A November Sunday with temperatures in the mid-fifties was too good to pass up in searching for more bites before I put the gear away. I tried the “float trip” approach for the first time as my wife dropped me and the boat off and then took the truck three miles downstream to where we had left the van. It was a successful experiment as I didn’t have to row back to the original launch point. And I caught some decent bass along the way.

12:00pm – First bass weighing 1-1 (13.5″) on a chatterbait

Stats
Date: November 17
Location: Hennepin Canal (3 pools)
Time: 10:50am-3:40pm
Totals: 6 bass
Weather: Overcast/breezy, 58F
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with 3.75” Strike King Rage Swimmer trailer (electric shad) – 6 bass
Top Bass: 2-14
Top 5 Weight: 8-8 (2-14,1-15,1-6,1-4,1-1)

Winning lure

Notes and Nonsense

Spinner or Chatter – On this outing I started out with the trusty old spinnerbait but shifted gears to a chatterbait when my initial offering failed to produce. The spinnerbait garnered a lone bite (that got away) in about an hour of use. The switch to the chatterbait resulted in all six of my bass. Several anglers on forums have encouraged me to invest more casts with the chatterbait and their advice paid off on this day.

Lost Bass – In addition to the six bass that were landed, I also had several hooked that came loose on the way to the boat. The first was on a spinnerbait, while four or five others came undone after striking the chatterbait. In the chilly water, the bites were not rod jarring. Instead, it was a feeling of the retrieve getting heavy, or seeing my line moving, or observing a swirl at my bait. It felt like decent hooksets on the fish, but a couple seemed to strike while coming at me which can diminish the effectiveness. While you won’t land every fish that bites, this trip resulted in a higher percentage of lost bass than any other outing this year. I chalk this up to less aggressive strikes in the chilly water resulting in the fish not hooking up solidly.

12:25pm – Top Bass at 2-14 (18″) on a chatterbait

Angler Advice – Midway through my day, I crossed paths with another angler as we moved in opposite directions. We had a good chat, and he noted that a small crankbait had been his top producer of the day, landing ten bass to that point. I had only three at the time with the chatterbait doing the trick. During our conversation, we recalled that we had encountered each other previously on another stretch of The Canal. Near the end of the outing, we passed once again and he reported adding a couple more bass for an even dozen, doubling my total. It is always enjoyable to share fish stories on the water and the other angler was not the first to inform that a crankbait can be a productive option on The Canal. The drawback for me is that treble hooks and prolific vegetation can make for many frustrating casts. The fellow angler echoed this sentiment, but it sounds like a bunch of fouled casts can be offset by a batch of bites.

2:17pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-15 (16″) on a chatterbait

Top 5 Results – While I did not land an abundance of bass, five of the six were “keepers” (at or exceeding 12”). A pair of these catches also boosted the Top 5 Weights on two pools. One of the pools already had a double-digit Top 5 Weight and my goal was to push the other pool to ten pounds. I fell short of that latter goal which means there is more work to do on that pool next year. See the numbers below for the Top 5 boosts from this outing.

Pool One (Note: the 2-14 on this outing represented a new Top Bass for the pool)
Starting Top 5 Weight: 10-3 (2-9,2-7,1-14,1-11,1-10)
New Top 5 Weight: 11-7 (2-14,2-9,2-7,1-14,1-11)

Pool Two (Note: the 1-15 on this outing tied Top Bass for the pool)
Starting Top 5 Weight: 9-2 (1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13,1-11)
New Top 5 Weight: 9-6 (1-15,1-15,1-14,1-13,1-13)

 

A solid outing and a bonus to have warm, stable weather on a mid-November weekend with time to get away. Eventually, I will log the final bass of 2024. Time will tell if these fit that bill. Talk to you later. Troy

One of my annual goals is to land a November bass before I put the gear away. So, I hit the Canal on November 2 and managed to get it done. I was also in search of the quality bites needed to boost some Top 5 totals into double-digits on three different pools.

