Hennepin Canal Report – June 27

Posted on by Troy Jackson

This trip had been proposed for several years but never materialized. My brother Brent and I had fished together numerous times during that period, but I had yet to introduce him to the Hennepin Canal. Well, we got ‘er done so read on to see how we did.

7:15am – Brent’s first ever Canal bass on a chatterbait (told him that they get bigger)

Stats
Date: June 27
Location: Hennepin Canal (2 pools)
Time: 6:10am-2:10pm
Totals: 15 bass (Brent – 8 bass, Troy – 7 bass)
Weather: Overcast to partly cloudy/calm to breezy, 61-77F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures (Brent): Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 4 bass, Bass Pro Shops Stik-O (watermelon seed) – 3 bass, Booyah Poppin Pad Crasher Frog (bullfrog) – 1 bass
Lures (Troy): Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 3 bass, 5” Yamamoto Yamasenko wacky rig (smoke/black, copper flake/yellow tip) – 3 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (white) – 1 bass
Top Bass (Brent): 2-5 (Chatterbait)
Top Bass (Troy): 2-1 (Frog)
Top 5 Weight (combined): 8-10 (2-5,2-1,1-11,1-5,1-4)

Brent’s winning lures

Troy’s winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

Float Trip – For Brent’s inaugural voyage on the historic waterway, we opted to employ the float trip approach to cover several miles of water. As the “motor” in my little johnboat is yours truly, this plan eliminates having to row back to the launching point. Instead, we drop a vehicle downstream and then drive upstream to launch. From there, rowing and a bit of lazy current keep us moving along.

7:48am – Top Bass #4 weighing 1-5 (14″) on a buzzbait

11:23am – Top Bass #3 weighing 1-11 (15″) on a frog

Water Level – This stretch of The Canal was as full as I can ever recall as we have received ample precipitation this year. I viewed this as positive as in the past many areas have been so shallow that you could see the bottom throughout. The downside was that the rain had the water riled up so it was murkier than I would prefer. But you can’t have it all and the fish are still there; you just must figure them out.

11:44am – Top Bass #5 weighing 1-4 (12.5″) on a frog

12:40pm – Top Bass #2 weighing 2-1 (16″) on a frog

Top 5 Boost – I have the length of The Canal that we floated broken down into four separate sections via on the water landmarks. As a dedicated stat keeper, I have collected five years of Canal catch data. My goal is to establish a ten-pound Top 5 on every stretch of The Canal that I fish. Each of the sections we visited already had double-digit Top 5 weights ranging from 10-1 to 15-11, so any boost was icing on the cake for the Top 5 quest. Both of our individual Top Bass on this trip (Brent 2-5, Troy 2-1) came on the same pool. My fish boosted my personal Top 5 on the pool from 10-2 to 10-7. Brent’s addition boosted the partner Top 5 on the pool from 11-0 to 11-10 (courtesy of catches by Brent, my wife, Julie, and myself).

12:57pm – Top Bass weighing 2-5 (17″) on a chatterbait

I dig The Canal. The bass that call it home have been good to me, but it can get weird. I was excited to show them off to Brent during a trip that had been discussed for a few years. We caught some bass including a couple good ones but overall, it did not live up to its billing in my opinion. Fortunately, we’ve both been fishing for long enough to understand that some days just don’t meet your big expectations. Get ‘em next time. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 20

Posted on by Troy Jackson

As I would be unable to work in some casts on the longest day of the year, I hit The Canal for a short outing on Summer Solstice Eve, instead. A short drive and a long evening make The Canal an ideal place for a quick hit and the bass proved to be cooperative (although not particularly large).

7:34pm – Top Bass weighing 1-8 (14″) on a frog

Stats
Date: June 20
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:20pm-9:05pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (sight shad) – 2 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 1 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko wacky rig (smoke shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 Frog
Top 5 Weight (only one bass at 12” or better): 1-8

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

The Usual Suspects – With less than two hours to hike and fish, there’s not a whole lot of time to experiment. Therefore, I arrived armed with my current summer trio of Canal lures even though it wouldn’t technically be astronomical summer for another eight hours. The arsenal of a topwater frog, a chatterbait, and a wacky rigged Senko all produced at least on bass apiece. The topwater frog was used in, around, and over the abundant surface and submergent aquatic weed growth. The chatterbait came into play in open water stretches. The wacky rig was ready for a specific stretch and as a follow-up to any missed strikes on the frog in areas that have open water.

