I headed back to the Knox County strip mines for a second straight day on the heels of my birthday trip. These trips can be a workout but I still had plenty in the tank and I was eager to get off the grid, get away from the grind, and create some more fish stories.

6:43am – Top Bass at 3-5 (19″) on a frog

Stats

Date: July 24
Location: Knox County public strip pits (two lakes)
Time: 5:50am-8:35am,9:30am-11:30am
Totals: 19 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/windy, 75-89F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 13 bass, 3.8″ Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad (K’s Magic) with 3/16 oz Owner Flashy Swimmer jighead – 5 bass, 7″ Berkley Power Worm (tequila sunrise) on an Owner 3/16 oz. Shaky Head – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-5 Frog
Top 5 Weight: 11-5 (3-5,2-13,1-12,1-12,1-11)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Changes – David Bowie (1972)
“So the days float through my eyes but still the days seem the same.”
I heard this one driving down to and around the Victoria, IL strip mines. I couldn’t help but do some reminiscing as I have been prowling around the area for close to forty years. So much has changed on so many levels, but it’s still fishing and a chance to recharge the batteries.

7:54am – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-13 on a swimbait

Notes and Nonsense

Lake One History – My first stop was a lake that hasn’t gotten a whole lot of my attention over the years with only four visits since 2011. However, this trip marked my second shot this year. Oddly, one of my most memorable fish stories on this lake was a day when I did not catch a single fish. Quite a few years ago, when my oldest daughter, Helena, was in grade school I hit the lake for an outing after getting her to school. I drove a half an hour to the lake, dragged my boat to the water, and was ready to start casting when my phone rang. Helena was sick and needed picked up. So, I rowed back to my launching point, loaded up, and headed home. Been a while as she is now married and a long way from “home” in California.

Lake One Results – Early morning, overcast skies, and a bit of chop on the water set up well for topwater frog fishing and the bass were onboard with the lure selection. Ten bass were landed on the frog including my all-time Top Bass for the lake at 3-5. In addition, a swimbait produced a solid 2-13 on a deep weedline. All told, this trip featured five of the top eleven bass I have ever landed from this lake making for a daily Top 5 weight of 11-5.

Lake One Top 5 Update – My all-time Top 5 for this lake sat at 9-15, meaning that I needed a one-ounce boost to reach double digits. That one ounce would require landing a 1-14 to knock out a 1-13 as the lightest bass in my creel. My 3-5 (frog) and 2-13 (swimbait) provided quite a boost and the current Top 5 stands at 12-6.

11:09am – Top Bass #5 (tie) at 1-11 on a frog

Lake Two History – Thirty-five years ago, when I first fished this lake, it was part of one long, winding narrow strip pit. Over the years, a walking bridge was built over a constricted part of the lake allowing easier walk-in access to a batch of interior lakes. Eventually, a land bridge was constructed, and the one lake is now divided into two separate bodies of water connected only by a shallow culvert.

Winning lures

Lake Two Results – The frog bite was not as impressive as I moved to the second lake at mid-morning. Really no surprise there, as the clouds dissipating and relatively clear water did not present ideal conditions. In addition, the lily pad growth had exploded to cover the entire shoreline up to nearly thirty feet from the bank. The key was to find pockets or channels for the frog or to work a worm or swimbait around the deep weed edges. I caught enough to keep me interested but nothing to boost my Top 5 weight for the day.

Lake Two Top 5 Update – A 1-11 (frog) and a 1-4 (frog) boosted the lake Top 5 from 5-10 to 6-9 by culling a pair of one-pound fish. Always a success when getting a boost but still plenty of work to do to hit double digits.

 

A second consecutive successful morning on the water with back-to-back days breaking the daily ten-pound Top 5 mark. Not bad for the dog days of summer and what would be the end of my July fishing. Time will tell when I get to hit the water in August but stay tuned in the meantime for a Trip Tunes post. Talk to you later. Troy

On the heels of a successful July 12 outing, I hit the same Knox County public strip mine area again the following Saturday. My ambitious aim was to fish three lakes, but Mother Nature did not follow the initial forecast. A brewing storm ran me off the water much earlier than planned leading to a bit of exploration during the rest of my day.

Starting lineup and winning lures

Stats
Date: July 19
Location: Knox County public strip pits (two lakes), Hennepin Canal (one pool)
Time: 5:40am-7:50am, 1:20pm-1:35pm
Totals: 10 bass
Weather: Overcast to partly cloudy/breezy
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 6 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 2 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl/black hologram flake) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 3-1 Frog
Top 5 Weight: 9-11 (3-1,2-2,1-11-1-10,1-3)

Tune of the Trip
Riding the Storm Out – REO Speedwagon (1977)
“The wind outside is frightening, but it’s kinder than the lightning life in the city.”
Such was the theme of substantial part of my day as I left the water before the storm, rode out the rain in my truck, and did some exploring. And I actually heard this song twice on the radio. Maybe it was a DJ being amusing, or maybe just an interesting coincidence.

