My streak of monthly visits to Lake Storey continued as I squeezed in a late September outing. Fall of 2026 looked different on the old lake as the traditional drawdown was not implemented since the lake was lowered for the first half of the year due to a construction project. While the unique situation had me intrigued, there was also some disappointment as chasing bass in the low pool conditions has been a tradition for many years. And speaking of disappointment…

Stats
Date: September 28
Location: Lake Storey
Time: 9:00am-1:15pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm to breezy, 56-72F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with BPS double tail trailer (Houdini) – 3 bass, Bomber Deep Flat A (mad craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-2 (Spinnerbait)
Only one bass at 12” or better

Notes and Nonsense

Bass #700 – At 9:32am, I landed my first bass on a spinnerbait retrieved along a bit of shoreline wood cover. Right on target for my expected pattern for a fall day. While the catch was not the most impressive specimen at nine inches, it represented Lake Storey Bass #700 since the advent of continuous record keeping back in 1997. Including the four bass landed on this trip, two hundred and thirteen of those have come in the last two years. This is a result of an uptick in time invested on the lake, primarily due to the extended and increased drawdown.

9:32am – First bass and Lake Storey Bass #700 since “modern” record keeping

Confidence Bait Collapse – As noted in the previous paragraph, my thoughts were that I could find plenty of bass around wood cover that would take a liking to a spinnerbait. After one hour, I had three such bass in the boat. Over the next three hours, I would not get another fish on a spinnerbait. In fact, I would only catch one more bass with that fish coming on a flat-sided crankbait. The lack of success on my go to baits left me scrambling and I could not put anything together. I hit many of my spots, but the bass were either not home or not interested.

Winning lures

Fellow Angler Feedback – Just over midway through this outing, I encountered another bass angler who wasn’t having much more success than my creel of four bass at that point. We had a good chat about bass fishing in general as well as covering some specifics on Lake Storey. On this day, he had been pitching a jig or creature bait and had four bass in his creel with the largest in the two-pound range. I’d also tossed these baits in several spots during my time on the water without a nibble and his report did not prompt me to change up my routine. I did throw around a pair of crankbaits as I have seen an angler online reporting great success with the baits both in terms of numbers and size. My offerings consisted of a squarebill, a flat-sided model, and a deep diver with a Bomber Flat A landing my lone crankbait fish. I couldn’t get anything going with those lures, either.

10:00am – Top Bass weighing 1-2 (12″) on a crankbait

Conclusion – Dirty water did not help me as there had been a great deal of rain leading up to this trip. Lake Storey typically has a green hue which was lacking throughout the entire lake. Instead, the water had a brownish tint and got progressively dirtier the farther uplake I progressed. The drawdown also tends to put fish in more predictable locations on or around the cover that would typically be in the 8-10’ foot depth at normal pool. With that said, it seems that my focus on beating the bank meant that many of my fish remained beneath me or behind me.

September 28, 2002 – Happy Anniversary (Julie had to work and could not accompany me on this September 28, 2026 outing)

My intent is to get on the lake once in October to complete my goal of a monthly visit March through October. The precipitation has diminished as I write this report in mid-October, so I am hoping that the lake will trend towards a more natural clarity. In addition, I aim to spend a fair amount of my time probing some deeper water than I typically fish. We’ll see how it works out. Talk to you later. Troy