Category: Lures

2nd Day of 2025 Lures – Jig

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Jig
2 bass vs. 2 bass in 2024
Googan Gridiron Jig (rotten pumpkin) with Net Bait B-Bug trailer
Top Bass: 1-9 Lake Storey – September 15

Comments
For the second straight year, my jig total is a meager two bass. Jigs are proven winners that shine early and late in the year, but the presentation is generally slower than I like to fish. And if the cool-water bass let me get away with faster offerings such as a lipless crank, chatterbait, or spinnerbait, the jig usually stays in the tackle bag.

 September 15 – Top Jig Bass at 1-9 (15″) from Lake Storey

History
While my jigs don’t get much of a workout these days, they have quite a storied history. In fact, jigs hold the record for my largest Top 5 total of any lure type with five bass weighing 27-9. As far as co-anglers, Brent’s largest bass of all-time came on a jig and tipped the scales at 6-15.

Video
For the featured catch, I made nearly ten spinnerbait casts to some good wood cover, hitting it from different angles without any luck. So, I opted for a follow-up with the slower, bottom bouncing jig and was able to entice a bite. The spot in this clip is historically productive, but sometimes it takes a little extra effort to make it work.

 

Last Cast
I am a creature of habit and fish fast, perhaps too fast in the cool to cold water period of the year. As such, the jig is often “Plan B” or beyond in my lure selection. In addition, many of my early season outings are quick hit trips to the Hennepin Canal which is a slimy mess nearly year-round, and those conditions can make bottom dragging presentations frustrating. For 2026, I am sure I will dabble with a jig as usual, but it will likely not be in heavy rotation on the end of a line.

Another lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy

1st Day of 2025 Lures – Swim Jig

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Swim Jig
1 bass vs. 0 bass in 2024
Lure: Jonn Graham Warrior Swim Jig with a Big Hammertail trailer (bluegill)
Top Bass: None at 12” or better

Comments
My lone bass on a swim jig came late in the year on October 26 on the Hennepin Canal. During the summer I had spoken to a pair of anglers who had noted success in tossing swim jigs and figured that I needed to give one a go before my 2025 Canal adventures closed. A handful of casts paid off as I crawled the lure amidst the fading weed growth in an aqueduct.

History
Despite glowing reviews on the effectiveness of swim jigs over the years, I have yet to commit. In fact, I have only landed a dozen bass on a swim jig dating back to 1997 with catches in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2025. This particular swim jig was from a batch that I purchased many years ago from Jonn Graham’s booth at the now defunct Elmwood All Outdoors show.

Video
The video of my lone catch presents a unique approach in what I call “perch fishing on The Canal.” In this case, “perch” refers not to a fish species, but a seat of sorts atop an aqueduct guardrail. The height of the protective barrier makes it tough to present a lure effectively from a standing position. Instead, I have taken to climbing the guardrail and locking my legs into the beams for stability. It works like a charm and gets rather exciting when a quality bass is on the line. In such instances, I must climb down and walk the fish to a landing point beyond the barrier. This fish was not one of those instances.

 

Last Cast
I am a creature of habit who relies heavily on his “confidence lures” and there just hasn’t been a need for swim jigs in my arsenal. As such, I don’t anticipate them getting much action in 2026.

Next lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy

12 Days of Lures – Intro

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Winter has a grip on my neck of the woods well in advance of the actual season arriving. As such, I am confident that no more bass will be added to my fishing log for 2025. Therefore, I have elected to start my 2025 fishing wrap-ups ahead of schedule instead of waiting until after the New Year.

In doing so, it allows me to incorporate the old “12 Days of Christmas” approach with a bit of a fishing advent calendar mixed in. For this project, the countdown will consist of twelve lure types as that was the tally on how many fooled the 359 bass I landed in 2025. (Note: several lure types contained multiple lures within the designation, and they will all be included).

So, stay tuned for the lure recap from the first day to the twelfth day working up from the lures that caught the least bass to the Top Lure of 2025. The posts will feature stats, comments, history, catch video, and a parting shot. Tune in for the next twelve days. Talk to you later. Troy

2024 Bass Recap – Lures Part II

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Part II of the 2024 Lure Recap features the heavy hitters that landed 471 of my 626 largemouth bass.

