Part II of the fishing prep relates to the prefix “re- “, which means “back or again.” And I am definitely ready to get back on the water again. Read on for the rest of the pre-season preparation.

Restock
After completing tackle inventory as noted in the previous post, I had my wish list. Basically, it was just some backups to make sure that I had spares of a couple of my current favorite baits. There’s little that stinks more than losing a productive lure and not having an extra in the tackle bag. In mid-February I made my annual visit to the QCCA Outdoor Show and purchased a mere three lures. After forty plus years of amassing tackle, I really don’t need more lures, but you can’t go to a fishing show and not buy something.

I’ve got to be a mono man

I highly recommend a spooling station

Respool
Another important task is stripping the old line off my reels and filling them back up with fresh line. I am an old school monofilament man, so I picked up my regular batch of clear Berkley Trilene. For my casting reels, I spool up with 12-pound test while my spinning reels get 10-pound line. The exception to using mono is my frog combo which gets spooled up with various brands of braided line. Many years ago, I was gifted a line spooling station and that thing is a winner with a line stripper to boot.

Frog line for solid hooksets and strength to drag those bass out of the slop

Spare scale and batteries just in case

Charged up with formatted SD cards ready to go

Recharge
I’ve long been a stat guy and more recently a sort of videographer, both of which mean that you must have your batteries ready to go. I bring along a pair of scales and extra batteries to make sure I don’t wind up in a spot where I can’t weigh a fish. In addition, I make sure to have my GoPro batteries charged so I can capture a day on the water. As far as recharging my own battery, a winter away from the water leaves me with a full tank and ready to start casting.

Don’t forget a new license before the end of the month if you are an Illinois angler

Renew
For Illinois anglers, the time has arrived to get a new fishing license with the 2025 issue expiring on March 31. While you can get this task done online, I still like the tradition of heading to a local tackle shop or fishing aisle to get it done. The end of the month is also the deadline for getting my annual dues paid for Little John Conservation Club. Mission accomplished as I have my membership cards and vehicle stickers ready to go for my thirty-first year as a member (fished for quite a few years prior on Dad’s family membership).

Thirty-first year as a member and nearly forty years of fishing at Little John

Blank spreadsheet all ready to go

Record
Being a stat guy, a new year means a blank log, spreadsheet, and database queries ready for the latest catches. 2026 represents the thirtieth consecutive year of logging every bass that I catch. While I have data dating back to 1985, there are some gaps prior to 1997 when I joined the computer age and took logging to a new level.

So, I am ready to go. I just need the weekend to take work out of the equation and hope for some decent weather to coincide. During a texting conversation with my friend, John Kirkemo, back on January 25, I indicated that my target date to land my first bass was March 7. Stay tuned. Talk to you later. Troy

Read on for the second of two posts intent on wrapping up some loose ends from 2025. This batch of notes, pics, and video covers details on fish, lures, and fellow anglers that deserve more mention than what was offered in earlier posts.

Old Dog, New Tricks
For better or worse, I am a creature of habit when it comes to fishing. Actually, that is my general lifestyle but that’s a whole different story. Anyway, in terms of fishing, I have what I call my confidence baits, and I rely on them heavily as I like the way they fish and usually, they work. However, during 2025 I did step out of my comfort zone to employ three new presentations as detailed below.

Dark Sleeper
My friend, Jim Junk, submitted the bass pictured below, caught on April 6, 2025, as his second Top 5 entry of 2025. A bass of that size will get your attention, and it also piqued my curiosity as Jim reported that it was landed on a Dark Sleeper swimbait. This prompted me to pick one up as I had never tried the lure before. I made two casts with the bait on a strip pit before I broke it off on a hookset. I was proud of myself for giving it shot (albeit quite brief) but have yet to catch a bass on the lure as I have not purchased a replacement.

Jim Junk Dark Sleeper Bass caught on 4/6/25

 

Dice Bait
Another friend, John Kirkemo, initiated a text conversation last summer regarding a new lure fad known as a dice bait. Basically, these baits are spheres or cubes riddled with strands or tentacles. What sort of forage they are supposed to mimic is a source of debate, but they have caught plenty of anglers and even a few bass. John took to making his own versions and I followed his lead as the real deal can be very expensive. I did give my homemade model a shot on a clear, deep strip pit and had success in catching several bluegill but have yet to fool any bass.

