Summer is already underway, but I must catch up on one final spring stop. While the bass were not abundant on this evening bike ride, Mother Nature was putting on a quite a display via the cottonwood trees. Read on for the rest of the story.

7:42pm – Avoiding a shutout with an 11″ bass on a Senko wacky rig

Stats
Date: June 14
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:50pm-8:05pm
Totals: 2 bass, 1 bluegill
Weather: Partly cloudy/calm, 80-77F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram) – 2 bass, 1 bluegill
Top Bass: 1-10 Senko (only bass at 12” or better)

Starting lineup lure #1 – Spro frog and all it reeled in was clumps of cottonwood fuzz

Tune of the Trip
Junior’s Farm – Paul McCartney & Wings (1974)
“Said he was hoping for a fall of snow.”
Winter is the furthest thing from my mind as summer nears but the abundance of cottonwood fuzz in the air is reminiscent of that other white stuff.

7:48pm – Top Bass at 1-10 (16″) on a Senko wacky rig

Notes and Nonsense

Frog Fail – I spent the first hour of my ride working over an area with heavy aquatic vegetation and quality bank access. I would estimate that the stretch has solid weed mat coverage on fifty percent or more of the surface. Depth is shallow, even for The Canal and the water level remains low as it has for a few years. This combination screams topwater frog as many other presentations would be frustrating. However, one hour of casting my Spro frog resulted in zero strikes.

Starting lineup lure #2 – The Senko wacky rig saved the day

Senko Save – Pedaling to an adjacent section with a lock allowed me to avoid a shutout as a Senko wacky rig fooled a pair of bass (and a bluegill). Most locks feature a strong current and I typically cast the Senko upstream or across the lock and let it drift with the flow while giving it an occasional lift or pop to move it vertically in the water column.

Cottonwood fuzz that does not get through to the spool accumualates at the line guide

Bumper Crop – Cottonwood fuzz is a regular bane of anglers this time of the year as it it nearly impossible to pick off the line. However, during my previous four years of fishing The Canal I don’t recall observing a boom in fuzz production quite like this year. The stuff is everywhere as numerous cottonwoods line the banks of the old waterway. I am curious if this year’s increase is the result of a natural phenomenon termed “masting” where trees produce a large crop of seeds. It recalls a year in the 1990s while I lived on Lake Bracken and it was “raining” acorns.

The result of cottonwood clumps, a backlash that had to be cut out and the need to respool the reel

Well, it is on to summer but I’m not sure when I will get back on the water as work is keeping me busy and more than a bit wore out. In the meantime, there’s one more Trip Tunes feature in the works. Talk to you later. Troy

I altered my work schedule on June 5 to get out a couple hours early to put in a full evening on The Canal. The aim was to celebrate the fourth anniversary of my first Canal catch with some more bass from the same spot. Unfortunately, not many bass were in a festive sort of mood.

June 5, 2021 flashback photo of my first bass caught on The Canal

Stats
Date: June 5
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 4:30pm-8:15pm
Totals: 2 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy, 72F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (leopard) – 1 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-3 Frog
Top 2 Weight (only two bass at 12” or better): 2-2 (1-3,0-15)

Starting lineup

7:34pm – Took a while but mission accomplished with an anniversary bass at 1-3 (13″) on a frog

Tune of the Trip
Happy Anniversary – Little River Band (1977)
Revisiting the spot where I caught my first Canal bass seemed like a good idea, but it turns out that I should have “celebrated” somewhere else.

8:06pm – Second and final bass of the evening at 0-15 (13.5″) on a buzzbait

Notes and Nonsense

Fizzled Festivity – Three hours into casting, I was seriously concerned that no bass were going to show up for our reunion of sorts. Up to that point, I had gotten four strikes on a frog but failed to get any of those fish into the boat. Two were only briefly hooked after the topwater explosions and the other two came unbuttoned midway to the boat. With about forty minutes of fishing remaining, I avoided the shutout with a frog bass and managed to eke out one more on a buzzbait about ten minutes before ending my evening.