Chatterbait – 59 bass vs. 33 bass in 2023
Z Man Chatterbait (sexy shad or black/blue) with various swimbait trailers
Top Bass: 2-15 Lake Storey – October 11
Top 5 Weight: 12-14 (2-15,2-14,2-12,2-6,1-15)
Comments: For the second straight year, a chatterbait spent a lot of time tied to the end of a rod. From March through November, this lure type was in the starting lineup, and it paid dividends anywhere I threw it. A chatterbait caught Bass #1 of the year on March 3, Bass #626 on November 17, and plenty in between including the Top Lake Storey Bass of 2024 at 2-15. I am still more of a spinnerbait guy and probably always will be but the chatterbait has become an important tool in my tacklebox with my favorite targets being flats, riprap banks, and rockpiles.

Buzzbaits – 77 bass vs. 25 bass in 2023
Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad) and Big Bite Baits Suicide Buzz (citrus shad)
Top Bass: 2-12 Hennepin Canal – August 14 and August 25
Top 5 Weight: 13-3 (2-12,2-12,2-9,2-9,2-9)
Comments: After a down year in 2023, buzzbaits were back in 2024 as I spent a great deal of time on the shallow waters of The Canal. Last year, I also tried a new offering, the Big Bites Bait Suicide Buzz that features swimbait body as opposed to a skirt. The first catch on the new bait was a 2-4 from The Canal in August and it later landed one of my Top Buzzbait Bass of the year at 2-12. It is tough to beat a buzzbait when the weather warms, and The Canal is custom made for topwater commotion.

Topwater Frogs – 79 bass vs. 25 bass in 2023
Spro Flappin’ Frog 65 (albino, killer gill, natural red)
Top Bass: 3-10 Hennepin Canal – September 29
Top 5 2023: 15-10 (3-10,3-6,3-3,2-14,2-9)
Comments: After several years of proclaiming myself to be among the worst frog fisherman around, things are beginning to look up. I give credit for my recent success to a couple of factors. First up, is the commitment to a new model of frog beginning in the summer of 2023, the Spro Flappin’ Frog 65. The second factor is that my stomping grounds on the shallow, weedy Hennepin Canal are ideal for a frog to get stomped.

Lipless Crankbait – 81 bass vs. 14 bass in 2023
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad or red craw)
Top Bass: 2-6 Lake Storey – September 16
Top 5 Weight: 10-2 (2-6,2-2,1-15,1-14,1-13)
Comments: My catches on lipless crankbaits reinforced their effectiveness across the calendar year. The first lipless crank bass came from The Canal on March 3 and the final lipless crank bass was landed at Lake Storey on October 14. All the fish were caught on the Strike King Red Eye Shad model and were quite well distributed throughout the waters that I fish. Thirty-two bass came from The Canal, twenty-six from Lake Storey, and twenty-three from the Knox County public strip mines. For me, these baits shine when looking to cover water quickly and are effective on flats, along weed edges, and when run parallel to riprap banks.

Spinnerbaits – 87 bass vs. 63 bass in 2023
War Eagle (white/chartreuse)
Top Bass: 3-0 Hennepin Canal – May 4
Top 5 Weight: 13-6 (3-0,2-15,2-10,2-8,2-5)
Comments: When I caught the bass fishing bug in the early 1980s, spinnerbaits were among the most popular lures. Over the last forty years, they have fallen out of vogue among many anglers as allegiance has turned to chatterbaits, swimbaits, and swim jigs. Not so much for me though, as I will always be a loyal spinnerbait fan. I need to do a bit of research to confirm, but I suspect I have caught more bass on spinnerbaits than any other lure over the last forty-plus years. And for 2024, the spinnerbait came through again as it was the second most productive lure, trailing plastic worms by one bass. I spend a lot of time on The Canal and a spinnerbait is a winner around any wood you can find. Same goes for Lake Storey during the drawdown period in the fall. In recent years, my go to spinnerbait has been the War Eagle brand in various blade configurations.

Plastic Worms – 88 bass vs. 191 bass in 2023
5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various colors), Yum 7” Power Bait Power Worm (blue fleck/firetail), Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm (junebug or white pearl)
Top Bass: 3-2 Knox County public strip pit – July 13
Top 5 Weight: 11-15 (3-2,2-11,2-6,1-15,1-13)
Comments: The plastic worm has been a staple in bass angler’s tackleboxes for close to seventy years. And they have been a winner for me as long as I have been chasing bass. While I cut my bass fishing teeth on the popular Texas rig presentation, the last twenty years have found me relying heavily on the Senko wacky rig. The wacky rig dominated my 2024 worm haul with seventy-three bass, but I did invest some time in a new presentation that I call a “swimming worm.” The swimming retrieve landed a dozen fish and was precipitated by advice from a fellow angler I encountered on The Canal last summer.

