Category: Fishing Reports

Strip Mine Report – April 19

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

Lake Storey Report – April 11

Brent keeps the blog chugging along with a full report on his recent Lake Storey outing for today’s post. On this outing he was literally on the water as he launched the kayak for the first time in 2025. Dangerous business out there with large muskies on the prowl. Read on for his multispecies encounters.

Editor’s Note: A different April look as the lake level has not recovered after a dry winter, which is just fine by me

Stats
Date: April 11
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 6:00pm-7:15pm
Totals: 3 bass, 1 walleye
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (chartreuse sexy shad) – 2 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass, 1 walleye
Top Bass: 1-11 (Chatterbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 bass at 12” or better): 4-7 (1-11,1-9,1-3)

Winning lures

 

Editor’s Note: Per the eyewitness description, the muskie appeared to be in ths size range below.
(Photo from 11/8/1999 courtesy of the vast Troy Jackson Outdoors archives)

More memories from the old “home lake”, and I am always excited to get a report from someone taking the Lake Storey challenge. Those fish are wily and you never know what you may find on the end of your line. I am encouraged by Brent’s report and hope to get a shot before the water returns to normal pool. I feel the lower water level in the spring will be a boon to anglers as the predators beef up for spawning and the prey have a many less places to hide. Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – April 6

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

Hennepin Canal Report – March 27

Fishing can deliver some much-needed stress relief and on this recent Thursday evening, I needed to check out for a couple hours. While I did not slay the bass, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Stats
Date: March 27
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:20pm-7:05pm
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 60F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-15 Red Eye Shad
Top 3 Weight (only three at 12” or better): 3-15 (1-15,1-2,0-14)

Staring lineup (chatterbait, ned rig, lipless crank, and jig)

Tune of the Trip
Hells Bells – AC/DC (1980)

6:02pm – Top Bass at 1-15 (16″) on a lipless crank

Notes and Nonsense

Fun For All Ages – In the parking lot and along the tow path, I spoke to seven fellow anglers over course of two hours. The age range of the fishermen covered the spectrum from young to not as young. Four were teenaged boys, one guy looked like he was in his thirties, another was my age, and the last fellow was more than a few years my senior. Fishing is alive and well on The Canal with some fooling more fish than others from shutouts to five bass.

6:12pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-2 (14″) on a lipless crank

Top Day – While the bite was not fast and furious, this trip did represent my best day on the water for 2025. The three bass total was an improvement over two bass on each of the two previous outings. The 1-15 Top Bass for this trip also tied the Top Bass thus far for 2025 and rounded out my initial Top 5 for the year.

Marketing – Quite a few years ago, I had some business cards printed up to promote the blog, the YouTube channel, and a Twitter presence. I’ve handed out a few over the years when crossing paths with other anglers but for the most part just shot the breeze and left the cards in my pocket. So, this year, I committed to handing them out to each angler that I encounter. On this outing, I got some feedback as a couple of the young anglers noted that we had crossed paths earlier and they had watched the latest YouTube videos. Kind of fun to hear and we’ll see how things go as the year progresses.

Winning lure – Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw)

While we have now reached April, I still have one more March fishing report to pass along. In addition, I am trying to keep up with the Trip Tunes this year. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – March 22

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

Hennepin Canal Report – March 14

And off we go with the first fishing report of 2025. With extreme winds and less than two hours of daylight, I opted to do a bike and hike attack on a reliable stretch and was rewarded as The Hennepin Canal came through with my first two bass of the year.

5:54pm – First bass of 2025 weighing 1-8 (15″) on a chatterbait

Stats
Date: March 14
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:50pm-7:10pm
Totals: 2 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy, 80F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (white) with a Yamamoto Zako trailer (Tennessee Shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-11 Chatterbait
Top 2 Weight (only two at 12” or better): 3-3 (1-11,1-8)

Starting lienup for the trip

Tune of the Trip
My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) – Chilliwack (1981)

Winning lure  – ZMan Chatterbait

 

Notes and Nonsense

Bass #1 – Three casts into the evening and within casting distance of my truck I was on the board. The bass hit as I ran a chatterbait parallel to a submerged log, a textbook catch. It’s cool when it works out that way and I thought that I was really going to knock them dead as there were plenty more logs to target on my trek. One odd aspect of the first catch of the year was failing to take a picture. I guess that I was so excited to land the fish that it completely slipped my mind. Fortunately, I had the GoPro running so there is video proof that allowed me to grab the screenshot above.