8:06pm – Razor thin bass landed on a wacky rig

Gaunt Bass – One of the bass that I landed on this trip was rather sickly looking. The two pictures above show side and ventral views of this slim specimen. Measuring at 11” in length, its gaunt body indicated a combination of malnourishment, stress, and/or sickness. I have caught a handful of similar bass over the years, and the appearance is striking and at times a little unsettling. The oddest specimen came from a strip pit many years ago and it looked so sickly that I wound up mentally asking myself, “Do I really want to touch this fish?” Like the condition was contagious or something. As I wrote today’s post, I did an internet search for “gaunt largemouth bass.” The results apparently thought that I was looking for “giant largemouth bass” as there was not a scrawny bass in sight. Perhaps this blog entry will change that search landscape.

July 30, 2017 – One of the longest, gauntest (or is it most gaunt) bass I have ever landed

Mosquitoes – This outing marked the first abundant appearance of mosquitoes and they feasted well. Between my arms, head, and neck, I wound up with two dozen red, itchy welts when all was said and done. There were literally swarms of the nasty bloodsuckers around my face and head wherever I stopped to make some casts. I have a disdain for spray or lotion repellents which is perhaps unwise, but I did but purchase a Thermacell device several years ago. However, it does not help much when sitting in the garage.

Well, more mosquito bites than bass bites but four catches in just over an hour and a half are a winner in my book. These fish bring my all-time total on The Canal to 979 largemouth bass so the quest for Canal Bass #1000 continues to move forward. Stay tuned as I have been back again to try my luck, this time with a partner in tow. Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – June 19

Posted on by Troy Jackson

On June 7, I kept pace with my 2026 goal of fishing Lake Storey once a month (March through November). During that June 7 trip, I also hit another 2026 goal of landing one hundred bass from the lake (see notes later in post). However, I had one other goal in mind and that was to post an all-time Lake Storey Top 5 Weight of ten pounds or more for the month of June. My earlier trip had left me short of the mark so read on to see if I was able to find the bites that I needed on this outing.

10:22am – The first bass came quickly but there weren’t many more, and they weren’t much bigger

Stats
Date: June 19
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 10:20am-1:50pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to windy
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw) – 2 bass, Strike King KVD 2.5 Squarebill Crankbait (chartreuse sexy shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: None at 12” or better
Top 5 Weight: Not applicable

Winning lures

June 7 – Lake Storey Bass #100 of 2026, needed something to “brag” about so grabbed this one from the previous trip

Notes and Nonsense

#100 – While I am a dedicated stat keeper, every once in a while a target slips by me. Such was the case on my June 7 trip as my final bass of the day was Lake Storey Bass #100 of 2026. After landing eighty-six bass in 2025 over eight trips between August and November, I set my sights on hitting the century mark in 2026. Reaching the goal during the first week of June on my seventh visit of the year was well ahead of what I anticipated. Since I don’t have any quality fish to report from this June 19 outing, the oversight allows me to include a pic from the previous trip.

Construction continues but the lake is back to normal pool

100% – After a delay facilitating the initial stages of construction of an extension of a walking path along the south side of the property, Lake Storey is back at full pool. The level had been down anywhere from four to seven feet during each of my previous trips this year. The extended drawdown has made for some interesting conditions. For example, there is no aquatic vegetation that typically lines extended stretches of the shoreline as summer arrives. Instead, there are patches of flooded terrestrial vegetation that grew along the exposed bank over the last several months.

0 – The final number of today’s report is “zero.” As in, I did not land a “keeper” (bass at 12” or better and all fish are released) during my three and a half hours of casting. Therefore, of my three daily goals on the water, I only met one. That first goal is to not get shutout so four bass certainly exceeded that target. However, goal number two is to land five keepers and I came up empty. As a result, the third goal of landing a double-digit daily Top 5 Weight never came into play. Per the intro, I was also looking to find the bites needed to boost my all-time June Lake Storey Top 5 into double digits. Starting the day, it stood at 8-10 and there it remains.

Learned something new as this great blue heron was in the “delta wing” formation (aka “obelisking”), a pose used to cool off , dry out, or preen

Not sure if I will hit Lake Storey again in June for another shot at reaching the ten-pound Top 5. But with the lake returning to full pool, my next outing will likely be in Dad’s Bass Tracker. It will save on the rowing although it does have a trolling motor issue that effects boat control in windy conditions. On the upside, it allows me to utilize basic electronics to assist in locating deeper cover that many summer bass call home. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 18

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I didn’t originally have plans to get on the water on this evening but some incentive from a co-worker got me moving. Read to see how it went on this national “holiday.”