Cottowood fuzz is terrible in some spots

The Fuzz – The stretch I chose to fish was ugly with cottonwood fuzz. In the windblown areas, the surface was a nasty, white, slimy mess. This resulted in numerous backlashes, abrupt endings to many casts, and frequent attention to the gobs of gunk on my line, lures, level wind, and spool. There is no way to rid your gear of this stuff when it is wet, so you must grin and bear it or find some water with less cottonwood congestion. Mother Nature just doing its thing, I guess, but an annual bane for anglers.

An errant cast also produced what we call a “log salmon”

Winning lures

In the end, I was able to celebrate the date with a couple fish and always good to get on the water and take my shot. A recent conversation with Dad featured one of those old fishing adages that we dredge up from time to time that summed up this trip. Such an evening reinforces why our hobby is called “fishing” instead of “catching.” Talk to you later. Troy

Did I mention that the cottonwood fuzz was ugly?

I made two Sunday stops on the Knox County strip mines, starting with Brent and finishing with a solo shot. A fast start did not translate into a strong finish, but we got a few decent ones while the early morning bite was on.

Stats
Date: May 25
Location: Knox County public strip pits (3 lakes)
Time: 6:30am-11:50am (4.00 hours fishing)
Totals: 23 bass (Troy – 14, Brent – 9) NOTE: I fished an extra 90 minutes
Weather: Overcast/windy, 53-56F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (redear or leopard) – 14 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 5 bass, Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 3 bass, 5” Yamasenko weighted wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-9 Troy (Frog), 2-8 Brent (Frog)
Top 5 Weight: 9-11 (2-9,2-8,2-0,1-5,1-5)

Troy starting lineup, all produced except the lipless crankbait

Tune of the Trip
Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses (1987)
As we near June, the hike to some of the walk-in strip mines gets more interesting. Taller weeds, abundant thistles, ample ticks, and hidden gullies make for tough decisions when choosing a destination.

7:00am – Top Bass at 2-9 (17.5″) on a frog, edging out Brent’s Top Bass by one ounce

Sent Brent a screenshot of my weight as proof that I had an official 2-9 compared to his 2-8

Notes and Nonsense

Chilling Out – At 6:30am, it sure did not feel like Memorial Day weekend and my fingers were bordering on numb. Overcast skies and wind resulted in the “feels like” temperature reading at 47 degrees. And it never got noticeably warmer. Brent commented that when the wind hit the water surface just right it would cause a warm blast as the water was warmer than the air. This year continues to be odd in terms of weather.

Stop One – My first cast bass of the morning resulted in a bass which is sometimes seen as a bad omen. After all, the bass/cast percentage will certainly not remain one hundred percent. For the next thirty minutes or so, the bite stayed hot, but I only landed one other bass from a total of seven strikes on the frog. Such is frog fishing though as hooksets and the aim of the bass can suffer in weedy water. Brent had better hookup success in landing four bass on the frog in addition to fooling five others on a chatterbait.

7:20am – Brent’s Top Bass at 2-8 on a frog

Stop Two – After hitting a pair of lakes, Brent called it a morning while I stuck around as I had some time before heading to my folks to catch the Cubs 12:40pm start. I ditched the boat in favor of a five-minute walk to a productive lake. The lake is odd, however, as there is an incredible amount of little bass mixed in with the occasional quality catch. As I write this report, my largemouth bass total for the year stands at 132 bass and exactly half of them (66 bass) have come from this lake. Unfortunately, only three of the bass have been “keepers” at 12” or better. Those three bass weighed in at 4-14(20.5”), 3-13 (20”), and 1-3(14”). Every other bass measured between 7.5” to 11.5”. Over the last dozen years, Brent and I have posted an impressive all-time Top 5 from the lake of 22-9 (5-4,4-14,4-10,4-0,3-13). But we’ve had to weed through several hundred small bass along the way.

