Category: Fishing Reports

Strip Mine Top 5 Report – September 4

Posted on by Troy Jackson

While prowling the strip mines with Brent last Sunday, I tried to provide on the water updates on our catches as we established and upgraded our Top 5. For those not familiar with the concept, we weigh any bass at 12” or better as we compile a total weight for our Top 5 heaviest bass of the trip. What follows is a chronological list of our “keepers” (all released after weighing) as we established our Top 5 and then proceeded to cull (adding a heavier fish to our list and booting out the lightest of our Top 5).

And just for fun, we submitted guesses for our combined Top 5 Weight and Top Bass in the parking lot before setting out to wander the weedy expanse.

Top 5 Chronology

7:21am – Brent Senko 0-13
Top 5 Weight: 0-13

7:37am – Troy Red eye Shad 0-11
Top 5 Weight: 1-8 (0-13,0-11)

7:39am – Brent 0-13 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 2-5 (0-13,0-13,0-11)

8:15am – Troy 0-12 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 3-1 (0-13,0-13,0-12,0-11)

8:16am – Brent 1-0 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 4-1 (1-0,0-13,0-13,0-12,0-11)

8:32am – Troy 1-0 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 4-6 (1-0,1-0,0-13,0-13,0-12) culls 0-11

8:43am – Troy 3-10 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 7-4 (3-10,1-0,1-0,0-13,0-13) culls 0-12

8:58am – Brent 1-1 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 7-8 (3-10,1-1,1-0,1-0,0-13) culls 0-13

9:13am – Brent 1-5 Popper
Top 5 Weight: 8-0 (3-10,1-5,1-1,1-0,1-0) culls 0-13

9:19am – Troy 2-10 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 9-10 (3-10,2-10,1-5,1-1,1-0) culls 1-0

10:17am – Troy 2-7 Chatter bait
Top 5 Weight: 11-1 (3-10,2-10,2-7,1-5,1-1) culls 1-0

10:27am – Troy 1-10 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 11-10 (3-10,2-10,2-7,1-10,1-5) culls 1-1

10:54am – Troy 1-8 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 11-13 (3-10,2-10,2-7,1-10,1-8) culls 1-5

11:02 am – Troy 2-14 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 13-3 (3-10,2-14,2-10,2-7,1-10) culls 1-8

11:07am – Brent 2-12 Popper
Top 5 Weight: 14-5 (3-10,2-14,2-12,2-10,2-7) culls 1-10

Gotta like it when we exceed our estimates and darn close on those Top Bass guesses as well. Fishing has always been fun but stunts like this just enhance the experience as does logging, blogging, and videoing our outings.

Top 5 Weight: 14-5

Top Bass: 3-10

And speaking of new stunts, I am working on a special event later this month. Stay tuned to see how that all shakes out and I also have another “Prowl the Canal” report submit. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – September 4

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Last weekend, Brent and I got together for the first time since mid-May for a hike into the Knox County public strip mines. As expected, the terrestrial vegetation was tall and thick, making for a tough walk between fishing holes. On the flip side, aquatic vegetation was sparse and most of the waters were low which made for good conditions once we reached the banks. Great weather conditions were also a winner, and the bass were gracious. Seemed like they had missed us.

Starting lineup lures – Brent (left), Troy (right)

Stats
Date: September 4, 2022
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits (6 lakes)
Time: 6:15am-1:30pm (5.00 hours fishing, the rest walking)
Weather: Overcast/breezy
Air Temp: 66-69F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 73 bass (Brent – 44, Troy – 29) 1 green sunfish (Brent)
Lures (Troy): 5” Senko wacky rig (natural shad) – 17 bass, Chatterbait (white) with Zako trailer (Tennessee Shad) – 8 bass, Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 1 bass, Rebel Pop R (rainbow) – 1 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer/pepper/green) – 1 bass
Lures (Brent): Senko wacky rig – 16 bass, Mann’s Chug n’ Spit Popper – 15 bass, Spinnerbait (white) – 13 bass
Top Bass: 3-10 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 14-5 (3-10,2-14,2-12,2-10,2-7)

6:25am – first bass of our morning (took a bit, but they got a lot bigger)

Notes and Nonsense

Quote of the Day – “I heard the tape measure”
I had to laugh when Brent made this statement. While we were fishing less than fifty yards apart, the weeds were so high that you couldn’t see a fellow angler fifty feet away. Brent said that he knew I had landed a bass by the telltale sound of measuring my fish.