Stats
Date: June 18 (National Go Fishing Day)
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 6:45pm-9:00pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 2 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko wacky rig (smoke shad) – 2 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (sight shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-4 Frog
Top 2 Weight (only 2 bass at 12” or better): 3-14 (2-4,1-10)

Notes and Nonsense

National Go Fishing Day – The previous day a co-worker brought it to my attention that it was “National Go Fishing Day” per her every day is a holiday or observance calendar. When she asked if I was going fishing to celebrate, I had to admit that I was unaware of the designation. Of course, being in the know meant that I could not pass up a reason to make more fish stories.

Winning lures

Presentations – My summer visits to this stretch of The Canal consist of a three-pronged approach in the weedy waters. My number one presentation is a topwater frog rapidly twitched over, through and around areas with significant surface vegetation. Next is a chatterbait for open water expanses or channels in the weed growth. Finally, I always have a Senko wacky rig ready when topwater fishing as a follow-up to missed topwater strikes if there is enough open water for a pitch to the resultant surface boil. On this trip, I had no such occasions, but the Senko came through in the lone area with deeper water and sparse vegetation. While I did not load up the logbook, each of the choices caught fish for a successful evening.

8:24am – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-10 (15″) on a frog

Dogs, Cats, and Daughters – A few hundred yards from my truck in the growing darkness, I spotted a shadowy figure and what looked to be glowing red eyes prowling the path between me and my destination. It took me aback as darkness still does weird things even to an old guy, but it turned out to be a black dog with a lit-up collar. The owner was fishing nearby and instructed the dog to leave me alone as I strolled up. I said that I lived in a cat household and the dog must be curious. I added that once upon a time, my girls convinced me to get a pair of cats. And now, one of my girls is married, the other away at college, and guess who has the cats. This produced a response from the fellow that perhaps I came out ahead in the end. Not true, of course, but I will admit that the comment made me laugh.

8:40pm – Top Bass weighing 2-4 (17″) on a frog

In the end, the suggestion of a co-worker got me on the water to see what this fishing thing was all about. I am happy to report that it is still an enjoyable past time and hope that others were able to take a shot as it preceded Illinois Free Fishing Days from June 19-June 22. I made some more casts during that period but those are fish stories for another day. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 14

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Got in a few midday hours walking The Canal for a quick trip to get my weekend fishing fix. I had to work for my bites and shift gears from my initial game plan to land five bass. Unfortunately, they were not all “keepers”, so I fell short of one of my goals which it to post a daily Top 5 Weight. Read on for the details.

Stats
Date: June 14
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 11:35am-2:20pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (sight shad) – 2 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko wacky rig (smoke shad) – 2 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-10 Chatterbait
Top 3 Weight (only 3 bass at 12” or better): 3-15 (1-10,1-5,1-0)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

The Plan – I hit the trail armed with a topwater frog, a Senko, and two other poles at the ready for any adjustments as the day developed. I was hoping that the cloud cover would sustain a topwater bite. However, the frog approach resulted in a lone, short bass that struck the lure at my feet, nearly as I lifted it from the water. Moving on to some deeper, open water, I switched to the wacky rigged Senko and fooled a pair. After reaching my turnaround point, I decided to shift gears to a chatterbait in open water areas or channels in the abundant weed growth. Two bass came on the chatterbait in rapid succession but that was it. The changes in approach got bites but I could not find any sort of productive pattern.

1:45pm – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-5 (14.5″) on a chatterbait

The Conditions – Initially, I had considered a sunrise outing but opted to sleep in as I get up at 4:30am during the week. After sleeping until 8:00am, I fooled around home for a while pondering whether I would go at all. Cloud cover moving in was the convincer as I hoped that it would make the bass less wary in those shallow waters. A breeze was also breaking up the surface which I find appealing to make the bass less skittish. On my previous outing, the water was quite clear for this stretch of The Canal, but it had become stained with recent rains. The weed growth was abundant, but the slightly raised water level left a considerable amount of open water beyond the bank with plenty of channels between the weed beds. Overall, good conditions with my only complaint being a wish for clearer water.