11:29am – November bass in the books at 1-12 (16″) on a spinnerbait

Stats
Date: November 2
Location: Hennepin Canal (3 pools)
Time: 11:25am-3:30pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy, 52-61F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 2-5 (spinnerbait)
Top 4 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 7-10 (2-5,2-0,1-12,1-9)

Winning lure

Notes and Nonsense

Pool One – Four minutes after launching on my first spot, I had a bass in the boat and the pressure to catch a November was off. Unfortunately, it was the lone bass on the stretch in an hour of casting. I was also seeking a boost of two ounces as my all-time Top 5 on the area sat at 9-14. To reach a double-digit Top 5, I needed at least a 1-11 to knock out a 1-9, and I got it with a 1-12.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 9-14 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-9)
Top 5 Boost: Caught a 1-12 at 11:29am
New Top 5 Weight: 10-1 (2-8,2-2,1-14,1-13,1-12)

12:31pm – Top Bass at 2-5 (17″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Two – Having accomplished my aim on the first pool and struggling to find more bites, I rowed through a tube to try my luck on another area. The Top 5 Weight on this stretch sat at 8-1 meaning that I would need one big bite or a couple quality bites to reach double-digits. While the bite was not hot with four bass in seventy-five minutes, I did get the bites that I needed.
Starting Top 5 Weight: 8-1 (3-0,1-14,1-7,0-14,0-14)
Top 5 Boost: Caught bass weighing 2-5,2-0, and 1-9
New Top 5 Weight: 10-12 (3-0,2-5,2-0,1-14,1-9)

2:50pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-0 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Pool Three – The overall bite wasn’t fast and furious, but I was pleased to have found the late season boosts I was seeking to push the Top 5 on two more pools into double digits. Well, as Meatloaf sang, “Two out of three ain’t bad.” An hour and a half on this stretch produced a lone short fish that provided no help to the pool’s Top 5 Weight of 6-12. But hey, there’s always next year.

3:09pm – Top Bass #4 of the day at 1-9 (15″) on a spinnerbait

And speaking of next year, time will tell if that is when I will land my next bass. The weather outside is far from frightful though, so perhaps there are a few more casts left in 2024. However it works out, it has been quite a year on the water. Talk to you later. Troy

As part of an extended weekend, I took a Thursday and a Friday off work. My Thursday on Lake Storey was a success, so I headed back out on Friday with my brother, Brent, along to boost our odds in the quest for a double-digit Top 5 day.

Brent’s pre-launch predictions

Troy’s pre-launch predictions

Stats
Date: October 11
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 7:40am-3:10pm
Totals: 23 bass, 1 shad (Brent – 12 bass, Troy – 11 bass, 1 shad)
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy, 51-77F
Water temperature: 69F

8:02am – Troy Top Bass (tie) at 2-15 (18″) on a spinnerbait

Lures

Troy: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 7 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 2 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass, Googan Squad Gridiron Jig (rotten pumpkin) with Net Bait B Bug (natural craw swirl) – 1 bass

Brent: Strike King Red Eye Shad (chartreuse sexy shad) – 9 bass, Spinnerbait (green/white) – 3 bass

Top Bass

Troy Top Bass: 2-15 (two fish, Spinnerbait, Chatterbait)

Brent Top Bass: 2-9 (Lipless Crankbait)

10:59am – Troy Top Bass #3 at 2-4 (17″) on a jig

Top 5 Weights
Brent Top 5 Weight: 8-9 (2-9,2-1,1-4,1-3,1-2)
Troy Top 5 Weight: 11-9 (2-15,2-15,2-4,1-12,1-11)
Top 5 Weight (combined): 12-12 (2-15,2-15,-2-9,2-4,2-1)

12:51pm – Brent Top Bass #2 at 2-1 (15″) on lipless crankbait

Notes and Nonsense

Brother Bonus – I enjoy fishing with Brent as it is always fun to chat and collaborate for on the water decisions. Besides those reasons, it is also a pleasant change of pace to let him fight the wind and position the boat while all I must do is cast and reel. When we catch a fish, it is good to have a net man on board for a helping hand. Finally, it is good to steadily have a pair of lures in the water to boost the odds of putting one in front of an interested bass.