6:28pm – Second bass of the year weighing 1-11 (15.5″) on a chatterbait

Bass # 2 – It took just over thirty-five minutes and half a dozen more logs before I was able to find another bite. This one came from a collection of submerged logs on a spot that is an annual winner.

New Rods – I picked up a pair of Berkley Shock rods this winter upon finding them marked down from $52 to $21 at a local store. Both are 6’6” with one being a medium heavy casting rod and the other a medium spinning rod. As I pondered the purchases and inspected the rods, I was not completely sold on the feel and action, but it is always tough without a reel or being able to make some casts. It took me two trips to the store before I committed to the purchases, and I am pleased with results. The casting rod feels good with a chatterbait and landed the first two bass of the year. I have yet to give the spinning rod much of a workout so time will tell.

Trip #1 – In the interest of transparency, the March 14 trip was my second time on the water. On March 2, I took a bike ride on the same stretch of The Canal and wound up getting shut out during an hour and a half of casting.

Sketchy weather and a wild few weeks of work on the horizon are likely to limit my opportunities to get on the water. At least I accomplished my annual goal of landing my first bass in March. We will see what the next dozen days hold in store to see if any more March bass will show up in the fishing log. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – November 17

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

Hennepin Canal Report – November 10

After achieving my goal of landing a November bass a couple weeks ago, I was content to put the gear away. However, a stretch of mild, stable weather led me to reconsider, and I hit the water again.

Stats
Date: November 10
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 12:25pm-2:45pm
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Overcast/very windy, 58F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-15 (Spinnerbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 4-3 (1-15,1-5,0-15)

Winning Lure

Notes and Nonsense

Destination – Initially, I intended to hit my top producing spot on The Canal. Since first fishing The Canal in June of 2021, this stretch leads the way with one hundred and ninety-two bass. However, I have not caught a single bass on the pool this year as my focus turned to other less fished pools. So, as I drove to the fishing hole, I changed my mind and opted to stick with the seldom fished trend instead. I chose a spot where I had only spent a total of five hours and landed sixteen bass, so it was deserving of further attention.

12:32pm – Top Bass at 1-15 (15.5″) on a spinnerbait

The layout of The Canal often provides an escape from a mighty wind

Wind – A cool thing about The Canal is that on most days you can find a spot to get out of the wind. For a guy who rows around in an eight-foot johnboat the narrow, mostly tree-lined corridor of The Canal is a winner. Especially this time of year, as I want to focus on casting over boat control and getting my lure as tight to as many targets as possible. As the water cools, the bass are not going to be as prone to chasing lures that aren’t in close proximity to where they are hanging out. Wind makes this precise presentation tough and hinders the ability to hit a target with multiple casts to work it over. My spot on this day was a solid choice as there was only one short section of unprotected bank that caused a bit of frustration. Not a problem as there was no way that I would have been able to fish more wide-open body of water effectively.

1:00pm – Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-5 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Top 5 Quest – The spot I chose was also in need of a Top 5 boost as the all-time weight was 8-12, which falls short of my double-digit goal. The first bite on this outing came in at 1-15 only seven minutes after launching and set a new mark for Top Bass on the pool. The catch had my hopes up, but I did not get another boost from the other two bass that I landed. I also had one other fish hooked that came loose on the way to the boat, but it would not have been large enough to give me the boost I needed. Therefore, a return trip will be required in search of a fourteen-ounce bump in weight.

Top 5 Weight increased from 8-12 to 9-2
Starting Top 5 = 8-12 (1-14,1-13,1-13,1-11,1-9)
New Top 5 = 9-2 (1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13,1-11) culled 1-9

1:45pm – Final bass of the day, will it be the final bass of the year?

Every catch at this time of the year is a bonus and it remains to be seen if these are the final “bonus bass” of the year. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – November 2

One of my annual goals is to land a November bass before I put the gear away. So, I hit the Canal on November 2 and managed to get it done. I was also in search of the quality bites needed to boost some Top 5 totals into double-digits on three different pools.