While this trip did not live up to the quality we were looking for, we did land a decent number of bass. The day ended on a good note as the Cubs staged an exciting comeback to defeat the Reds 11-8. Dad and I were a little frustrated at times, but we hung in there. I had to laugh though as Mom said that if I hadn’t come to watch the game with them, Dad likely would have had enough and turned them off after the first few innings. I suppose being a Cubs fan will never be easy. Stay tuned for an impressive Top 5 Update tomorrow and talk to you later. Troy

On this outing, Brent and I took a bike ride through some old stomping grounds that we’ve been exploring for thirty-five years. As such, this fishing report includes a bit of reminiscing. Read on for the numbers, notes and nostalgia.

Starting lineup – Troy

Stats
Date: May 18
Location: Knox County public strip pits (3 lakes)
Time: 6:45am-10:30am (2.75 hours fishing)
Totals: 23 bass (Brent – 13, Troy – 10)
Weather: Sunny/windy
Lures: Mann’s Chug n’ Spit – 13 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various colors) – 7 bass, Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (smokin shad or perfect pumpkin) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 Brent (Popper), 2-2 Troy (Swimbait)
Top 5 Weight: 8-2 (2-4,2-2,1-7,1-4,1-1)

Troy’s winning lures

Tune of the Trip
Have A Drink on Me – AC/DC (1980)
I recently got a new tacklebag that has a sleeve for a drink. This allowed me to pack two bottles of water, one in the bag and one on my bike. Brent left his drink in his truck, so the spare came in handy.

September 25, 2006 – Strip mine smallmouth, our quest on this trip

6:48am – Found the smallmouth although rather small at the start

7:17am – Getting bigger with a 1-7 on a popper

Notes and Nonsense

Smallmouth Mission – For years, I have read reports about anglers reeling in some smallmouth bass from a few ponds scattered about the Knox County public strip pits. Back in September 2006, I made a point to give one of them a try and reeled in seven small smallies. Fast forward nearly twenty years and I was on a small mouth hunt again, with Brent in tow. Well, we found them again, albeit in a completely different spot than my 2006 trip. For me, little changed as I landed six small smallies. Brent, on the other hand, set a new family smallmouth record with a 2-4 (besting my 2-0 from 2021).

Before Picture – Brent from March 30, 2004 with a bass on one of the lakes we fished on this outing, notice the terrrain is highly navigable

After Picture – roughly the same backdrop where the above pic was taken, much has changed in twenty-one years as you can’t even get to the water

Changes – I made my first casts in one of these lakes over thirty years ago. Prior to this trip, my last visit was in August 2011. Over those years, the access to the bank on this lake has changed dramatically. In the 1990s, you could walk right up to the bank on the entire lake and cast without obstruction. Today, the lake is surrounded by a combination of dense brush, trees, and reeds. There are very few access points, and they take some effort to reach. And once you get near the bank, casting is whole other adventure. Luckily, I pack a spinning rod as it was impossible to make a decent cast with a baitcaster.

7:39am – Brent with Top Bass of the outing, a 2-4 smallmouth on a popper

9:53am – Top largemouth bass of the outing at 2-2 on a Ned Rig

Top Bass – Brent had the smallmouth touch in finding the prime spot on one of the lakes along with selecting an effective presentation with his topwater popper. He landed the Top smallie at 2-4, added a 1-7, and fooled a third “keeper” at 1-1 on another lake. I managed to take the largemouth crown for the day with a 2-2 and also posted a 1-4 to round out our overall mixed bag Top 5.

Brent’s winnng lure, a Mann’s Chug N’ Spit

Decent numbers but eighteen of the twenty-three bass came in the first hour and a half and were mostly small smallmouth from a single lake. Beyond those fish, it was a tough bite while biking and hiking. Access from the bank has grown tough on many lakes due to abundant shoreline reeds and expansive shallow vegetation. It was worth a shot though and we found what we were seeking in the smallmouth bass.