Old school Mann’s bait was a winner for Brent on this outing

Vintage VIP (Very Important Popper) – Previous reports this summer from Brent noted “popper” for several his catches. This lure designation represented a departure from his regular summer repertoire of a spinnerbait, buzzbait, and Senko. He’s not one to add a whole lot of new lures to his tacklebag so I asked him for further details as we stood on the bank at our final stop. After saying, “It’s just a popper,” I asked if it had any info on the lure. He responded, “Mann’s” and I thought this one could go back a ways. Upon closer inspection, Brent added, “It says Chug-N-Spit.” As I put this post together, I did a little research on the lure and not surprisingly found that it is no longer in production. While I could not find any production dates, my internet wanderings found numerous listings referring to the lure as “vintage.”

12:05pm – Brent with a new lake record at 1-11 on his popper from K9 Lake

New Lake Record – An ill-advised cross-country route on the way out made for a lot more wading through the weeds than I had envisioned. Following a couple bad directional decisions on my part, we wound up taking a break and fishing a lake that wasn’t on our original agenda. Turns out, Brent established a new lake record with a 1-11 on his popper topping a 1-9 I had landed in 2020.

Getting to the bass takes some work…

New Top 5 Entries – I have records compiled for every lake that we’ve fished in the Victoria area strip mines. I find it fun to see if we can boost the Top 5 Weight for any of the lakes we fish. While we are not going to break the “lake record” each time out, the prospect of catching a fish to boost the all-time Top 5 weight on a body of water makes for an additional gauge of success. On this outing, we managed to land half a dozen bass that boosted our Top 5 Totals on four different lakes. The record book wrap-up will come later this year after the strip mines close but certainly a good day on the water.

…but “bass thumb” proves the walk is worth it.

One more post from this trip is headed your way. During the outing, I provided regular updates as we compiled and boosted the Top 5 Weight for the day. Next up, is a chronological look at those catches. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – September 3

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I kicked off the Labor Day weekend with a pre-dawn Saturday morning trip to The Canal. While the shorter days adversely affect my opportunity to fish on weekday evenings, the later sunrises mean that I can get up a little later and get to the water while it is still dark. And that’s just what I did on this outing in landing my first bass before it was officially “daytime.” That fast start continued until the sun rose over the tree line and brought a tough bite. Read on for the rest of the story.

6:00am – Third cast bass with a new Whopper Plopper 110, it’s a winner

Stats

Date: September 3
Time: 5:55am-8:55am
Totals: 7 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/breezy
Lures: Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 6 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 Whopper Plopper
Top 5 Weight: 6-5 (2-4,1-7,1-0,0-14,0-12)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Mosquitoes – So far this year, I have not been tormented by mosquitoes on my Canal outings. In contrast, last year while prowling on bike or by foot, I got tore up on several occasions. This prompted me to purchase a Therma-Cell mosquito repellent device last summer after a recommendation from a fellow angler whom I spoke with as we crossed paths on The Canal. Of course, without any mosquito issues so far this year, it is sitting somewhere in the garage. I really should grab it now and pack it with my fishing gear to see if it works as I have my doubts on such products and hate the sprays. I have heard of a Vanilla Bug Spray that is supposed to work too but have never tried it either.

Doesn’t do much good in the garage

Strong Start, Slow Finish – As noted in the intro, I landed my first bass in the near dark before sunrise at 6:00am. By 7:01am, I had five bass in the log and was thinking that I was really onto something. However, in the next two hours I only managed to fool two more fish. Once the clouds dissipated and the sun rose above the tree line it was game over on the consistent bite. Much of The Canal runs east to west so this time of the year the sunlight is a direct hit. I’m guessing that this pushes the bass into the abundant weedy cover where I have a tough time raising their interest. Several fellow anglers recommend a topwater frog, but being a creature of habit, I have yet to put down my other lures and give it a fair shake.