11:29am – November bass in the books at 1-12 (16″) on a spinnerbait

Stats
Date: November 2
Location: Hennepin Canal (3 pools)
Time: 11:25am-3:30pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy, 52-61F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 2-5 (spinnerbait)
Top 4 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 7-10 (2-5,2-0,1-12,1-9)

Winning lure

Notes and Nonsense

Pool One – Four minutes after launching on my first spot, I had a bass in the boat and the pressure to catch a November was off. Unfortunately, it was the lone bass on the stretch in an hour of casting. I was also seeking a boost of two ounces as my all-time Top 5 on the area sat at 9-14. To reach a double-digit Top 5, I needed at least a 1-11 to knock out a 1-9, and I got it with a 1-12.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 9-14 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-9)
Top 5 Boost: Caught a 1-12 at 11:29am
New Top 5 Weight: 10-1 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-12)

12:31pm – Top Bass at 2-5 (17″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Two – Having accomplished my aim on the first pool and struggling to find more bites, I rowed through a tube to try my luck on another area. The Top 5 Weight on this stretch sat at 8-1 meaning that I would need one big bite or a couple quality bites to reach double-digits. While the bite was not hot with four bass in seventy-five minutes, I did get the bites that I needed.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 8-1 (3-0,1-14,1-7,0-14,0-14)
Top 5 Boost: Caught bass weighing 2-5,2-0, and 1-9
New Top 5 Weight: 10-12 (3-0,2-5,2-0,1-14,1-9)

2:50pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-0 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Three – The overall bite wasn’t fast and furious, but I was pleased to have found the late season boosts I was seeking to push the Top 5 on two more pools into double digits. Well, as Meatloaf sang, “Two out of three ain’t bad.” An hour and a half on this stretch produced a lone short fish that provided no help to the pool’s Top 5 Weight of 6-12. But hey, there’s always next year.

3:09pm – Top Bass #4 of the day at 1-9 (15″) on a spinnerbait

And speaking of next year, time will tell if that is when I will land my next bass. The weather outside is far from frightful though, so perhaps there are a few more casts left in 2024. However it works out, it has been quite a year on the water. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – October 14

The Hennepin Canal has taken a back seat while I have invested more fishing time on Lake Storey and the Knox County strip mines this fall. A recent return to The Canal involved getting the little boat on a new stretch of water for the first time.

11:48am – Top Bass at 1-7 (14″) on a lipless crankbait

Stats
Date: October 14
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 11:00am-1:30pm
Totals: 5 bass (4 largemouth, 1 smallmouth), 1 buffalo
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy, 52F
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 3 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-7 (spinnerbait)
Top 3 Weight (only 3 at 12” or better): 3-9 (1-7,1-2,1-0)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

New Water – This trip took place on a Monday wrapping up a five-day weekend as I broke down and used three vacation days. My pursuit of some late season bass took me to a stretch of The Canal that I had briefly fished from the bank one evening last summer. I chose the spot as not only had it been on my list, but it is also what I call a “weekday” spot. Meaning that it is too populated to mess with during the weekend. It also gets a little weird in the evenings so my midday approach allowed me to steer clear of the oddballs. I’ll just leave it at that.

1:29pm – a new species on The Canal, a smallmouth bass

Lyrical Catches – If you are around my age or older, I suspect that you encountered the old “Erie Canal” song in school or somewhere over the years. Many a day on the Hennepin Canal, I have found that tune playing on the soundtrack in my head with a few alternate lyrics depending on what is going down on the water. In fact, I have even penned my own version with the intent of posting it on the blog one of these days. Upon landing a pair of new Canal species, I now have a new verse.

“I’ve hauled in largemouth in my day
And with exploring I can say
I’ve now discovered where to go
To catch a smallmouth and a buffalo”

12:06pm – another new species on The Canal, a buffalo

My fishing year is winding down as thoughts turn to the annual goal of landing a November bass before I put away the gear. Shorter days get even shorter next Sunday as we turn back the clocks. Paired with a workday that ends at 5:00pm, it is weekend fishing from here on out. I intended to be on the water this weekend, but truck trouble has me homebound writing fish stories instead. Stay tuned to see what the next few weeks holds in store. Talk to you later. Troy