Lots of highlights in that list of lures and catches as 2024 produced a personal record 626 largemouth bass. The number of lure options available on the market these days can get overwhelming, and every angler has an opinion on how to best invest your time and money. And many variables come into play when choosing what to tie on the end of your line once you hit the water. Weather, water, structure, and time of day are significant, while experience and confidence are invaluable when it comes to making your choices. It all boils down to getting out there and getting on the water. Talk to you later. Troy

2024 Bass Recap – Lures Part I

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Next up in the 2024 Bass Recap is the lowdown on the lures that fooled the fish. Read on for Part I as I work through the list of lures from least bass caught to most.

Jigs – 2 bass vs. 1 bass in 2023
Strike King Rattlin’ Pro Model Jig (green pumpkin) or Googan Gridiron Jig (rotten pumpkin) with plastic craw trailer
Top Bass: 2-4 Lake Storey – October 11
Comments: My first jig bas of the year came on March 17 (Hennepin Canal) and the second on October 11 (Lake Storey). Overall, landing two bass on jigs was productive considering I only made a couple dozen casts with the lures all year. Both of my catches were on offshore wood cover that had failed to give up a bite on the faster offerings of a chatterbait or spinnerbait. In these instances, I opted to slow down with a jig as a backup presentation and it was a winner. Perhaps there is a lesson there and I should slow down more often.

Popper – 3 bass vs. 0 bass in 2023
Zell Rowland Pop-R (purple shad)
Top Bass: None at 12” or better
Comments: All my popper bass came from a pair of remote Knox County public strip pits on September 7. The lure was a Rebel Pop-R “signature series” model from the mid-nineties endorsed by longtime bass pro and Pop-R aficionado, Zell Rowland. I had been loading up on little bass with a Senko or small swimbait and wanted to see if I could get anything larger to commit to a topwater offering. Nope on “anything larger”,, but it was fun to break out the Pop-R for old times’ sake and verify that it can still fool some bass.

Crankbaits – 19 bass vs. 28 bass in 2023
Rapala Shad Rap (blue), Bomber Flat A (baby bass)
Top Bass: 1-13 Lake Storey – October 10
Top 5 Weight: 6-10 (1-13,1-11,1-1,1-1,1-0)
Comments: The last several years have seen a significant decrease in my crankbait numbers. While they are still quite effective, I just don’t throw them as much as I did in years past. Much of the reason relates to “discovering” the Hennepin Canal in June 2021. The shallow, weedy water of much of The Canal set up better for other presentations such as spinnerbaits, topwater, and chatterbaits, so I rely on them much more heavily. Still, it seems odd that I did not land at least one bass on either a Mann’s Baby 1- or a Strike King Squarebill in 2024 as they have been effective on The Canal and proven winners at Lake Storey as well as several strip pits.

Grubs – 34 bass vs. 23 bass in 2023
Lunker Hunt Finesse 3” Swimbait (perfect pumpkin or smokin’ shad)
Top Bass: 1-6 Knox County public strip pit – March 30
Top 5 Weight: 5-14 (1-6,1-3,1-2,1-2,1-1)
Comments: After quality 2023 catches boosted my confidence in what I generically refer to as a Ned Rig presentation, big bites were absent in 2024. Grubs did produce plenty of bass last year (and some bonus large crappies), but I am wondering if my 2023 Top 5 Grub Weight of 14-15 was an anomaly. However, I still have faith and expect the Ned Rig will remain a viable option on my early season strip mine hikes as it sets up well for fooling fish in those cool, clear waters.

Swimbaits – 45 bass vs. 2 bass in 2023
Keitech Swing Impact (electric blue/chartreuse), Strike King Rage Swimmer (sexy shad or pro blue/red pearl)
Top Bass: 1-9 Knox County public strip pit – September 8
Top 5 Weight: 7-3 (1-9,1-9,1-6,1-6,1-5)
Comments: I made a choice to commit to giving swimbaits a fair shake in 2024. Prior to last year, my “career” swimbait catch total sat at ten bass. So, adding forty-five catches marked a significant jump in production and reflected my commitment. Was it worth it? Yes, as I added forty-five bass on a presentation that I have neglected for years despite ringing endorsements across the bass fishing community. Also yes, as I am a stubborn angler and rarely step away from confidence lures unless the bite gets really ugly. In the case of swimbaits, I put down other lures that likely would have produced in the weather and water conditions in favor of experimentation. On the greedy side, I wish the presentation would have produced bigger bites.