5:44am – First bass at 1-3 (13″) on a buzzbait

Notes and Nonsense

Main Lake – The bass were quite cooperative as I rowed my way around a portion of this lake on my way to my preferred destination. Four bass in thirty minutes, all on topwater was tough to leave behind but the larger bass potential of my target lake convinced me to make a portage. I suspect that there are some quality fish in the Main Lake but have a hard time committing when solid fish are a short drag away.

6:26am – Top Bass at 3-1 (18″) on a Spro frog

Discovery Lake – Moving to this lake paid dividends right away as I had two “keepers” in the logbook after six minutes of casting including a 3-1 that would be Top Bass of the morning. Conditions remained conducive for a lasting topwater bite with overcast skies and a bit of chop on the water, but it wasn’t long before the thunder began rumbling. On these remote lakes, it takes a while to get back to the truck and I’ve gotten wiser over the years when it comes to calling it quits. Don’t get me wrong, I am still reluctant to leave the water but about 8:00am I was sure glad that I did. The skies got uglier, unleased several downpours, and put on an impressive display of thunder and lightning all while I was safely sheltered in my truck.

1:26pm – Hennepin Canal bass at 1-3 (13″) on a Senko wacky rig

Bonus Bass – I took advantage of the rainy day to do some exploring to the northeast. I peeked at Mautino State Fish & Wildlife Area and found that the interior roads had been repaired (they were so bad that much of the site closed several years ago). A couple lakes also had new rock launches in place that would be just right for my little boat. Next stop was a new spot on the Hennepin Canal near Mineral that I had hiked last winter. During that hike, I observed a beaver lodge, one of my favorite pieces of cover, a short distance from a parking lot. I took a walk and sure enough a bass called it home and took a liking to my Senko wacky rig. The stretch is on my list for a future launch to add four more “keepers” and establish an initial Top 5.

Top 5 Update
Main Lake – Boost from 6-4 to 7-4 as a 1-3 knocks a 1-2 out of the creel
Discovery Lake – No boost as it takes a 3-4 or better to bump my weight
Hennepin Canal – A bass at 1-3 was my first ever catch on this pool

I opted to take my birthday and the following day off work to get away from the hustle and bustle. Stay tuned for those reports as I hit the strip mines again on both days. Talk to you later. Troy

I hadn’t been to the strip mines for over a month, so a cloudy Saturday forecast seemed like a good time to take another shot. I chose an area for this solo outing that I had last fished on May 25 during a trip with Brent. I focused most of my time on one lake but did dabble a bit in another along the way.

Stats
Date: July 12
Location: Knox County public strip pits (2 lakes)
Time: 10:30am-2:30pm
Totals: 9 bass, 2 bluegill
Weather: Overcast to partly cloudy/breezy
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (redear or leopard) – 6 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 3 bass, TJO Dice Bait (bloodshot) – 2 bluegill
Top Bass: 3-1 Frog
Top 5 Weight: 9-11 (3-1,2-2,1-11-1-10,1-3)

Starting lineup and winning lures

Tune of the Trip
”You got to roll me and call me the tumbling dice.”
Tumbling Dice – Rolling Stones (1972)
I tried something new on this outing, a homemade “dice bait.” More on that below.

10:31am – A new lake record at 2-2 (17.5″), on a buzzbait and should have weighed more as it was very lean 

Notes and Nonsense

Main Lake – On my way to portage into the target lake, I made a few casts in another lake that features a major point with an expansive, shallow flat and subsurface weed beds. It is a perfect summer setup for working a buzzbait or a frog and the former lure came through. The quick hit on the lake of only fifteen minutes produced a lone bite but it happened to be the largest bass that I had ever caught on the body of water. It tipped the scales at 2-2, topping a 1-10 from last July. I do not fish this lake much and the quality catch has me considering investing more time in the future while shooting for a ten-pound Top 5. My current Top 5 weight on the water sits at 7-4 (2-2,1-10,1-4,1-2,1-2), so there is work to do.

11:43am – Top Bass of day at 3-1 (17.5″) on a frog in less than a foot of water

Discovery Lake – The bass bite was gangbusters to start with six bass in the first hour of casting and several other topwater blowups that failed to hook up. After that, the bite shut down with only two fish in the next seventy-five minutes. Not surprisingly, it was a midday fade as I stuck primarily with a topwater approach in the lake dominated by shallow, weedy water. In addition, the sun had made more frequent appearances after an overcast start to the day. When the sun went off, the bite turned on.