More reports to come so stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Thursday, May 15 was the Illinois High School Association’s bass fishing regional on Snakeden Hollow’s Lake McMaster. I was interested in watching the weigh-in, so I took a day off work to fish in the area during the morning and observe in the afternoon. The wind was terrible, but fishing is better than a day at work, right.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: May 15
Location: Knox County public strip pits (2 lakes)
Time: 9:50am-12:05pm, 12:15pm-1:15pm (3.25 hours fishing)
Totals: 14 bass
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 79-89F
Lures Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red or redear) – 13 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pear/black hologram)- 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 (Frog)
Top 5 Weight: 8-10 (2-4,1-12,1-12,1-10,1-4)

10:04am – First Bass at 1-12 (16″) on a frog

Tune of the Trip
“What’s Up?” – Four Non Blondes (1993)

11:28am – Top Bass at 2-4 (17″) on a frog

Notes and Nonsense

Wind – I selected a pair of lakes that I felt would be sheltered from the predicted winds from the south and southwest. Gusts were forecast up to forty-seven miles per hour and the wind speeds in general were pushing twenty miles per hour. The weather folks were right on the money as it was ridiculous. My first lake was manageable, but after an hour on lake two I loaded up and headed to the launch site a bit earlier than planned.

IHSA Regional Results – Just for fun I had a weight of 8-10

IHSA Bass Tourney – I thought the weigh-in was to commence at 3:00pm, but when I arrived at 1:50pm, boats were loading, and a couple teams had already weighed in. I felt for the anglers and drivers as Lake McMaster sits high with few places to escape the wind no matter the direction. There were big time whitecaps, and I am still amazed that the canopies set up for the weigh-in area withstood the onslaught. You sure had to hold on to your hat and the officials were having quite a time keeping a grip on the scoresheets. Final results had one of the Princeville teams on top with 10.58 pounds and the Big Bass of the tournament was a 4.02 caught by a Farmington angler.

Respool your line before it gets this low (read on below)

Frog Fails – A Spro Flappin Frog topwater lure was the winner for the day in landing thirteen of my fourteen bass. However, the success did not come without some frustration. No fault of the frog or the bass as the issues arose due to lazy angling. I had intended to replace my braided line (green) as my spool was low, and a long cast would result in casting past a knot attached to the previous batch of braid (yellow). That was potentially a breakoff waiting to happen, so I stripped off all the green line. I am not sure how old the yellow line was, but I lost two frogs (and bass) on hooksets as the line broke and I was eventually down to my final frog. The amount of yellow line was also such that long casts would reveal the original monofilament backing (see above pic). Lesson learned, replace your line when you notice an issue, don’t be lazy or press your luck.

Winning lures

Don’t Be Chicken – As noted, the above situation had me down to my final frog. This resulted in growing too timid on my hooksets which likely contributed to losing several bass that spit the lure on the way to the boat. Frog fishing is prone to lost bass by its nature as the bass are often striking the lure through some slop (surface weeds) instead of more open water. This factor can mean that their aim isn’t true, the weeds get in the way of hook penetration, and timing on the hookset can be tough. The lesson here is don’t get yourself into a situation where you are “being chicken fishing a frog.” Frog fishing requires a firm hookset and steady pressure once the bass is hooked to get them moving out of the weeds and headed for the boat. I took the long way home making two tackle shop stops to get four more frogs and new braided line.

Restocked and ready for action

 

Conditions were challenging but the bass came through for a successful day. More numbers to report on the day but I have already rambled enough for today’s report, and I was back on the water again the following day. Perhaps I will compose a follow-up post with further details at another time. In the meantime, stay tuned for a stellar Top 5 Update headed your way tomorrow. Talk to you later. Troy