Propbait – 52 bass vs. 46 bass in 2023
Whopper Plopper 110 (bone)
Top Bass: 3-0 Hennepin Canal – June 29
Top 5 Weight: 13-7 (3-0,2-15,2-9,2-8,2-7)
Comments: I was a late convert to the Whopper Plopper as I didn’t dedicate much time to tossing the lure with only fifteen catches from 2017-2021. However, in the last three years, I have landed one hundred fifteen bass on the lure, including my best yearly total last year with fifty-two bass. Many “in the know” anglers on the internet view the Whopper Plopper as a lure past its heyday or even a gimmick ala the old fishing adage that “it is designed to catch more fishermen that fish.” To each their own as I have found the obnoxious lure to be productive and fun to fish, especially in the shallow waters of The Canal.

Solid success on this first batch of lures but the real heavy hitters are yet to come. Stay tuned for Part II. Talk to you later. Troy

2023 Fishing Recap – Lures Part II

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Part II of the lure recap features the heavy hitters that landed 411 of the 466 bass in 2023.

Buzzbaits – 25 bass vs. 76 bass in 2023
Booyah Buzzbait (black or white)
Top Bass: 3-2 Hennepin Canal – May 25
Top 5 Weight: 10-7 (3-2,2-7,1-11,1-10,1-9)
Comments: All but three of my buzzbait bass came from The Canal, including the Top 5 Buzzbait Bass of the year. The Canal is a perfect fit for a buzzbait with abundant weed edges and nearly all the water less than five feet in depth.

Topwater Frog – 25 bass vs. 1 bass in 2023
Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino, killer gill, natural red)
Top Bass: 4-1 Knox County public strip pit – July 24
Top 5 2023: 15-7 (4-1,3-10,3-2,2-6,2-4)
Comments: After struggling to get dialed into a solid topwater frog bite for years, I finally found a frog to my liking. The Spro Flappin Frog combined the castability and commotion that I have been seeking and caught a good batch of quality bass up to four pounds. While the larger catches came on the strip mines, The Canal bass also showed an interest that has been lacking on my other frog presentations over the last two years.

Crankbaits – 28 bass vs. 61 bass in 2023
Rapala Shad Rap (blue), Mann’s Baby 1- (red craw or grey ghost), Strike King Rattling Squarebill (sexy shad)
Top Bass: 1-7 Hennepin Canal – October 15
Top 5 Weight: 6-6 (1-7,1-6,1-4,1-3,1-2)
Comments: While crankbaits did not fool any large bass, they were effective when and where I chose to cast them. From April to October and on The Canal, the strip mines, and Lake Storey, crankbaits came through. Twenty of the bass fell for a Mann’s Baby 1-, a super shallow bait with a wide wobble that shines when worked around shoreline riprap or shallow rockpiles.

Chatterbait – 33 bass vs. 26 bass in 2023
Z Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with various trailers
Top Bass: 2-8 Lake Storey – October 12
Top 5 Weight: 9-11 (2-8,2-2,1-13,1-12,1-8)
Comments: I have never given chatterbaits the shot that they deserve despite glowing reports from other anglers. Well, this fall, I decided to buy in and started by buying a brand new chatterbait in the sexy shad pattern and adding a Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad trailer. This represented a departure from the half dozen other chatterbaits in my tackle that I typically threw paired with a Yamamoto Zako trailer. Between October 12 and October 22, I managed to rack up thirty-three bass on The Canal and Lake Storey. The coolest catches came from the latter fishing hole in a spot that I typically do not visit but caught my attention as it was being hit with a stiff wind. Five bass in about twenty minutes of hitting shoreline indentations while blowing around a broad point made me a believer. I am interested in seeing what 2024 has in store for my new find.

Propbait – 46 bass vs. 29 bass in 2023
Whopper Plopper 110 (bone)
Top Bass: 4-10 Knox County public strip pit – May 6
Top 5 Weight: 17-0 (4-10,4-2,3-1,2-11,2-8)
Comments: My second year of casting the Whopper Plopper focused exclusively on the 110 model in the bone pattern. I find this size to be not too big (size 130), and not too small (size 90), but the proverbial “just right.” The Whopper Plopper has been a nice topwater companion to the buzzbait as it allows for variations in retrieve due to being a floating bait.