A pair of John Kirkemo’s designs

And the suggested retail price for this dice bait is…nope

My first catch on one of my homemade dice baits, still seeking my first bass

Shaky Head
During the heat of summer, I found myself on some deeper strip pits when fishing from my little johnboat. I wanted a backup plan in case my frog pattern in the shoreline weed beds and lily pads faded after the early morning bite. Insert the shaky head worm presentation pairing a ball head jig and the old reliable plastic worm. The bait did exactly what I was seeking in landing twenty bass throughout the year and giving me some confidence to employ it again.

Shaky head success and yes, I did fool bass that were bigger than the lure

Species Title
It is a rarity that I fish for something other than largemouth bass. Even so, there are instances when an “accident” occurs and another species is landed while targeting bass. After all, if you have a lure in the water, anything can happen. Over the years, when fishing with Dad or Brent, we would have an unofficial “species title” designation if we inadvertently ran into something other than a bass. So, the following are a shout out to those other fish that Brent and I encountered in 2025. We tied with four species apiece as Brent lost a muskie at boatside (is kayakside a word?) in April that would have given him the title. However, I believe that I may have won courtesy of an obscure, and made-up tiebreaker rule. You decide from the photos below.

Species One – Largemouth Bass – Troy (3/14/25), Brent (4/6/25)

Species Two – Brent Walleye (4/13/25), Troy Crappie (4/19/25)

Species Three – Smallmouth Bass (5/18/25)

Species Four – Brent Channel Catfish (9/22/25), Troy Bluegill (6/7/25)

And for the Species Title win…I caught a sock

In Memoriam – Blue Glimmer (1994-2025)
The 2026 fishing season will be dedicated to an old 3/8 oz. Stanley Vibra Shaft Spinnerbait in the blue glimmer pattern. I broke out this classic bait from the 1990s at Lake Storey on October 6, 2025, and it proceeded to fool eight bass in less than two hours, just like old times. Shortly after landing that eighth bass, I broke off the lure on a hookset, possibly on a muskie. Such is the danger of using a “one of a kind lure” on Lake Storey. It was a tough pill to swallow as I thought it was the last bass that I would ever land on a “Blue Glimmer.” However, while doing a tackle inventory earlier this month, I found two more. One featured a skirt that was a replacement from the original model but the other was a bait still in the original packaging. While I may employ the first of these two baits, the packaged bait will remain tucked away.

One more piece of 2025 housekeeping to add later this week before the posts turn to 2026 fishing. Talk to you later. Troy

For many years, I have made a “Thoughts at…” birthday post. So here I go again.

“Way back when in 67…”
Hey Nineteen – Steely Dan (1980)
At what age does your birthday qualify your arrival as “way back when”? A great song and it also offers up “She thinks I’m crazy, but I’m just growin’ old.” Kind of sums up some interactions with the kids and co-workers when I get to telling stories.

My Top Bass #58 of all-time (tie) – 2X4 Lake 9/29/2013

Film containers and pill bottles have long been handy for organizing terminal tackle. The funny thing is, I no longer use film. The not so funny thing is, the pill bottles are now mine.

Sports #58 – Jack Lambert (1977 Topps #480 from my collection)
This crazy, talented NFL Hall of Famer was a star linebacker during the 1970s Steelers run of Super Bowl victories. Two of those wins were over my Dallas Cowboys, making Lambert even more of a menace in my mind. He had no front teeth and famously said that quarterbacks should wear dresses. And those were the days when you could completely crush a quarterback.

This picture from July 1996 on Lake Bracken is from half a lifetime ago. It appears that I could have used some work to get in better shape at 29 years old but had no care about going shirtless. Twenty-nine years later, perhaps I can start working out with the goal of fishing shirtless again in 2026. Maybe it will boost my website and YouTube views. However, I don’t think I will grow my hair long again as it would look like a curly Hulk Hogan hairdo.

A more current picture featuring Hennepin Canal Bass #58 of 2025

Here’s to another trip around the sun. Talk to you later. Troy

Each month, I try to go beyond the numbers with some further insights and observations from my time on The Canal. Such notes from July cover water conditions, Canal access, a nostalgic technique, and an out of the ordinary item from The Canal’s “Lost and Found.”

