Original log entry from a successful day on the water

Here’s a fish story from a pretty amazing Central Illinois fishing hole that I was fortunate enough to get a look at for the first time five years ago today.

Originally Posted 10-22-14

Is this there anything quite as exciting for an angler as new water?

It always gets me pretty fired up; even more so if it is a premier fishing hole with a reputation for some outstanding Illinois bass fishing. So when I got an invite this summer from a fellow named Chris Rock to wet a line in his lakes I was more than a little enthused. However, I was also more than a little bit busy and nearly missed my shot for 2014. A challenging weather day didn’t make it easy on us but it was sure worth an occasional numb digit and several layers of clothing.

Stats
Date: October 18, 2014
Location: Peoria County lakes
Time: 9:30am-4:45pm
Weather: Overcast/windy
Air Temp: 47-52F
Water Temp: 54-56F
Totals: pushing 100 bass (Troy – 46 bass, Chris – similar numbers)
Lures Troy: Booyah Counterstrike Spinnerbait (salt & pepper) – 18 bass, Xcalibur XR50 lipless crankbait (chicken pox) – 11 bass, Senko weighted wacky rig (baby bass or natural shad) – 8 bass, Jig & Pig (black/blue or watermelon/green/black) – 7 bass, Strike King KVD Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 2 bass
Lures Chris: primarily a jig along with a chatterbait and Strike King crankbait
Top Bass: Chris 5-10 Jig

As big as they got for me but quantity was real solid for a chilly October day

Notes & Nonsense

Backstory – Chris runs a truck route for one of my employer’s plants and apparently is one of the few people that I’m not related to who actually reads my blog postings. A co-worker mentioned that I should meet Chris and in that process I got an invite to fish. I was well aware of the lakes from the occasional appearance on a regional outdoor website and was real interested.

Fishing Fall – If pressed to select a favorite time period to chase bass, mid-September through October would quite likely be tops. However, during this time frame you just never know what hand Mother Nature will deal as the weather can be all over the place. Being a weekend angler with family obligations these days it narrows the window and keeps me honest when professing that “the best time to go fishing is anytime you can.” On this day the mercury hit the low 50’s but with a pretty steady north wind it sure never resembled what one would call warm. Despite reeling in more than a few bass neither Chris nor I worked up a sweat that necessitated removing any layers. In fact, we both went as far as stocking caps shortly into the trip and stayed that way all day. Luckily we never had to resort to gloves and a near 100 bass day does go a long way towards negating the occasional chill.

Had to shift gears from the tried and true black and blue to fool a few

A Pig of a Different Color – When it comes to jig fishing, I am true black and blue through and through. I’d bet that 90% of my jig bass have been fooled by some variety of this general color scheme. Therefore, it was a little unsettling when my old faithful bait just wasn’t getting the job done. Chris was knocking them pretty good on a brown variety so I decided that it was time to give the star performer a break and put it on the bench. It kind of felt like scratching a Cal Ripken off the lineup card and inserting a Mark Belanger but you gotta do what you gotta do. Don’t know if it was a good idea or not but the color combo pictured above did manage to produce several fish. Even so, it took some getting used to and I never really got used to it.

Speaking of Hogs – The bass pictured below claimed the Top Bass title for this trip and was a real interesting looking fish with a series of dark markings. Even though it’s a good photo it still doesn’t do justice to the splotches around the eye, on the gill plate, on both pectoral fins and near the tail; really cool stuff. And it was also really cool when Chris set the hook on one of those bites that looks and feels more than a little different than your run of the mill bass. He stated that it was a good one and the bend in his rod seconded that assessment. I got the honor of lipping the fish for him as he brought it boatside getting to hold a fish nearly a pound larger than what I’ve been able to muster on my own, good stuff.

Chris with a 5-10 Top Bass of the trip 

Good Company – As good as the fishing was, it was also enjoyable shooting the breeze on matters fishing and otherwise. I don’t really hang with any friends who fish so it’s always cool to talk fishing (ranks among my favorite topics along with my family, old school baseball and 70’s classic rock/pop music). It was extra cool having Chris provide a history on the area from rock quarry to fishing hole while relating epic catches, describing the lay of the land under the surface and pointing me in the right direction to catch some bass.

All in all, a great time on some cool water with a guy who knows how to get it done. It’s always interesting fishing with a new partner and I just do my thing and hope it leaves a favorable impression. I was encouraged near the end of our outing after needing Chris to troll in to rescue my jig for the only time all day. He offered that staying unstuck in such a jungle of trees showed that I knew what I was doing. I was even more enthused when he mentioned trying our luck again next year. 