11:47am – Another quality catch from the shallows weighing 1-11 (15.5″) and caught on a frog

Top Bass – The Top Bass for the day weighed 3-1 and came from a shallow pocket that featured less than a foot of water. The area has produced decent catches in the past, but the water was down considerably on this trip causing me to waver on whether to bother making a few casts in the spot. Fortunately, forty plus years of bass fishing has taught me a thing or two. Don’t let the conditions talk you out of making a few casts. Invest the time as even coming up empty outweighs having to wonder “What if.” Several minutes later, I landed another quality fish at 1-11 from the same spot. Moral of the story, “When in doubt, make the casts.”

First catch on a new lure, the dice bait (details below)

Dice Bait – A current craze in the fishing lure market is a fuzzy creation called the “Dice Bait.” However, with the expensive price tag on the models I have seen locally, I have no interest in adding them to my arsenal. Enter my friend, John Kirkemo, who has taken to making his own out of discarded baits and stock spinnerbait/jig skirt material. Following his lead, I made a few of my own and tried one out as I ended this fishing trip. Lo and behold, a couple of decent sized bluegills took the bait. Not my intended quarry but for a trial run it was fun to fool something on the homemade lure. When time permits, I not only hope to make and test some more, but also to put together a post dedicated to this latest fad.

Strip mine fishing can take some work but the potential for some big bites and decades of memories keep us coming back for more. And I say “us”, as I have a bonus report in the works from Brent’s recent visit as well as another firsthand report from last weekend. Talk to you later. Troy

As I got a day off work for the Fourth of July holiday, I opted to get up bright and early to take a second shot in a week on a stretch of The Canal that needed a Top 5 boost. Read on for the results.

Stats
Date: July 4
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 5:55am-9:55am
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm, 74-87F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 2-12 Frog
Top 4 Weight (only four bass at 12” or better): 7-12 (2-12,2-0,1-8,1-8)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Courtesy of the Red, White. and Blue (The Angry American) – Toby Keith (2002)
“Man, we lit up your world like the Fourth of July.”
My brain has a steady soundtrack and among the lifetime of music to choose from, this line seemed apt for a 2025 Fourth of July fishing trip.

Notes and Nonsense

Selecting a Spot – I revisited the same destination as my last trip on June 28 as I still had some loose ends to tie up with the bass that call the pool home. My Top 5 for the stretch lacked ten ounces of reaching my double-digit goal and I had not been able to find the quality bites needed for the boost on the prior visit. With the lightest fish in my Top 5 weighing 1-13, that meant a bass tipping the scales at 2-7 would take me all the way. As the morning began my Top 5 weight for the pool sat at 9-6 (1-15,1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13).

5:56am – First bass on fourth cast within sight of the boat ramp

5:56am – First Bite
I landed a bass on my fourth cast of the morning but at 11.5” it was not a “keeper” let alone a boost to my Top 5 weight. However, I took it to be good sign as it took me over two hours to land my first bass on the June 28 outing.

7:01am an exciting topwater strike on the frog

7:01am – This one gets away as that is my frog flying back at the boat

7:01am – One That Got Away
Early in the trip. I had the fish on that may have been the one I was seeking. It created a good boil as it struck the frog and put a solid bend in the pole on the hookset. As it broke the surface after being hooked, my brain registered a fish in the two-pound range during a brief glimpse. Unfortunately, the lure came flying back in my direction seconds later as the hooks did not get a grip. After one “doggone it”, several “shoots”, and a “dangit”, I took a few seconds to regroup and then resumed casting in anticipation of my next shot.

7:10am – Top Bass #2 at 2-0 (16″) on a frog

7:10am – First Cull
Admittedly disappointed in losing a decent fish, I did not have to wait long to get another strike on the frog. This one tipped the scales at 2-0 to give me a boost of three ounces (culled a 1-13) and raised the Top 5 weight to 9-9. Even better than the uptick in weight was getting two quality bites (one lost, one landed) in less than ten minutes. On an area where I have struggled in the past, a boost in confidence can outweigh a boost in weight.

8:39am – Top Bass at 2-12 (18″) on a frog

8:39am – Mission Accomplished
After landing a pair of matching bass weighing 1-8, I was nearing my turn around point. The sun was still low enough that shade was cast on the northern bank so I figured that I would focus most of my casting in that direction. As it turned out there was a good one hiding in the weed mat on the shady side that allowed me to reach my goal. I had a tense moment where I could not get a grip on the lip at boatside but observing that the bass had engulfed the frog, I was confident that it was not going to get away. At 2-12, the fish bumped another 1-13 and pushed the Top 5 weight for the pool to 10-8. It also represented the largest bass I have landed on the pool, displacing the 2-0 that I had caught an hour and a half earlier.

I fished for another hour after reaching my goal but never landed another bass. While that stinks, there was much relief in having the Top 5 monkey off my back. The Canal is an interesting collection of fishing holes and like anywhere, it can boost you up and it can get you down. This stretch had me down, but a couple bites can alter your attitude. That’s fishing. You just gotta keep on casting. Talk to you later. Troy

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