Spinnerbaits – 63 bass vs. 254 bass in 2023
War Eagle (white/chartreuse), Berkley Power Blade (coleslaw)
Top Bass: 3-10 Hennepin Canal – October 22
Top 5 Weight: 15-5 (3-10,3-7,2-14,2-12,2-10)
Comments: Several factors contributed to the significant decline in spinnerbait bass from last year. And all revolved around the Hennepin Canal. Factor one involved spending fewer hours on The Canal where spinnerbaits have been my Top Lure. Factor two, was expanding my Canal prowls to include stretches of water that I had not fished previously. While each of these new stretches offered plenty of appealing spinnerbait targets, a final factor came into play. The bass just weren’t as cooperative on The Canal in 2023 when offered a spinnerbait. Perhaps the word is out to avoid the guy in the little boat.

Plastic Worms – 191 bass vs. 81 bass in 2023
5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various colors), Yum 7.5” Ribbontail Worm (plum), 7” Berkley Power Worm (blue fleck firetail), Bass Pro Shops Stik-O (candy corn)
Top Bass: 3-9 Knox County private strip pit – May 20
Top 5 Weight: 16-1 (3-9,3-4,3-2,3-2,3-0)
Comments: After a down year in 2022, the plastic worm returned to familiar ground as Top Lure for 2023. The boost came almost exclusively due to increased hours prowling the strip mines where the wacky rig shines. Plastic worm referred primarily to the Senko wacky rig as the presentation racked up 177 bass, while a similar Bass Pro Shops Stik-O added one other wacky bass. Summertime did see the return of an old friend in the form of Texas rigged offerings that fooled 13 bass.

And there you have it, a complete statistical breakdown of the tools from my tacklebags that fooled the fish. Many variables come into play when selecting what to cast to the bass. Factors such as weather, water, structure, season, and time of day are significant but don’t discount experience and confidence when it comes to making your choices. It all boils down to getting out there and getting on the water. Talk to you later. Troy

2023 Fishing Recap – Lures Part I

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Well, the 2024 fishing season arrived before I got around to the annual recap of the previous year. So, prior to the 2024 reports, it’s time to do a little catching up.

For today’s recap, we look at the lures that got the job done in landing 466 bass. I managed to employ over a dozen different general lure types to catch my fish in 2023. As such, the Lures portion of the 2023 Fishing Recap will be submitted over two posts working from fewest bass caught to most.

Jig – 1 bass vs. 5 bass in 2023
Strike King Rattlin’ Jig (green pumpkin) with plastic craw trailer
Top Bass: None at 12” or better
Comments: Unless the bass tell me slow down, I usually don’t. And in the early season cool water period of 2023, I found another presentation that got the job done in a big way (more on that later). My lone jig bass was a short fish from Lake Storey in mid-September. It all boils down to getting enough bites on other presentations such that I opted to rarely toss a jig.

Inline Spinner – 2 bass vs. 0 bass in 2023
Mepps #5 (rainbow trout)
Top Bass: None at 12” or better
Comments: Two early April bass were the lone contributors to this offering. In this instance, I had run through my batch of “can’t miss” baits with nary a bite and the old school Mepps saved the day with a couple small bass to avoid a shutout.

Swimbaits – 2 bass vs. 0 bass in 2023
Keitech Swing Impact (electric blue), Bass Pro Shops 3” Speed Shad (smallmouth magic)
Top Bass: 1-7 Hennepin Canal – June 3
Top 1 Weight (only one at 12”or better): 1-7 (1-7)
Comments: Similar to jigs, I rarely tossed a swimbait unless it was a downsized version in what I classify as a “grub” or “Ned Rig” (more on those later in this wrap-up series). The pair of swimbait bass that I fooled in 2023 arose from situations when my go to lures weren’t producing and I had to shift gears for a lone bite. While the presentation can certainly be effective, it’s just not my thing.

Creature Bait – 5 bass vs. 0 bass in 2023
Yum Wooly Bug (crawdad)
Top Bass: 3-2 Knox County public strip pit – September 30
Top 3 Weight (only three at 12”or better): 5-1 (3-2,1-0,0-15)
Comments: Four of my five bass on a creature bait came on the last day of September as the strip mine bass forced me to slow down. Included in the mix was a solid three-pounder. Positive feedback on a presentation that does not get many casts these days.

Jerkbait – 8 bass vs. 1 bass in 2023
Rebel Ghost Minnow
Top Bass: None at 12” or better
Comments: I chose a jerkbait for a handful of casts on a pair of early April strip mine visits. One lake had potential for a quality fish while the other spot is chock full of short bass. Both turned out to produce a batch of the latter, but it was fun to throw the old Rebel Ghost Minnow that had a few shining moments in the early 2000s.