 

6:31am – Top Bass at 2-4 (18″) on the Whopper Plopper

WP 110 Debut – Unlike my hesitation to commit to the frog approach, I have bought into another topwater bait called the “Whopper Plopper.” Not only does this prop style lure have a cool name but it is quite addictive. I have several of these from when the lure first hit the market, but I could not find one that really did the trick for me. The size 90 models were too small and didn’t cause enough commotion. The size 130 model was too big and felt more like chunking a muskie plug. So, last week I ordered the mid-size 110 model and found it to be just right. Immediate feedback always helps as I landed a bass with my third cast on this outing and the lure accounted for six of my seven bass. It has since seen success on another stretch of The Canal but that is a fish story for a later day.

 

A fast start and a slow finish to the morning in kicking off a three-day Labor Day weekend which would feature two more sunup outings. The Sunday trip was an overdue visit to some Knox County strip mine waters with Brent and the Monday wrap-up would be back on another stretch of The Canal. Stay tuned as the conditions were perfect both days and the bass responded well. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 28

Posted on by Troy Jackson

After a Knox County strip mine trip in mid-May, all my subsequent fishing trips have been on The Canal. Most of those trips have been within twenty miles of my driveway as I look to keep fuel costs down. And it doesn’t hurt that those “local” spots provide decent fishing as well. So, on this morning I decided to splurge on gas and wander roughly forty miles to the east to try new water. Read on to see if it was worth the money.

Winning Lures

Stats

Date: August 28 (two spots)
Time: 6:05am-11:20am (4.50 hours fishing)
Totals: 11 bass (2.44 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 71-80F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 8 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-12 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-2 (1-12,1-7,1-6,1-5,1-4)

 

Notes and Nonsense

First Impressions – I have found the pools to be considerably less weedy as I head east. While several of the local pools have surface vegetation so thick that you could darn near walk across it, the new water I fished had wide open channels between the modest weed beds lining both banks. However, the water clarity diminishes to the east with a fellow Canal angler describing it as “split pea soup—green and thick with chunks of stuff in it.” In terms of cover, I hit every piece of wood I can find, and I would describe the availability as sparse. Finally, the depth is much better as I make my way east. Locally, I can often see the bottom in the clearer stretches, whereas the pools on this trip were deeper than the oar which is my crude depthfinder.

6:12am – on the board on a new stretch of The Canal

Startling Start – So, I am rowing up The Canal in the near dark before sunrise and lost in a daydream when something explodes near enough to the boat that the splash got my pants wet (luckily, I’d relieved myself prior to launching). It scared me half to death, made me jump and involuntarily utter something unintelligible as my mind snapped back to reality. In hindsight, my best guess is that a beaver and my boat were on a collision course before one of us steered clear. Possibly a carp but it would have been massive based on the splash. I also scanned the bank to see if Sasquatch had tossed a boulder at me and my watercraft (don’t laugh as I know of a Bigfoot report from The Canal about a mile and a half downstream). As a seasoned rower, when moving from spot to spot, I often just put my head down and row with only an occasional look over my shoulder. Therefore, I cannot say what caused the commotion, but I sure was glad that the sun was peeking over the horizon.

A necessary task to reach some new bass

Tubes – While on the subject of creepy, travels on The Canal can feature a row through a tube under the roadways. And those corrugated corridors are crawling with cobwebs. I suspect that there are plenty of the cobweb creators present as well but I don’t look too closely as I don’t really want to know.

9:40am – introducing myself to a bass on another new stretch of water

Oh yeah, I also saw a snake slither by the boat within oars reach. Many creatures were astir on this day even if the bass sightings were a bit below expectations.

Got ugly by the time I was headed home

I ended my day exploring since I was already a ways from home. This was simply driving as my back was hollering at me and I did not really have time to launch the boat to give any spots a true test. I checked out every road crossing or parking access in the vicinity and have several new spots on my wish list. Time will tell if those spots get a shot in 2022 as I have other destinations to visit beyond The Canal before the fishing year is over. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 21

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I readily admit that August is my least favorite open water month of the year but another solid morning on The Canal has me reconsidering. Read on for the latest fishing report in the Prowl the Canal series.