Nothing close to a lunker for this guy but boy, what an interesting fishing hole.

I was able to fish the spot again in April of 2015 and March of 2016 but those are flashbacks for another time. Perhaps another time I may also be able to create some new fish stories at the fantastic fishing hole. Talk to you later. Troy

Only part of the original log entry on a day when Emiquon showed it’s true colors

How about another Emiquon post as 2009 was quite a year on a brand new fishing hole the likes of which we had never seen. No better proof than an October 7, 2009 trip that actually takes a pair of flashback posts to cover. Part I today and a bonus Saturday Flashback to help tell the tale.

11:11am 2-1 on a spinnerbait

Excerpt from the original 10-11-09 post entitled “As Advertised”

Brent and I were back in the boat again less than two months after our successful August outing at McDonough County’s Spring Lake. The time frame is noteworthy as we’d previously gone nearly four years between trips largely due to just being busy. On October 7th we eliminated work from the equation as we each took a vacation day specifically to get in a trip to Emiquon. Brent had yet to see the area and I looked forward to seeing his reaction to the expanse of water that slowly comes into view as you drop into the river bottom on Route 97. He was definitely impressed but I couldn’t help thinking, “You ain’t seen nothing yet” while hoping that the bass would live up to their reputation. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried.

11:19am 2-2 on a spinnerbait

We hit the water at around 10:20am following a visit to Dickson Mounds Museum in order for Brent to obtain his fishing permit. After a twelve minute ride to one of our prime spots and a few tense minutes without a bite, we hauled aboard our first bass at 10:39am. Although we experienced a few flurries of activity in the first several hours I still maintained that Brent had yet to see Emiquon reveal its true colors. Sometime just before 3:00pm it started.

While I’d been fairly successful pulling bass out of a stretch of ditch with a couple different crankbaits, Brent was picking off scattered fish using a spinnerbait along the shelf on the west edge of the ditch. As the crankbait bite slowed, we decided to pursue Brent’s spinnerbait pattern. It would prove to be the right move as Brent quickly began to add to his total. I’d brought along a counter that allowed me to punch in each bass for him rather than relying on tick marks in my fishing log, and the clicks began coming with increased frequency.

3:59pm Brent Top Bass 2-3 on a spinnerbait

I couldn’t find a suitable spinnerbait in my arsenal to replicate his success and my crankbait bite had subsided so I experimented with a few other baits and enjoyed the show. At one point, I could no longer resist commenting on his good fortune asking, “Do you know how many you’ve caught?” He indicated that he wasn’t sure but didn’t seem too surprised when I said, “Fifty.” And it wasn’t long before I let him know that he’d reached seventy. Although I didn’t ask him at the time, I was beginning to consider the possibility that he could reach the century mark as we still had about an hour and a half of fishing remaining. Not wanting to jinx him, I kept my mouth shut content to keep clicking off bass after bass as we settled into a favorite spot to finish off our day.

Apparently the area is no secret as it had drawn a crowd the entire day preventing us from taking our shot. But sure enough the bass were still there and cooperative despite getting pounded all day by the other anglers. Just before 6:00pm, curiosity got the best of my brother and I informed him that his total now stood at ninety two bass.

We agreed to fish until 6:15pm before taking off on the roughly ten minute boat ride back to the ramp in order to be off of the water before sunset as stipulated in the rules. Thus our only choice was to run back through a productive stretch of water that had already given us roughly three dozen bass. Were there eight more left for his spinnerbait? I honestly had my doubts even knowing how the Emiquon bass can turn on in a hurry. However, right away Brent stuck one on the spinnerbait and lost a second at boatside much to our dismay. I’d considered quitting so as not to take any of “his fish” but went about my business catching a couple on a Baby Brush Hog before a snag made the decision for me and I just sat back to watch the thrilling conclusion.

Brent slowly chipped away at the mark before we simply ran out of time. In fact, he was the one who made the call. It was a valiant effort and we left satisfied with the outing since you’d be a fool to complain about “only ninety eight bass.” I did get a laugh though as Brent joked in hindsight stating, “Man, I shouldn’t have eaten lunch.”

10:54am Top Bass on the day 2-6 on a crankbait

By the way, I thought that I had a decent day although fifty six bass certainly pales in comparison. I’d like to say it was due to running the motor, logging the trip or taking Brent’s fish of the hook for him but none of the above were the case, I just plain got outfished. Overall, I was pleased with my output even though I found myself trailing by forty two bass when all was said and done. On “normal” lakes it is a rare trip where we can combine for forty two bass, let alone wind up with that amount being the difference. Suffice to say, that place is nuts.