Lipless Crankbaits –14 bass vs. 4 bass in 2023
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad or red craw)
Top Bass: 2-10 Lake Storey – September 25
Top 5 Weight: 8-8 (2-10,1-13,1-8,1-5,1-4)
Comments: The first bass of 2023 came on a lipless crankbait during a March bike ride on The Canal. And while the lure didn’t get much of a workout for the rest of the year, it was still producing in mid-October as it is an open water winner start to finish. All the Top 5 bass in this lure category came during the Lake Storey fall drawdown as it is an effective imitation of the lake’s abundant shad forage base.

Grub – 23 bass vs. 8 bass in 2023
Lunker Hunt Finesse 3” Swimbait (perfect pumpkin)
Top Bass: 5-3 Knox County public strip pit
Top 5 Weight: 14-15 (5-3,3-1,3-0,2-7,1-3)
Comments: The surprise lure of the year was a small swimbait on a light jighead that I call a Ned Rig under the Grub category. All the catches came during a month-long stretch from April 7 to May 6 while walking the Knox County public strip mines. Even better were three quality fish (5-3,3-1,3-0) from a lake where my previous Top Bass had barely eclipsed the one-pound mark. I am eager to see if luck is on my side again in 2024.

Today’s warm-up was dominated by several effective lures that were sparingly employed in specific situations when I was struggling to get a bite or forced to tone down my offerings. Next up is Part II of the lure recap featuring the heavy hitters that accounted for over four hundred bass in 2023. Talk to you later. Troy

2022 Fishing Recap – Lures Pt. II

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Today we move on to the heavy hitters from the 2022 lure selection. The six lure types below landed over five hundred bass, including my Top 5 Bass for the year (three on a spinnerbait and one each on a plastic worm and buzzbait). Read on for the stats and video of each lure type working our way up to the Top Lure of 2022.

 

Chatterbait – 26 bass
Z Man Chatterbait (white) with various trailers
Top Bass: 2-14 Knox County strip pit – September 4
Top 5 Weight: 9-0 (2-14,2-7,1-8,1-2,1-1)
Comments: I’ve just never been hooked on the chatterbait bite although many anglers are quite successful with the lure. However, I do have a handful of go to spots on the strip mines that set up well and usually come through with a few bites. As for The Canal, I have not given the chatterbait much of a shot. More on that reason as we proceed with the rest of the lures in this post.

 

Propbait – 29 bass
Whopper Plopper 110 (bone), Whopper Plopper 90 (I Know It)
Top Bass: 2-12 Hennepin Canal – September 20
Top 5 Weight: 11-7 (2-12,2-8,2-4,2-1,1-14)
Comments: 2022 was the first year that I really invested much time tossing a Whopper Plopper. Previously, I had thrown one on two July days in 2017 on the strip mines (eleven bass) and on one July day in 2021 on The Canal (three bass). For 2022, I caught twenty-nine bass over the course of seven outings, all on The Canal. While I prefer a buzzbait as my primary topwater bait on The Canal, the shallow water it offers does set up well for the Whopper Plopper when you can avoid fouling the stout trebles when the weeds take over.

 

Crankbaits – 61 bass
Rapala Shad Rap (blue or shad), Mann’s Baby 1- (red craw), Strike King Rattling Squarebill (sexy shad), Bomber Flat A (baby bass)
Top Bass: 2-12 Hennepin Canal – April 24
Top 5 Weight: 11-2 (2-12,2-5,2-4,2-3,1-10)
Comments: I was surprised to find that I landed sixty-one bass on crankbaits in 2022. On closer inspection, however, I was not surprised to find that thirty-five of the bass came from somewhere other than The Canal (strip mines and Lake Storey). The Canal just sets up better for other lures and when I do fish a crankbait it is often a Mann’s Baby 1-. In fact, seventeen of the twenty-six Canal crankbait bass were on the super shallow lure.

 

Buzzbaits – 76 bass
Special K Buzzbait, Booyah Buzzbait, Strike King KVD Buzz Toad
Top Bass: 3-5 Hennepin Canal – August 21
Top 5 Weight: 13-14 (3-5,2-11,2-10,2-10,2-10)
Comments: I’ve long been a buzzbait guy, and The Canal is custom made for the noisy topwater bait. It doesn’t get much more exciting than a topwater blast and the shallow waters of The Canal provided plenty of action in 2022. I also added the Strike King Buzz Toad at the recommendation of a fellow angler who has provided sound advice over the last several years. The Toad was a winner with a 2-7 during my first outing casting the lure.