Stats

Date: August 21 (two pools)
Time: 6:40am-9:45am (3.75 hours fishing)
Totals: 10 bass (2.67 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 66-68F
Lures: Strike King Toad Buzz (green pumpkin with chartreuse belly) – 4 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer/pepper/green) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 3-5 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 8-4 (3-5,2-7,0-14,0-13,0-13)

Notes and Nonsense

A new lure for me on this outing

New Trick – After having a large fish blow up my white Booyah Buzzbait earlier this month, I decided to try a new lure. A fishing friend who had checked out the video of the missed strike offered up that he never uses a skirt on a buzzbait. Instead, he rigs with a Strike Kind Rage Bug. As I could not find any Rage Bugs in the neighborhood, I went with the Strike King Toad Buzz as a close approximation. The new lure produced four of my ten bass including a solid 2-7.

6:46am – Toad Buzz comes through with a 2-7 (17.5″)

Old trick – While I was pleased with the effectiveness of the Toad Buzz, I felt that it did not produce enough racket in the stained water. As a result, I went back to my noisier, Booyah Buzzbait in black. The Booyah hooked three of my ten bass, one of which was Top Bass of the day at 3-5.

Near Miss – The 3-5 bass fell one ounce short of tying my all-time Top Canal bass, a 3-6 caught on July 21, 2021. It also equaled my Top Canal Bass of 2022 with the other coming on April 23 on a spinnerbait.

7:36am – Top Bass at 3-5 (19.5″), one ounce shy of my Canal Top Bass

Goals – I recently made a social media post on a local fishing group that listed my goals on The Canal (and in general). Goal number one is always to learn, whether a new fishing hole or old. Goal number two is not to get shut out. Goal number three is to land five bass at 12” or better to establish what I call a “Top 5 Weight”. The final goal is a Top 5 Weight that reaches or exceeds ten pounds. I had a good day with a weight of 8-4 thanks to a pair of “good ones” (3-5 and 2-7). However, my other three “keepers” left much to be desired and lacking a “kicker” (one more good one), I fell shy of reaching the final goal. No complaints though, as three out of four ain’t bad.

 

Well, August isn’t so bad after all, thanks to The Canal. I have one more August trip in the books already and weather permitting I am hoping to take one more shot before we hit September. Stay tuned for those reports and I am also hoping to work in a Top 10 Trip Tunes feature as well. It’s cool when I get to fish so much that I can’t keep up with the blog posts. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 14

Posted on by Troy Jackson

With the summer sunrises getting a bit later, I decided to splurge on some fuel and wander a bit farther from home for a daybreak launch. My destination was a stretch of The Canal on the east side of Henry County that I had not fished or seen before. New water is always an interesting undertaking, so read on the see how it turned out.

6:37am – First bass on some new water

Stats

Date: August 14
Time: 6:10am-10:40am
Totals: 10 bass (2.22 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 70-76F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 9 bass, Special K Buzzbait (green/white) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-0 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-14 (2-0,1-15,1-13,1-3,0-15)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

First Glance – The first couple items that catch my eye when checking out a new pool are water clarity and aquatic vegetation. In terms of water clarity, this stretch had a heavy green tint which limited visibility to about half a foot before losing sight of my lures. In addition, there was a significant surface covering of algae. Neither aspect was what I would consider favorable, but I did like the amount of open water available compared to other stretches that are weed choked by this time of the year.

 

Goals – My three standard goals on an outing are as follows: Learn, don’t get shutout, post five bass at twelve inches or better for what I call my “Top 5 Weight”. Goal One takes care of itself, especially on new water. Goal Two took me about a half hour and had me worried after no takers on some decent looking spots. Goal Three was checked off the list with my tenth and final catch of the morning, a bass weighing in at 1-13 at 10:15am.

One More Log – I am fortunate to have a small johnboat that is ideal for prowling The Canal. However, as I made my way down this lengthy stretch of water, I found myself a long way from where I started. I call it the “One More Log Conundrum.” At some point, I know that I must turn around and row back, but I regularly see an appealing piece of structure in the distance. And before I know it, “one more log” has me a long ways from home.