Batch of weeds that accompanied my last bass of the outing as it took a dive during the fight

The Quest for Canal Bass #1000 – Five more Canal bass in the log push me a bit closer to one of my 2026 goals. Currently, I sit at 970 Canal bass so ideally a few solid days could hit the target. Unfortunately, vehicle issues have messed up my plans as I am no longer able to haul my boat to the water. However, being a bank bound angler does have an upside as I tend to work my spots over more thoroughly than I do with a boat. Too many times, I am already thinking about my next spot rather than focusing on my current spot knowing that I can row anywhere I wish.

1:50pm – Top Bass weighing 1-10 (15″) on a chatterbait (all-time Canal Bass #970)

Always good to get out and this trip was a throwback to my first year on The Canal as I fished it exclusively from the bank during short trips of a couple hours. I need to get back in that groove as I can get to the water in a short drive of fifteen to twenty minutes. Hoping to get some casts in soon as I have an extended Father’s Day weekend coming up. Talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – June 7

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Keeping up with my plan to fish Lake Storey once a month, I got my June trip completed early. While the lake is on the rise from the prolonged drawdown, it still has a ways to go before it reaches full pool again. The bass seemed confused by the extended drawdown period as they were rather elusive. At least that’s my excuse for only boating a half dozen along with a pair of “accidental” catches.

Winning lures

Stats
Date: June 7
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 6:35am-12:50pm
Totals: 6 bass, 1 muskie, 1 bluegill
Weather: Partly cloudy/calm to windy
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad (sight fish) – 5 bass, Zoom Baby Brush Hog (watermelon seed) – 1 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 muskie, 1 bluegill
Top Bass: 2-0 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 8-10 (2-0,1-15,1-10,1-9,1-8)

Notes and Nonsense

7:09am – An “accidental” toothy catch

Accidents – My focus on this trip was the largemouth bass like normal. However, anytime that you have a lure in the water, anything can happen. Over the years, I have hooked many other species, including some that weren’t fish. Such catches are what I term “accidents” as they were not the intended target although they all count. My first accident on this trip was a small muskie and I followed that up by hooking a bluegill with both hitting a lipless crankbait. The muskie was the first that I had caught on Lake Storey since 2017. The lake is home to some quality specimens and while my catch was not one of them, it was still pretty cool.

7:38am – First bass of the day weighing 1-9 (14″) on a chatterbait

Back to Bass – Just over an hour into my outing, my third fish of the day was one that I was targeting. The solid fourteen-inch fish came on a chatterbait and tipped the scales at 1-9. Over the next three hours, I would land five more bass that were all “keepers” (12” or better) before ending my day in a two-hour slump without a fish. During the drought, I did have a fish in the two-pound range hooked but after a brief fight it came loose.

8:41am – Top Bass weighing 2-0 (16″) on a chatterbait

9:53am – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-15 (15.5″) on a chatterbait

Gnat Nuisance – As has been the case on a few recent trips, the gnats were terrible. Inside my glasses, up my nose, in my ears, under my hat band, and a couple for a snack tested my tolerance level. I had forgotten my dipnet and Mom and Dad saved the day by bringing it to me when they helped with vehicle relocation a couple hours into my morning. Dad commented that my face and neck showed the effects of the biting little pests and offered up bug spray. I was tempted but declined as I dislike the smell and feel of that stuff. Inevitably, it also gets on my hands which I hate when fishing. All told, I’d rather put up with the bugs and the resultant itchy red spots on my neck, ears, bald head, and various other areas of my body. I must say that there is a sadistic sort of glee when a slap hits its mark with a little crunch. But the gnats win in the end as they have me vastly outnumbered and it’s hard to slap and reel at the same time.

It wasn’t for lack of presentations as I threw a variety of baits

I enjoy any day on the water but there are days when I leave less than satisfied with my results. Chalk it up as a win for the bass as this day is an example of why it is called “fishing”, instead of “catching.” Talk to you later. Troy

Strip Mine Report – June 6

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I had a couple of evening hours free last Saturday and decided to hit a strip pit to end the day as opposed to my normal morning strip mine outings. The aim was to coax some topwater bites as the day ended on a lake that features substantial surface vegetation by this time of the year. Read on for the results.

7:01pm – Top Bass #3 at 1-8 (15″) on a topwater frog

Stats
Date: June 6
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Time: 5:55pm-7:55pm
Totals: 16 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 86F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (smoke/black/copper flake/lemon tip) – 10 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (redear) – 6 bass
Top Bass: 2-2 (Senko)
Top 5 Weight: 7-10 (2-2,1-13,1-8,1-2,1-1)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

Evaluate and Adapt – Over the years, this lake has produced some solid topwater catches. Along with timing this trip to coincide with the sun setting, the lake has substantial surface weed coverage which limits presentations in such areas. I figured that I had roughly two hours to fish so topwater presentations would be a good place to start. While I got quick positive feedback with two bass on a frog in the first thirteen minutes, the interest waned and it was time to shift gears to put some bass in the log.