 

Plastic Worms – 81 bass
5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various colors)
Top Bass: 3-10 Knox County public strip pit – September 4
Top 5 Weight: 12-14 (3-10,2-10,2-4,2-3,2-3)
Comments: The Senko wacky rig has been a mainstay in my arsenal since I first tried out the strange looking presentation on May 22, 2005. For 2022, it landed my Top Bass of 3-10 and several other quality bass from the Knox County strip mines. While I did put it to use on The Canal, it was often as a highly effective follow-up bait to missed topwater strikes. I like the Senko wacky rig better in clearer water, so the mostly stained water of The Canal set up better for other offerings.

 

Spinnerbaits – 254 bass
Special K Spinnerbait, Booyah Blade, Stanley Blue Glimmer, War Eagle
Top Bass: 3-5 Hennepin Canal – April 23
Top 5 Weight: 15-6 (3-5,3-4,3-2,2-15,2-12)
Comments: I have enjoyed throwing spinnerbaits for as long as I have been chasing bass. That history goes back to the 1980s when spinnerbaits were king among the bass fishing crowd. Over the years, they have fallen out of vogue in favor of other presentations. However, they are still quite effective and really did a number on The Canal to the tune of two hundred and twelve bass. Even cooler was the success of some handcrafted spinnerbaits from an old baseball teammate, Mike Karlovich. His spinnerbait creations fooled one hundred and sixty-four bass and his buzzbaits added another thirty bass on the year.

I always enjoy looking back on the numbers to see what they reveal when the year is said and done. No surprise here as my 2022 fishing can be summed up by a few cliché terms and phrases. With close to forty years of bass fishing in the books, I still find myself going “old school.” My fishing reflects my lifestyle as I am “a creature of habit.” But the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach in 2022 produced my best ever year of bass totals. Some days were better than others, some bass got away, and sometimes I got stubborn but with five hundred and fifty-three bass in the log I got more right than wrong along the way. More recaps to come so talk to you later. Troy

2022 Fishing Recap – Lures Pt.I

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Next up is the annual look back at the lures that fooled the bass. I am a creature of habit and an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” kind of guy but I did manage to employ over a dozen different general lure types to catch my fish in 2022. As such, the Lures portion of the 2022 Fishing Recap will be submitted over two posts working from fewest bass caught to most. Read on for some video and data on the first batch of lures.

 

Topwater Frog – 1 bass
Lunker Hunt Walking Frog Kraken Series (hops)
Top Bass: 2-12 Lake Storey – September 18
Comments: Frogs can be blast to fish, but they don’t play much of a role in my arsenal these days, even on the weedy Canal. Plenty of fellow Canal anglers report success on these types of baits so maybe next year I will invest a bit more time dragging them around. The lone 2022 catch came from some remaining weeds on a flat during the Lake Storey drawdown. My brain said, “This looks like a good spot for a frog”, and several casts later, I had my Top Bass of the day. Feels good when it works like that with a mental pat on the back for a good decision.

 

Jerkbait – 1 bass
Bomber Long A (red/yellow)
Top Bass: 1-3 Hennepin Canal – August 13
Comments: My only jerkbait bass of the year came on a similar, “I should try this here” decision as my previously described frog catch. I had an extended drop with sparse, scattered, submerged weeds, and figured that I could navigate it better with a jerkbait than a crankbait. While August isn’t your standard jerkbait time of the year, it worked. I fished my way through the drop without another bite and the catch wound up a one off.

 

Stickbait – 3 bass
Zara Spook (natural frog)
Top Bass: 2-6 Hennepin Canal – July 17
Top 2 Weight: 3-8 (2-6,1-2)
Comments: Me and the Zara Spook go back a long ways, but I don’t throw it much anymore. However, upon obtaining an old reel from a longtime friend, Matt Reynolds, I opted to go old school and try to land the first bass with the reel on the Spook. Matt nicknamed the natural frog pattern Zara Spook, “The Pickle” back in the 80s so my goal was to fool one on the bait while using his reel. The mission was a success with a quality fish in hand shortly after beginning to “walk the dog” (the standard name for the Zara Spook retrieve/presentation).

 

Lipless Crankbait – 4 bass
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad)
Top Bass: 1-15 Lake Storey – October 22
Top 4 Weight: 5-7 (1-15,1-13,1-0,0-11)
Comments: Lipless crankbaits have long been a mainstay in my arsenal, but they just weren’t in tune with my frequent visits to The Canal. The abundance of weeds on The Canal as the year wore on made for repeatedly fouling the hooks in the vegetation. Other offerings, primarily a spinnerbait, were more in tune to the conditions so the Red Eye Shad got a break in 2022. Top Bass on the lure came from Lake Storey in a pocket rife with shad activity and the fake shad came through. It also snagged one of the real fish that it looks to imitate.