10:01am – Top Bass at 16″ and 2-0

Goal Four – In addition to my three primary goals noted earlier, the icing on the cake is a double-digit Top 5 Weight. I fell one or two “good ones” shy of hitting that mark (note: a “good one” is my term for a bass at two pounds or better). The only bite I missed was one that I had briefly hooked on a creature bait, but I never saw the fish in the murky water and have no guess on whether it would have boosted my weight.

 

Time (and fuel costs) will tell if I get back to this pool or any others in the area. However, a friend reported that his initial visit to an adjacent portion produced several quality bites. He landed a “good one” and had two “better ones” that got away. Overall, encouraging results from our outings as The Canal continues to leave a favorable impression. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 13

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Still playing catch up with reports from The Canal as I have shifted gears to individual trip reports as opposed to monthly wrap-ups. Today’s post draws on a musical theme as my drives to the fishing holes are much shorter and don’t lend themselves to my Top 10 Trip Tunes project.

Stats

Date: August 13
Time: 6:05am-9:20am, 9:45am-10:00am (two locations)
Totals: 13 bass (3.71 bass/hour)
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy 64-75F
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad or black) – 5 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) – 3 bass, Zara Spook (natural frog) – 2 bass, 5” Yamamoto wacky rig (natural shad) – 2 bass, Bomber Long A Jerkbait (red/yellow) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-4 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 10-6 (3-4,2-10,2-3,1-3,1-2)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

 

Jump (Van Halen – 1984) – The strike on my Booyah Buzzbait in the above clip was vicious and up close. Obviously, the fish also came up short on getting hooked. Lucky for the fish, I guess, but a bummer for the fisherman. Such a strike does get the heart racing and can make you jump, especially if your mind is wandering as happens to me on the water from time to time.

What Might Have Been (Little Texas – 1993) – My current Top Canal Bass is a 3-6 from July 2021. Would the bass in the video clip have eclipsed that record? I guess I will never know but I am going with “Yes.” If nothing else, it makes for a better fish story and it certainly displaced enough water to indicate a good fish.

6:15am First Bass at 18.5″ and 3-4 on a spinnerbait

How Long (Ace – 1974) – While the fish in the video clip above was “one that got away”, I did get a few other quality bites. Included among those bites, were a pair of bass that set a new mark for the longest bass I’ve landed on The Canal in 2022. Both fish came in at 18.5” with weights being 3-4 and 2-10. These fish topped the half dozen 2022 bass landed that have measured 18”. As far as my all-time longest Canal bass it remains a 20-incher from July 2021.

7:11am another 18.5″ bass at 2-10 on a buzzbait

You Make Me Feel Brand New (The Stylistics – 1974) – Well, the big bass strike on the buzzbait damaged the skirt to the point that it needed replaced. While I did not have a new skirt on hand, I did have a backup bait with a black skirt. Similarly, the skirt on my favorite spinnerbait had taken a beating in 2022 prompting a change from bold bluegill to bleeding shiner. Both changes were winners with the black buzzbait landing a 2-10 and a 2-3, while the spinnerbait posted a 3-4 as my first catch of the morning. Gotta love some immediate, positive feedback.

 

I Missed Again (Phil Collins – 1981) – After my latest YouTube post bragging up the effectiveness of following up with a Senko after a missed topwater strike, the technique has let me down. The last four fish that have missed on buzzbait strikes have not been fooled by the Senko approach. Perhaps the bass have caught wind of the trick via my YouTube post which has a whopping eighty-six views.

Well, “That Just About Does It,” don’t it (Vern Gosdin – 1989), for another productive day on The Canal. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal – August 8

Posted on by Troy Jackson

For August, I am going to go back to individual fishing reports for my trips to The Canal as the wrap-up for July was so lengthy it spilled over into two parts. Both of those were each lengthy as well. In addition, I will continue providing a month end look at overall results. More content is always the goal as time permits.