More water on this stretch of The Canal as last year the submerged rocks in this photo were high and dry

In contrast, the exposed bank on this stretch was under water last year

Water Levels – I have fished The Canal for just over two years and it has been interesting to explore the miles and miles of water. One observation that stands out for 2023 is the change in water levels on different stretches. I don’t know the rhyme or reason for the differing levels, but I have struggled to parlay these changes into a solid bite. On the pools that are deeper this year, I can’t find a consistent bite on the increased shoreline structure. On the low pools, I can’t find where they are hiding in the abundant vegetation. Just a strange year for me out there and beginning to think that The Canal spoiled me in previous years.

Old school pedal power as I go back to my Canal roots

Back on the Bike – My first experiences on The Canal beginning in June 2021 were either on bike or on foot. For July this year, six of my eight outings went back to my roots with pedal power. These trips were quick hits when I had less than two hours to cast. The approach was quite effective in landing two thirds of my July catches and all my July 2023 Top 5 bass.

The good, old Texas rigged plastic worm has been getting it done for a long time

Texas Time – On the previously mentioned bike rides, I invested a significant amount of time throwing a Texas rigged worm. This presentation goes back to my bass fishing roots in the early to mid-80s but has been neglected for a long time. New techniques, lures, and confidence baits have dominated my offerings instead. However, I found an area that featured a deep, clean channel and decided to break out the old setup. The bass in the area took a liking to the lure and included four over two pounds.

Instead of a lost lure, I found a prehistoric creature last month

Dimetrodon Discoveries – An occasional bonus from prowling The Canal is adding some tackle to the collection. This is particularly true when accessing the water by boat as you can pluck lost lures from trees that a bank angler cannot reach. 2023 has provided slim pickings though as shore bound anglers are either improving their casting or not fishing where I fish. My July discovery pictured above was made in a parking area rather than the trees. It was a plastic creature that I recognized as Dimetrodon from back when I was a kid and totally into dinosaurs. Upon doing a bit of research for this post though, I found that Dimetrodon was not a dinosaur but rather a “non-mammalian synapsid” that predated the dinosaurs by many millions of years. In fact, Dimetrodon became extinct roughly 40 million years before the dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was cool to discover some new information from my Canal discovery. And while it was rewarding to find that those in the know still called this creature Dimetrodon, the revelation that my childhood “dinosaur” collections weren’t quite paleontologically accurate was disappointing. Of course, some of the sets also included cavemen, which I already knew was wrong, just like Cha-Ka from the old “Land of the Lost” series.

And now, it is on to see what August holds in store as I continue to “Prowl the Canal.” Talk to you later. Troy

Lone find from the “Lost and Found” in May

Along with the stats, there are usually some other bits and pieces to report from a month of casting on The Canal as I try not to ramble too much on the specific fishing reports. So, read on for the rest of the story from a series of prowls in the merry, merry month of May.

“The one that got away” in the clip below

 

Majestic cottonwoods litter the surface of The Canal with fuzz as described below

The Fuzz – The Canal is lined with some massive cottonwood trees. The leaves, bark and twigs of these trees can be messy, but the bane of anglers is the cottony fuzz that these trees scatter in seed dispersal. The fuzz gathers on the line during the retrieve and proceeds to clump on the line ties, the hook eyes, and the spools of reels. It can be darn tough to get it completely cleaned off these spots particularly your line. This year, the fuzz appears to be a bumper crop, possibly a cyclical phenomenon where plants produce an abundance of seeds known as “masting.”

Cottonwood fuzz accumulates rapidly at this time of the year

Gnuisances – The gnats are especially irritating this year on The Canal. Up your nose, in your ears, on the inside of your glasses, and in your hat, they are everywhere. And some of them bite as evidenced by a dozen or more itchy welts on my neck, face, and ears after several outings. All part of the pursuit and while I am aware of potions, elixirs, and sprays, the smell of most of those concoctions annoy me more than the bugs. But, hey, at least it’s not mosquitoes…yet.

Weeds abound despite efforts to control, but the bass are hiding in there somewhere

 

June on The Canal is underway so stay tuned for those reports and more. Talk to you later. Troy