2:36pm – Troy Top Bass (tie) at 2-15 (18″) on a chatterbait

Back End Bass – As noted above, Brent was in charge of boat control with the bow-mounted, foot-controlled trolling motor while I pitched in on longer runs with the trolling motor on the stern. My top three bass were landed by virtue of just being along for the ride and not having to “drive” and fight the wind. My first 2-15 came out of nowhere as Brent guided us down a nothing sort of bank where I was free to just fire away. I later got a 2-4 while bouncing a jig around a windblown, isolated tree that would have been difficult to fish while running the trolling motor. Another 2-15 came off a shallow branch where Brent had just landed a small bass. As he unhooked his catch, I “stole” his spot and was rewarded with a quality bass on a chatterbait.

2:58pm – Brent Top Bass at 2-9 (17.5″) on a lipless crankbait

It’s Not How You Start – Less than an hour into the trip, I had three bass in the boat including a pair of keepers (2-15 and 1-7) while Brent had yet to land a fish. He commented that the first hour for him was indeed a struggle. My response was that things often have a way of evening out in the end. About twenty minutes after this conversation, Brent got on the board and as it all shook out, he ended up on top with a twelve bass to eleven bass finish. Our combined Top 5 contributions also worked out as well as they could as I landed three and Brent landed two.

 

The Lake Storey bite continued to be productive as this fifth outing of the fall brought the totals to ninety-two bass. On this trip, there was also a muskie encounter, a couple fishing milestones, and quality catches off the beaten path. Just too much to put into one report so stay tuned for future posts relating to the additional notes from our solid fall drawdown trips. But the Lake Storey fishing may not be done for the year. Talk to you later. Troy

Catching up on the fishing reports with a combined recap of four Canal visits over the past two weeks.

September 29 at 2:10pm weighing 3-6 (19″) on a frog

Stats
Date: September 29, October 5, 8,12
Location: Hennepin Canal (6 pools)
Time: 9.75 hours total
Totals: 12 bass
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 6 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 5 bass, Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 3-10 (Spro frog on 9/29)
Top 5 Weight (combined trips): 11-1 (3-10,3-6,1-8,1-5,1-4)

Winning Lures

September 29 at 4:10pm weighing 3-10 (19″) on a frog

September 29
Bike/2 pools/2.75 hours/4 bass/Top Bass 3-10/Top 2 Weight 8-7
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 4 bass
Goal: Boost my Top 5 of 7-6 on one pool into double digits.
Results: A 3-10 and a 1-7 achieved my goal in reaching 10-0 on one pool. The other pool also produced a 3-6, equaling its Top Bass (3-6 on 7/21/21) and boosting its all-time Top 5 to 15-11, my second-best pool on The Canal.
Highlight: I had seen that a fellow Canal angler was catching quality bass on a white Spro frog. My white (albino) frog was damaged and out of commission, but I was able to steal the guts from a brown frog to repair. The observation and decision produced my top two Canal bass of the year.
Lowlight: Four bass in three hours left much to be desired but when a pair are in the three-pound range, it is tough to complain.

Swapping the “guts” of another Spro frog into the albino body was a winner

October 5 at 10:15am weighing 1-5 (15″) on a spinnerbait

October 5
Boat/3 pools/3.00 hours/6 bass/Top Bass 1-5/Top 2 Weight 2-3
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 6 bass
Goals: Fish a “distant” pool that sat at a Top 5 weight of 7-14. Plan B was a pair of connected pools that sat at 9-14 and 7-14, respectively.
Results: The only “keepers” were a 1-5 and an 0-14, with the latter providing a three-ounce boost on one pool to raise its Top 5 to 8-2.
Highlight: My first stop was at the mid-point of an event called the “Hennepin Hundred,” a 100-mile run along The Canal. While I did not see any participants due to the event just starting in Sterling, IL, I marvel at folks taking on such a challenge.
Lowlight: I blanked at my first stop, then elected to pursue Plan B and find cleaner water. That didn’t work out so great either.

