chatterbait

Stats
Date: November 17
Location: Hennepin Canal (3 pools)
Time: 10:50am-3:40pm
Totals: 6 bass
Weather: Overcast/breezy, 58F
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with 3.75” Strike King Rage Swimmer trailer (electric shad) – 6 bass
Top Bass: 2-14
Top 5 Weight: 8-8 (2-14,1-15,1-6,1-4,1-1)

Winning lure

Notes and Nonsense

Spinner or Chatter – On this outing I started out with the trusty old spinnerbait but shifted gears to a chatterbait when my initial offering failed to produce. The spinnerbait garnered a lone bite (that got away) in about an hour of use. The switch to the chatterbait resulted in all six of my bass. Several anglers on forums have encouraged me to invest more casts with the chatterbait and their advice paid off on this day.

Lost Bass – In addition to the six bass that were landed, I also had several hooked that came loose on the way to the boat. The first was on a spinnerbait, while four or five others came undone after striking the chatterbait. In the chilly water, the bites were not rod jarring. Instead, it was a feeling of the retrieve getting heavy, or seeing my line moving, or observing a swirl at my bait. It felt like decent hooksets on the fish, but a couple seemed to strike while coming at me which can diminish the effectiveness. While you won’t land every fish that bites, this trip resulted in a higher percentage of lost bass than any other outing this year. I chalk this up to less aggressive strikes in the chilly water resulting in the fish not hooking up solidly.

12:25pm – Top Bass at 2-14 (18″) on a chatterbait

Angler Advice – Midway through my day, I crossed paths with another angler as we moved in opposite directions. We had a good chat, and he noted that a small crankbait had been his top producer of the day, landing ten bass to that point. I had only three at the time with the chatterbait doing the trick. During our conversation, we recalled that we had encountered each other previously on another stretch of The Canal. Near the end of the outing, we passed once again and he reported adding a couple more bass for an even dozen, doubling my total. It is always enjoyable to share fish stories on the water and the other angler was not the first to inform that a crankbait can be a productive option on The Canal. The drawback for me is that treble hooks and prolific vegetation can make for many frustrating casts. The fellow angler echoed this sentiment, but it sounds like a bunch of fouled casts can be offset by a batch of bites.

2:17pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-15 (16″) on a chatterbait

Top 5 Results – While I did not land an abundance of bass, five of the six were “keepers” (at or exceeding 12”). A pair of these catches also boosted the Top 5 Weights on two pools. One of the pools already had a double-digit Top 5 Weight and my goal was to push the other pool to ten pounds. I fell short of that latter goal which means there is more work to do on that pool next year. See the numbers below for the Top 5 boosts from this outing.

Pool One (Note: the 2-14 on this outing represented a new Top Bass for the pool)
Starting Top 5 Weight: 10-3 (2-9,2-7,1-14,1-11,1-10)
New Top 5 Weight: 11-7 (2-14,2-9,2-7,1-14,1-11)

Pool Two (Note: the 1-15 on this outing tied Top Bass for the pool)
Starting Top 5 Weight: 9-2 (1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13,1-11)
New Top 5 Weight: 9-6 (1-15,1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13)

 

A solid outing and a bonus to have warm, stable weather on a mid-November weekend with time to get away. Eventually, I will log the final bass of 2024. Time will tell if these fit that bill. Talk to you later. Troy