Stats

Date: August 8
Time: 5:20pm-8:05pm
Totals: 15 bass (5.45 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 75F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 9 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 3 bass, 5” Yamamoto wacky rig (natural shad) – 2 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 7-6 (2-4,1-13,1-4,1-1,1-0)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Shared Space – As I approached my first-choice spot, a pair of kayaks were launching so I drove to an alternate area. However, the aquatic vegetation was not to my liking, so it was back to my first stop. The Canal is unique in that you just can’t go to the opposite side of “the lake” on a ninety-foot-wide fishing hole. I asked the duo if I could pass and let them know I would get well out of their way. As such, I rowed over half a mile away before I even made my first cast. A third kayak later joined, and I passed all on my eventual way back to the ramp. All’s well that ends well, as everyone reported landing some bass during our passing chats.

5:55am Red Eye Shad 1-13

Something New – I fly blind when I fish in terms of a depthfinder although I do not know how much of a benefit such technology would be on the shallow waters of The Canal anyway. Instead, it is visual observation dependent on water clarity or using lures to get a feel for depth changes. On this trip clarity was such that I could discern where there was a clean break to the channel between the weed lines on each side of The Canal. In this case, I ran a Strike King Red Eye Shad along the break and was rewarded with my runner-up Top Bass of 1-13. I successfully hit the same stretch with a different lure on a later trip but that catch is for another report. The takeaway is that I was proud of myself for trying something new and pleased that it worked. Perhaps I should expand my offerings more often.

8:05pm Top Bass at 2-4 on last cast

Best for Last – My Top Bass came on my final cast of the evening proving that you need to hang in there until the very end as you never know when a good one will show up. I even mentioned on my GoPro video at 8:05pm that I was making my last cast. Makes for a good story at least, and you’ll have to trust me on this one as the video is a bit revealing so not sure if it will see public release.

 

Another solid few hours on The Canal as the hits keep coming. Having reached the 200 bass mark from the waterway to end July, I am looking forward to just how many cooperative bass I can find before the year is over. Two more trips are already in the books so stop back by for those reports. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal-July Stats Part II

Posted on by Troy Jackson

July Stats Part II covers the final four outings of the month along with some cumulative July numbers.

Date: July 17
Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm
Totals: 5 bass (2.50 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny/calm 77F
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 2 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 2 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass, Zara Spook (natural frog) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-6 Zara Spook (natural frog)
Top 5 Weight: 4-10 (2-6,2-4)
Comments: I set out on this evening with a mission to land a bass while using a near thirty-year-old reel recently acquired from a longtime friend. And I was going to use a Zara Spook in the natural frog pattern to do it. A bass cooperated as the lure affectionately known as “The Pickle” remains a winner.

Date: July 23
Time: 8:00am-11:15am
Totals: 5 bass (1.54 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny to partly cloudy 71-89F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 2 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 2 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-6 Senko wacky rig
Top 5 Weight: 5-10 (1-6,1-3,1-2,1-0,0-15)
Comments: Thunderstorms at sunrise delayed my birthday outing on this incredibly muggy and hot morning. The bass seemed a bit sluggish in the heat as did I by quitting time. Only five bass but at least all of them were “keepers” for a Top 5 limit.

Date: July 24
Time: 4:50pm-7:50pm
Totals: 11 bass (3.67 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny to breezy 86-80F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 6 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) –3 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-5 Senko wacky rig
Top 5 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 4-7 (1-5,1-4,0-15,0-15)
Comments: Numbers were good on this evening, but I couldn’t find any big bites. However, the highlight of the evening was a fellow angler hollering from his bike, “Who’s down there in that boat?” The resulting chat along the bank with a Canal fishing hero of mine was worth the trip no matter what I caught. While I made mental note of several general pointers gathered during our twenty-minute conversation, the Canal history and simply talking fishing were a treat. Eddie, if you are out there, just wanting to say thanks for the conversation.

Date: July 31
Time: 1:35pm-4:50pm
Totals: 9 bass (2.77 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny to partly cloudy/breezy 81-83F
Lures: Strike King Squarebill Crankbait (sexy shad) – 5 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 2 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-5 Strike King Squarebill Crankbait
Top 5 Weight: 4-11 (1-5,0-15,0-14,0-14,0-11)
Comments: My mission on this outing to end the month was to catch nine bass to reach the 200 bass mark on The Canal for 2022. It took some work, but I ended up right on the money in landing my ninth bass of the afternoon about thirty minutes before calling it quits.