 

Popper – 4 bass
Rebel Pop R (rainbow)
Top Bass: 1-12 Knox County public strip pit – May 14
Top 2 Weight: 2-10 (1-12,0-14)
Comments: The Pop R is an exciting lure, but I don’t employ it very often. For me it’s one of those instinct or Plan B lures. For instance, if I have trouble getting a topwater bite on faster lures like a buzzbait or if I have a limited open water strike zone, I may employ a popper. Also, if I have bass missing strikes on a faster moving topwater, I can sometimes fool a few with a popper as I can let it sit in their face when pausing the retrieve as needed.

 

Jigs – 5 bass
Googan Gridiron (PB&J), Bass Pro Enticer (white), Strike King Rattlin’ Jig (black/blue) with various pork and plastic trailers
Top Bass: 2-12 Knox County public strip pit – September 19
Top 4 Weight: 9-8 (2-12,2-11,2-1,2-0)
Comments: All my jig bass came from walk-in strip pits as The Canal just never gave me much reason to slow down. In addition, the abundance of vegetation that shows up in The Canal makes for frustrating jig fishing. I dig a jig and pig but if I don’t have to slow down, I won’t. If I do get out on The Canal earlier this year than my April 15 debut in 2022, I may employ a jig around the abundant wood before the weeds take over.

 

Grub – 8 bass
Lunker Hunt Finesse Worm ¼ oz. (Bama craw)
Top Bass: 0-13 Snakeden Hollow – April 10
Comments: I read a lot about the Ned Rig and similar light, finesse presentations that work well in cold water or during a finicky bite. In 2022, I made a decision to give this type of lure a shot on a couple strip pits in early April. Short story is that the presentation fooled some fish but nothing big and it resides out of my comfort zone of fast fishing. Unless the fish force me to slow down, it’s not happening. Perhaps a bad habit, but I get by fishing fast most of the year.

And that leads us into Part II of the lure recap, dominated by power presentations. The seven lure types in today’s post fooled a grand total of twenty-six bass. The next batch of half a dozen lure types landed five hundred and twenty-seven bass. Stay tuned for those heavy hitters. Talk to you later. Troy

New Gear Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Since we do not have a Top 5 Update for this week, I am instead substituting a post about new gear. Some of the items may seem less than exciting to many folks but they mean the world to me due to my penchant for record keeping.

First up, I had to replace my tape measure as the tag end of the old red one broke on a recent trip, resulting in the entire tape retracting into the casing. My Boga Grip does have a rusty old tape attached in case of emergency although I have seen enough bass that I really don’t need a tape other than to be “official.” Over the years, I have chosen a cloth tape rather than metal to avoid them rusting out. I grab these from the sewing aisle of the local department store, and they work great. While I am not a tailor, I do hang around with many seamstresses (Julie, Mom, mother-in-law Penny and my girls) so I do know my way around that section.

A more familiar section in stores are the tackle aisles which I visit every time I frequent an establishment that carries fishing stuff. Recently, I was on the road in Tennessee for work and stopped by a retailer to pick up some bottled water and grub. Dropping by the outdoor section of the Mount Union, TN location of a major chain I spied a batch of 5” Yamasenko worms in the natural shad color. This is the greatest Senko color of all-time but has disappeared from anywhere I have shopped in person for many years. I was so happy to see the color that I bought them all (luckily only three packs left on the peg). I gave one to Jayce and kept the other two for myself.

I tell you, another item that is hard to find is a wire bound, landscape-oriented batch of 4” x 6’ ruled index cards. This setup has been my go-to notebook for a fishing log since 2013. Going into 2022, I knew that I would need a new log if I were to land roughly 250 bass and as of June I was headed in the right direction. After scouring every department store, office supply store, and drug store I could find without success, I had to break down and order online. I opted to order the three-pack as that should keep me going for a while. My current log dates to March 7, 2020, and I have one page remaining (roughly fifteen fish per page) as I submit this post. All told, the current log contains data on nearly 1,000 bass and a handful of other catches. Looks like I won’t need to go on the hunt for a log for a while based on my fishing skills, fishing holes and catch rates.

One of the tapes has already been put into use. One of the notebooks will get dropped into the tacklebag before next week. One of the Senkos hit the water yesteday but came up empty despite being the best color ever. But yesterday, it didn’t really matter what I threw on The Canal as the bass were just not in the mood. That’s another story for next month’s July “Prowl the Canal” series. Talk to you later. Troy