October 8 at 6:22pm weighing 1-8 (14″) on a frog

October 8
Bike/2 pools/1.75 hours/1 bass/Top Bass 1-8
Lure: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (albino) – 1 bass
Goal: Revisit the pools that produced a pair of three-pounders on September 29 in search of some more quality bites.
Result: Only landed one fish.
Highlight: I did not get shut out.
Lowlight: Two good blowups on the frog were misses as the bass had bad aim.

October 12 at 9:15am weighing 1-4 on a chatterbait

October 12
Boat/1 pool/2.25 hours/1 bass/Top Bass 1-4
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) – 1 bass
Goal: Find the quality bite(s) needed to push my Top 5 weight on a pool from 9-1 into double figures.
Result: Landed one bass that was not large enough to boost my weight.
Highlight: I did not get shut out.
Lowlights: The location was a bad choice considering the direction of a strong east wind. I also missed a decent bass as the boat was drifting towards the fish and I faltered on getting an effective hookset.

The Canal continues to give me fits although the outing that produced two three-pounders was a treat. Multiple quality bites have been more the exception than the rule in 2024. Hopefully, I can get a few more shots to see if I can redeem myself but I shifted my focus back to Lake Storey for the next two outings. Stay tuned for those reports. Talk to you later. Troy

My third visit of September to Lake Storey during the fall drawdown found the lake to be about as low as it was going to go. Many targets were high and dry but there were still plenty of secrets and reliable stretches of bank that held a fish or two, or nearly two dozen.

Stats
Date: September 26
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 10:00am-5:30pm
Totals: 23 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy
Water temperature: 76F
Lures: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 10 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 10 bass, Bomber Flat A (baby bass) – 2 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-3 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 8-2 (2-3,1-12,1-9,1-6,1-4)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

Juice and Jumps – Roughly two hours into the outing, I began to realize that the battery running the bow mount trolling motor was not up to speed. Therefore, I relied primarily on the stern mounted trolling motor which left much to be desired in terms of precise boat control. I made it work but I believe that it cost me a few fish as I was unable to work some spots as the wind picked up. I also lost two bass in the two-pound range that threw my spinnerbait on the way to the boat. These factors contributed to falling short of the double-digit Top 5 goal for the outing.

12:54pm – Top Bass at 2-3 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Straightened hook from a hidden snag

Tackle Casualties – A pair of lures ended up out of commission and neither instance occurred with a fish on the line. First up was a snag grabbing my Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait. While my lure retriever did not knock the lure loose as intended, it got hung on the bait which in turn was hung on a huge log. As I use stout line on my lure retriever, I was able to pull the log to the surface and dislodge both the lipless crank and the lure retriever. However, the rear treble on the lipless crank was straightened and will need to be replaced before using again. On the contrary, a War Eagle spinnerbait is done for good as the wire arm broke as I attempted to straighten it after a battle with a bass.

4:17pm – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-12 (16″) on a chatterbait

Blue Glimmer – The loss of my last War Eagle spinnerbait prompted me to bust out an old legend that I call the “Blue Glimmer.” I have long called it the Blue Glimmer as it is a much shorter nickname than the actual name of a 3/8 oz. Stanley Vibra Shaft Spinnerbait in the Blue Glimmer pattern. It is a member of what I call my “Legendary Lures”. I don’t throw it much as it is out of production, and I am hesitant on Lake Storey as toothy critters (muskies) represent a chance to lose a legend. The Blue Glimmer did hook a two-pound class bass, but the fish was one of those that got away.

 

Twenty-three bass is a good haul for me on Lake Storey and puts me within reach of a new yearly record for bass catches. After this outing, I stood at 541 bass with my all-time best year being 553 in 2022. Fortunately, I had a chance to get on the water the following day in search of thirteen more bass. Stay tuned for a report from the Knox County strip mines. Talk to you later. Troy