Downright crazy, indeed. Man, those were the days. Still brings a smile and a head shake every time I revisit this outing. Which I am going to do again tomorrow with a few more notes and some stats. Talk to you later. Troy

Original log entry from the outing

Today we venture back to a “fall drawdown” outing on Lake Storey. Each fall the water level is dropped, largely as a fishery management practice, and it has been a favorite annual fishing challenge for many years. Below is an abridged version of the original report detailing whether any fish let their guard down at the drawdown.

Originally Posted 10-16-14

My “home lake”, Lake Storey, is a little farther from home these days with my family no longer residing in Galesburg. Therefore, me and three of our brood headed down Friday after work to stay at my folks in order to ease the chaos and crankiness of an early morning departure (our little guy, Zac, was sick and stayed home with Julie). As a result, Dad and I were on the water at a reasonable time, making our first casts just after 8:00am.

12:26 pm – Keeping it real in a fishing report as they are not all trophies

Stats
Date: September 27, 2014
Location: Lake Storey
Time: 8:10am-2:10pm
Weather: Sunny to partly cloudy/calm to very windy
Air Temp: 65-81F
Water Temp: 69-72F
Totals: 6 bass, 1 muskie
Dad Totals: 2 bass
Troy Totals: 4 bass, 1 muskie
Lures Dad: Muskrat style creature bait – 1 bass, Zoom Baby Brush Hog – 1 bass
Lures Troy: Xcalibur XR50 lipless crankbait (chicken pox) – 2 bass, Zoom Baby Brush Hog – 1 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw) – 1 bass, Strike King KVD Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 1 muskie
Top Bass: Dad 1-11 Zoom Baby Brush Hog
Top 5 Weight (only one bass 12” or better): 1-11

A pattern called “Chicken Pox”, these discontinued baits are going for $20 or more online

Notes & Nonsense

Patience – There were several other boats on the water on this pleasant Saturday but nothing that we all couldn’t work around in terms of sharing water. A couple muskie anglers beat us to one of our spots so we waited them out before moving in behind. I figured that they were targeting a different species and some different cover than we had in mind so I didn’t mind fishing “used water.” We were a little bummed when they moved off the first spot and camped on a second spot to eat their lunch. While the first spot let us down, we again waited out their lunch break, moved in and Dad proceeded to nail our Top Bass of the day. It was definitely worth the wait and further reinforcement that we’ve paid our dues on the lake and learned a couple things.

1:30pm – Dad with our Top Bass of the day at 1-11

Make My Day – We’d been on a proven spot for about twenty minutes without a bass when we spotted another boat fishing towards us. Our spot was a traditional winner but we’d pounded it good and I didn’t want the other anglers to hit another spot I wanted to fish on the other side of the lake so I decided to make a move. Now, a fishing day is made up of a lot of decisions, not all of which pan out; that’s fishing. In this case, however, on about my second cast after relocating I set the hooks of my crankbait into something that didn’t move. A few seconds later, I hollered “Muskie!” to Dad who went for the dipnet. The fish put up a classic fight with a couple line stripping runs, an exciting (and worrisome), completely airborne leap and managed to evade our dipnet twice. But the 12-pound Trilene survived, the hooks held and Dad scooped him in, luck was on our side. In terms of the fortuitous move though, I’m still torn on whether we were lucky or good. Then again, it doesn’t really matter, we got a fish that made our day, shot a couple pics and released it to fight again.

11:08am – One of those good, old Lake Storey bass fishing “accidents”

Second Chances – We revisited the proven spot noted above for another shot about an hour and a half after moving off and happening upon the muskie. True to form, a couple Lake Storey bass that called the place home were now in a biting mood. Dad and I each pulled one out with his on a muskrat bait and mine on a Zoom Baby Brush Hog. A productive Round Two confirms another Lake Storey fact (and general bass fishing approach) that if you’ve got a good spot it is wise to pay a couple visits in order to increase the likelihood that you’ll be in the neighborhood when they decide to bite.

8:35am – I’ve got lures that are darn near as big as this small bass

When combined with last week’s strip mine report, me, Brent and Dad landed 141 bass and a muskie in two trips. Two trips that were like night and day in terms of quantity (135 bass vs. 6 bass) but I’d actually be hard pressed to decide which trip was the best. 135 bass are cool but when they are really dumb you don’t feel really smart and while 6 bass is a tough day when they are extra wary you feel extra wise. And a decent toothy critter don’t hurt either; tough call.

A tough bass bite in terms of both quantity and quality but you’ll have that, it’s fishing. Just keep on casting though as evidenced by this outing as our best bass was the last catch, over five hours into our day. Talk to you later. Troy