7:27pm – Top Bass #2 weighing 1-13 (15″) on a topwater frog

Partner Presentations – Most any time that I am on the water this time of the year, I have a Senko wacky rig at the ready. And when I am throwing a topwater lure, the Senko is a must. It is a valuable follow-up bait after a missed topwater strike. If you have enough open water after a missed topwater blow up, quickly casting the Senko into the resultant boil can often lead to a hook up. That bass is still in the vicinity and a subtle injured looking meal slowly fluttering in its face can be too much to resist. Case in point, one of my catches on this outing was exactly such a scenario.

Company – A couple anglers were fishing from the bank when I arrived, and they were still casting when I left. This made one area of the lake off limits as I did not want to infringe on their territory. From long distance observation and a few colorful language outbursts, I gathered that one angler was having success on a frog with his largest catch being in the three-pound range. Good to know that my original frog plan was on target but unfortunately they beat me to one of my good spots. From a snippet of their overheard conversations, the winning lure was one of the cheap Ozark Trail frogs found at Wal-Mart. Prior to that reveal, all I had to go on was that it was an “expletive” frog.

7:37pm – Top Bass weighing 2-2 (17″) on a Senko

While my frog bite was not the hit that I’d hoped for, the Senko wacky rig picked up the slack as it shines on the strip mines. It landed the most bass as well as the largest with a long and lean two-pounder. If I were a betting man, I would have put money on the frog landing the Top Bass of the evening. But then again, I would never bet against the Senko putting fish in the boat. A good evening on the water and I was fortunate to have another trip planned for the following morning. Stay tuned for the latest from Lake Storey. Talk to you later. Troy

Hennepin Canal Report – June 5

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I had only been on The Canal once since April and that last outing I had focused more on playing fishing guide to my family rather than fishing. But I have had my sights on this June 5 trip for a while now as my work week got shifted to have the day off. The goal on this trip was to land a bass in the same area that I caught my first ever Canal bass back on June 5, 2021. Read on for the rest of the story.

Stats
Date: June 5
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:20pm-8:50pm (2 pools)
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (nasty shad) – 4 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko wacky rig (smoke shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-0 Frog
Top 4 Weight (only 4 bass at 12” or better): 6-6 (2-0,1-11,1-9,1-2)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Anniversary Bass – On June 5, 2021, I landed my first ever Canal bass. It came on a Senko wacky rig from the stretch of The Canal near the Geneseo Campground. To celebrate the date, I decided to revisit the spot and see if I could recreate the catch. Luck was on my side as roughly ten minutes into casting, I had another wacky rig bass posing for a pic. It wasn’t big but that didn’t bother me a bit as it was all about achieving the goal.

June 5, 2021 – first ever Hennepin Canal bass

June 5, 2026 – Fifth anniversary catch at the same spot on the same presentation, a Senko wacky rig

Froggy Water – Once I had the anniversary bass in hand, I made a few more casts on the area but just wasn’t feeling overly optimistic in my gut. And several other anglers lining the shore also convinced me to relocate a few miles downstream. I had not seen this water since April, but it was right on the money for my intended approach, topwater frog fishing. A mix of solid shoreline mats, scattered weed clumps, and clear water was just what the doctor ordered. Roughly an hour of casting produced four “keepers” along with three other missed strikes. The missed strikes are part of the game when fishing a frog in the slop, but I also made an error on adjusting my drag that may have cost me my fifth keeper. A novice mistake upon getting in a hurry and overlooking an important detail for this type of presentation.

Frog bass often come with a side salad as shown below

8:05pm – Top Bass weighing 2-0 (16″) on a topwater frog

8:34pm – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-11 (15.5″) on a topwater frog

The Canal has been good to me over the last five years. It’s also been weird and difficult, but the five bass landed on this trip push me closer to a pre-season goal of landing Canal Bass #1000. Currently, I sit at 965 bass, and I hope to get it done this year. However, some transportation issues have complicated matters. But that is another story. In the meantime, I am hoping to get in some more casts elsewhere over the weekend. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Another month means another update of the 2026 Top 5 Stats.

