Just over a year ago, I made my final visit of 2025 to Lake Storey. At that time, I decided that I’d shoot for a couple 2026 Lake Storey goals. The first goal was to land one hundred Lake Storey bass and the second was to make at least one visit to the old fishing hole for each month, March through October. I had accomplished each of those missions prior to this outing so anything I landed on this trip would be a bonus.
12:28pm – Top Bass weighing 1-9 (14″) on a crankbait
Stats
Date: October 25
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 10:15am-3:30pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 61-73F
Water temperature: 62-64F
Lure: Rapala DT10 (parrot) – 3 bass, Bomber Deep Flat A (mud craw) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-9 Crankbait
Top 2 Weight (only two bass at 12” or better): 2-13 (1-9,1-4)
Winning lures
Notes and Nonsense
Convincing Conversation – My son, Jayce, and I had spent several hours together chasing bass the previous day on Lake Storey. He’d fooled a pair of bass on a crankbait before getting picked up by my folks while I kept at it for another hour and half. I ended up with five bass on a spinnerbait which is my favorite way to fish Lake Storey in the fall. Decent results but not up to my expectations. As I neared the end of that day, I crossed paths with a kayaker who I thought that I recognized from some online fishing posts. I confirmed that I was not mistaken on his identity, introduced myself, and we had an enjoyable chat. His internet posts had revealed some impressive Lake Storey success while wielding crankbaits. During that October 24 outing, I had debated whether a return trip was in the cards. The conversation convinced me to give it a go as well as what I would throw.
2:22pm – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-4 (13″) on a crankbait
The Gameplan – When Lake Storey is at full pool, there is plenty going on in the six-to-ten-foot depth range in terms of structure. During the drawdown earlier this year, I caught a lot of bass on the lower end of that range and beyond when those fish were only in a few feet of water. As I had struggled around shoreline structure on my outings from July through September, I elected to turn my focus deeper. The Rapala DT10 and Bomber Deep Flat A seemed like good tools for the target depth. In addition, the flatter profiles have success in cooler water and resembled baits observed during my internet reconnaissance.
The Results – All of the above strategy produced a grand total of four bass, less than one per hour. The only keepers were a pair in the one-pound range meaning that I was not even close to accomplishing my goals other than not getting shut out. I worked those crankbaits hard, banging rocks, and muddying lips but just couldn’t find enough bass that were interested.
Hero of the day, a lure retreiver. If your crankbait is doing its job, your gonna get stuck, and this tool has saved me hundreds of dollars.
Suffice to say, I miss the fall drawdown. Not only is it a fishing tradition dating back for decades but it is also a time when those bass tend to let their guard down a bit. The last few trips have exposed one of my fishing weaknesses. I am primarily a bank beater on Lake Storey and rely heavily on getting a shallow water bite. There’s plenty of structure and cover behind me as I cruise the shoreline, but I have a tough time fishing out there. My electronics are far from state of the art and my ability to use them is rudimentary. Instead, I lean heavily on experience and perhaps a bit too much on habit. Most days those get me through but on this day I came up short. Talk to you later. Troy