2022 July Totals
Eight outings covering seven different pools
22.75 hours and 66 bass (2.90 bass/hour)
Top Bass: 2-11 July 2 Spinnerbait
Top 5 July Bass Weight: 11-6 (2-11,2-6,2-4,2-3,1-14)

 

2022 Overall Stats
200 bass in 67 hours (2.99 bass/hour)
Top Bass: 3-5 on 4/23/22 Spinnerbait
Best Top 5 Day
11-3 (2-15,2-10,2-3,2-1,1-6) on 6/24/22
2022 Top 5 Canal Weight: 14-14 (3-5,3-2,2-15,2-12,2-12)

Haven’t been able to get on The Canal yet in August. It is unlikely that I will get as much time on the water as I did for July but still have a couple blog items in the works to complete last month’s warp-up. Talk to you later. Troy

Prowl the Canal-July Stats Part I

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I was fortunate to chase some bass on The Canal nine times during the month of July. Most of my outings consisted of two to three hours on the water with the aim of landing five “keepers” (bass at 12” or better). I was able to meet that goal on four of the trips while the other trips resulted in one to four “keepers.” Of course, all are released to fight again after a quick picture and log entry. Too much to pass along in a single post so read on for Part I with Part II to follow this weekend.

Stats

July 2 8:53am Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-13 (15.5″) on a spinnerbait

Date: July 2
Time: 6:35am-10:20am
Totals: 16 bass (4.27 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny/breezy 60-82F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 14 bass, Strike King Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (sexy shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 2-11 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 9-6 (2-11,1-13,1-11,1-10,1-9)
Comments: I divide the section that I fished into eastern and western sections. Typically, the eastern section produces better fish but, on this morning, four of my Top 5 bass were landed on the western stretch. No doubt, it was worth the extra rowing.

July 3 – 6:13pm Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-10 (15″) on a spinnerbait

Date: July 3
Time: 6:05pm-8:50pm
Totals: 13 bass (4.73 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny/calm 86-75F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 10 bass, Special K Buzzbait – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-14 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 5-11 (1-14,1-10,1-3,1-0)
Comments: Weeds make this spot a challenge but continued casting to open stretches and limited, accessible wood came through with my regular one-two spinnerbait-buzzbait punch.

July 4 – 4:03pm Top Bass at 2-3 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Date: July 4 (2 spots)
Time: 3:00pm-4:45pm
Totals: 1 bass (0.57 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny/calm 78-81F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-3 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: (only 1 at 12” or better): 2-3 (2-3)
Comments: Tried a new spot after some heavy rain early in the day and nearly got shutout. A fair number of good-looking targets and a quality catch have me pondering a return trip later this year.

July 10 – 8:54am Top Bass at 1-1 (13.5″) on a buzzbait

Date: July 10 (2 spots)
Time: 6:00am-8:15am, 8:30am-9:45am
Totals: 5 bass (1.43 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny/calm 66-75F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 3 bass, Special K Buzzbait – 2 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-1 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight (only 3 at 12″ or better): 2-15 (1-1,1-0,0-14)
Comments: High hopes but low results on my first choice prompted me to do some exploring on a second stretch. I had previously fished the western part of the second area and covered the eastern half on this morning. Lots of good-looking structure but neither have impressed in terms of quantity or quality.

July 13 – 7:36am Top Bass at 1-6 (14.5″) on a buzzbait

Date: July 13
Time: 6:15pm-8:45pm
Totals: 12 bass (4.8 bass/hour)
Weather: Sunny/calm 80-76F
Lures: Special K Spinnerbait (bold bluegill) – 5 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 4 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-6 Buzzbait
Top 5 Weight: 5-15 (1-6,1-6,1-3,1-2,0-14)
Comments: As my first spot was occupied, I had to shift gears to Plan B in visiting a weed congested stretch. Try as I might, I still can’t get anything dialed in on topwater frogs but the Senko wacky rig as a follow-up to my spinnerbait-buzzbait combination produced some rewarding catches (more on those in a later post).

Plenty more to come from the July Prowl the Canal wrap-up with posts featuring stats, lessons, and video. Talk to you later. Troy