2026 Totals
March = 11 bass
April = 15 bass
May = 17 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
March = 14-8 (4-4,2-13,2-10,2-7,2-6)
April = 16-10 (4-5,4-1,2-15,2-12,2-9)
May = 16-12 (3-10,3-9,3-5,3-3,3-1)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 28 bass
Bank = 15 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 18-14 (4-5,4-1,3-10,3-9,3-5)
Bank = 15-5 (4-4,2-15,2-13,2-11,2-10)

Public vs. Private
Public = 43 bass
Private = 0 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 19-13 (4-5,4-4,4-1,3-10,3-9)
Private = Not applicable

The Baits
Chatterbait = 29 bass (Top Bass 4-5 Troy Jackson)
Jerkbait = 7 bass (Top Bass 2-11 Jim Junk)
Plastic Worm = 5 bass (Top Bass 2-10 Jayce Jackson)
Crankbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Troy Jackson)
Swimbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-15 Jim Junk)

Monthly Top Bass
March
4-4 Jim Junk
April
4-5 Troy Jackson
May
3-10 Brent Jackson

2026 Top 10 Bass
4-5 Troy Jackson 4/25
4-4 Jim Junk 3/2
4-1 Brent Jackson 4/3
3-10 Brent Jackson 5/17
3-9 Troy Jackson 5/4
3-5 Troy Jackson 5/15
3-3 Troy Jackson 5/15
3-1 Troy Jackson 5/8
2-15 Jim Junk 4/12
2-14 Troy Jackson 5/4

Angler Weights
Troy Jackson 17-7 (4-5,3-9,3-5,3-3,3-1)
Brent Jackson 14-14 (4-1,3-10,2-9,2-5,2-5)
Jim Junk 14-11 (4-4,2-15,2-11,2-7,2-6)
John Kirkemo 10-7 (2-5,2-4,2-1,2-1,1-12)
Jayce Jackson 8-9 (2-10,1-9,1-8,1-7,1-7)
Hunter Otgontseren 1-8 (1-8)

Cool to get a couple more anglers into the mix in May and looking to add a few more in June as school’s out for summer. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Lake Storey Report – May 26

Posted on by Troy Jackson

One more May report to get caught up and this outing was another shot at Lake Storey. It marked my fifth trip to the old fishing hole as part of my commitment to fishing the extended drawdown. The bite was tougher, but I still landed five keepers to complete my Top 5 for the day. However, it was my lowest Lake Storey Top 5 of the month. Read on for the results.

7:46am – Top Bass #3 at 1-7 (14.5″) on a chatterbait

7:51am – Top Bass #5 at 1-2 (12.5″) on a chatterbait

Stats
Date: May 26
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 7:40am-2:55pm
Totals: 10 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/calm to windy,
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad (sight fish) – 5 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (watermelon/black flake) – 3 bass, Strike King KVD 2.5 Squarebill Crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 1-10 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-2 (1-10,1-8,1-7,1-7,1-2)

Starting lineup

8:36am – Top Bass at 1-10 (14.5″) on a chatterbait

Notes and Nonsense

Path construction is progressing and the lake is on the rise

Rising Water – Lake Storey’s annual fall drawdown has reached a record duration as the typical routine involves the lake refilling from winter and spring runoff. For 2026, construction on extending a walking path around the lake has resulted in the lake remaining lowered. Recently, I’d read that the target date for putting the plug back in was June 1. Apparently construction is ahead of schedule, as the lake has been on the rise since late May.

1:14pm – Top Bass #4 at 1-7 (14″) on a crankbait

Bank Bound Boon – Nearly the entire shoreline of the lake has been accessible due to the prolonged drawdown. Bank anglers have certainly taken advantage of the additional spring access. On many of my Lake Storey outings this year, I have had to skip over several of my target areas that were occupied by folks on the shore. As a result, I have also invested additional time on less visited spots and they have paid off this year.

Winning lures

Variety – The crazy chatterbait bite streak that began the year has tapered off as other lures have come into play as conditions change. The chatterbait did lead the way on this day with half of my catches but I also had success with a crankbait when targeting some deeper water. In addition, I gave the Senko wacky rig a shot which is a presentation that I rarely use on Lake Storey. It rewarded me with three catches and will likely get more casting time on the lake as we head into summer.

1:28pm – Top Bass #5 at 1-8 (14″) on a chatterbait

It is now June as I am making this post which means that I need to get back on the water to meet my goal of a monthly Lake Storey trip from March through November. Plenty of month remains but I also would like to hit the lake at least one more time before the water reaches full pool. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy