I grew up in Galesburg, Illinois and developed a fondness for chasing bass on Lake Storey just north of town a long time ago. This time of year, it calls me back to match wits with the bass during the annual “fall” drawdown that typically starts just after the Labor Day holiday. The lake gets plenty of pressure throughout the year, making for some educated bass and a fun challenge. Read on to see who came out ahead on my recent visit.

Thanks, John, for the leftover breakfast from our trip to The Rock the previous morning

Stats

Date: September 18
Time: 8:05am-3:50pm
Totals: 18 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/windy 66-83F
Water Temperature: 74-75F
Lures: Strike King Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer/pepper/green) – 7 bass, War Eagle spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 5 bass, Strike King Squarebill crankbait (sexy shad) – 3 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait – 2 bass, Lunkerhunt topwater frog – 1 bass
Top Bass:2-12 Topwater Frog
Top 5 Weight: 9-4 (2-12,2-3,1-8,1-7,1-6)

Winning Lures (one other noted later in post)

Notes and Nonsense

Those Dam Bass – During the summer of 2021, my son, Jayce, joined me and his Uncle Brent for a couple of hours of bass fishing on Lake Storey. He and Brent came through with a pair of bass along the dam. Of course, we had fun with these catches, referring to them as some “nice dam bass.” Well, on this day I was fortunate to start out my morning with another Dam bass.

Top Bass (see below)

Bookend Top Bass – My first bass of the day came at 8:27am after about twenty minutes of casting and weighed 2-3. A solid start had me optimistic on my prospects for a good day. And while it would be a good day, I couldn’t outdo that first bass until my final bass of the day at 2:43pm came in at 2-12.

My Special K spinnerbait bit the dust but went out a hero as it landed a bass as the blade arm broke off

Targets and Angles – I’ve fished Lake Storey for a long time and have a customary batch of targets that I hit as I make my way around the lake. For one spot, I always have a Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait at the ready. Roughly three hours into my trip, I reached the spot and made my first few casts of the day with the Baby 1-. Right on cue, a fourteen-inch bass that weighed in at 1-2 took the bait. Ten minutes later, on the same spot, I employed another favorite Lake Storey trick as I switched lures and hit the spot from the opposite direction after drifting past. In this case, a spinnerbait retrieved past the structure fooled another “keeper” at twelve inches and 0-12. While not the largest bass, I sure dig the feedback when all those years of experience pay off.

Amy day that I can land eighteen bass on Lake Storey is a winner. Per my data going back to 1997, my Lake Storey catch rate is 1.02 bass/hour. On this trip, my catch rate jumped to 2.32 bass/hour.

As I have noted previously, my daily goals on a fishing trip are as follows:

1. Don’t get shutout – twenty-two minutes in I had achieved that goal
2. Land a Top 5 (five bass at 12” or better) – completed at the four-hour mark
3. Post a ten-pound Top 5 – missed it by twelve ounces but had one fish break off on a hookset and a two-pounder come off at the boat. I have no guess on the size off the first missed fish but the second may have boosted my total by the twelve ounces that I was lacking.

No matter on the ones that got away, as I fished hard and found what the bass would bite. In fact, my final bite (and Top Bass) came on a topwater frog which is a seldom used presentation for me, particularly at Lake Storey. I had to pat myself on the back for that decision as I had a weedy stretch that made any other presentation frustrating and ineffective. Setting aside my stubborn streak, I picked up my frog rod and was rewarded with a good fish. Perhaps there is a lesson there.

Ideally, I would like to hit Lake Storey one more time in 2022, but weekend free time will be limited during the remainder of my fishing year. At least I have The Canal close to home. And I still have several more fishing reports to pass along so stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

With a bonus day off courtesy of the Labor Day holiday, I had to invest at least a couple of hours chasing bass. A Labor Day parade commitment to watch the United Township High School Marching Panthers meant a sunup trip on a local section of The Canal was just the ticket. Conditions were perfect and things worked out well as detailed below.

Stats

Date: September 5
Time: 6:35am-9:05am
Totals: 17 bass (6.8 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 64-66F
Lures: Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 10 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) – 6 bass, 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (natural shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass:2-1 Whopper Plopper
Top 5 Weight: 8-14 (2-1,1-14,1-13,1-11,1-7)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Near vs. Far – One of my favorite Sesame Street lessons was Grover demonstrating the difference between “Near” and “Far.” The poor monster winds up pooped for his efforts in the memorable piece. In terms of The Canal, the lesson on the stretch I fished on this outing is not to let the “far” view prevent you from getting a “near” look. From a distance, this section looks clogged with surface vegetation making my typical presentations a challenge. However, upon closer inspection, there are many troughs, pools, and shoreline channels that offer open water. These features also make for quite a collection of edges, which are key on The Canal and to bass fishing in general.

Exciting Edge – Speaking of edges, one of the most pronounced in the world of the bass is where their habitat meets ours. I am talking the surface of the water. And this time of the year, that specific edge comes into play in the form of topwater lure presentations. In the case of this outing, I employed my newly purchased Whopper Plopper 110 to fool over half of my bass. Not only is it an effective presentation, but it is also quite addictive.

Sometimes a talk with the bass will produce some bites (see below)

Insulting the Bass – There are some tips that I am reluctant to reveal for various reasons. In the case of what I am about to tell you, the hesitation comes from a combination of giving up a secret technique along with the possibility of folks questioning my sanity. What I did was trash talk the bass by stating on camera that “Maybe I’ll say this to help me out, but I usually don’t get much down in here; I’ve already passed my better water.” Right on cue, I landed what was then my Top Bass of the day less than thirty seconds after my statement. Hey, whatever works to convince those bass to bite.

A solid day as The Canal comes through in terms of both quantity and quality on another short getaway. And now begins what I call the “home stretch” of 2022 fishing. Once Labor Day passes, prospects for getting on the water become limited by shorter evenings and weekend activities. But I have several fishing trips in the works and as always, I will have fishing reports and more for you dedicated readers. Thanks for tuning in and stay tuned. Talk to you later. Troy

Last weekend, Brent and I got together for the first time since mid-May for a hike into the Knox County public strip mines. As expected, the terrestrial vegetation was tall and thick, making for a tough walk between fishing holes. On the flip side, aquatic vegetation was sparse and most of the waters were low which made for good conditions once we reached the banks. Great weather conditions were also a winner, and the bass were gracious. Seemed like they had missed us.

Starting lineup lures – Brent (left), Troy (right)

Stats
Date: September 4, 2022
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits (6 lakes)
Time: 6:15am-1:30pm (5.00 hours fishing, the rest walking)
Weather: Overcast/breezy
Air Temp: 66-69F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 73 bass (Brent – 44, Troy – 29) 1 green sunfish (Brent)
Lures (Troy): 5” Senko wacky rig (natural shad) – 17 bass, Chatterbait (white) with Zako trailer (Tennessee Shad) – 8 bass, Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 1 bass, Rebel Pop R (rainbow) – 1 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass, Special K Spinnerbait (bleeding shiner) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer/pepper/green) – 1 bass
Lures (Brent): Senko wacky rig – 16 bass, Mann’s Chug n’ Spit Popper – 15 bass, Spinnerbait (white) – 13 bass
Top Bass: 3-10 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 14-5 (3-10,2-14,2-12,2-10,2-7)

6:25am – first bass of our morning (took a bit, but they got a lot bigger)

Notes and Nonsense

Quote of the Day – “I heard the tape measure”
I had to laugh when Brent made this statement. While we were fishing less than fifty yards apart, the weeds were so high that you couldn’t see a fellow angler fifty feet away. Brent said that he knew I had landed a bass by the telltale sound of measuring my fish.

Old school Mann’s bait was a winner for Brent on this outing

Vintage VIP (Very Important Popper) – Previous reports this summer from Brent noted “popper” for several his catches. This lure designation represented a departure from his regular summer repertoire of a spinnerbait, buzzbait, and Senko. He’s not one to add a whole lot of new lures to his tacklebag so I asked him for further details as we stood on the bank at our final stop. After saying, “It’s just a popper,” I asked if it had any info on the lure. He responded, “Mann’s” and I thought this one could go back a ways. Upon closer inspection, Brent added, “It says Chug-N-Spit.” As I put this post together, I did a little research on the lure and not surprisingly found that it is no longer in production. While I could not find any production dates, my internet wanderings found numerous listings referring to the lure as “vintage.”

12:05pm – Brent with a new lake record at 1-11 on his popper from K9 Lake

New Lake Record – An ill-advised cross-country route on the way out made for a lot more wading through the weeds than I had envisioned. Following a couple bad directional decisions on my part, we wound up taking a break and fishing a lake that wasn’t on our original agenda. Turns out, Brent established a new lake record with a 1-11 on his popper topping a 1-9 I had landed in 2020.

Getting to the bass takes some work…

New Top 5 Entries – I have records compiled for every lake that we’ve fished in the Victoria area strip mines. I find it fun to see if we can boost the Top 5 Weight for any of the lakes we fish. While we are not going to break the “lake record” each time out, the prospect of catching a fish to boost the all-time Top 5 weight on a body of water makes for an additional gauge of success. On this outing, we managed to land half a dozen bass that boosted our Top 5 Totals on four different lakes. The record book wrap-up will come later this year after the strip mines close but certainly a good day on the water.

…but “bass thumb” proves the walk is worth it.

One more post from this trip is headed your way. During the outing, I provided regular updates as we compiled and boosted the Top 5 Weight for the day. Next up, is a chronological look at those catches. Talk to you later. Troy

After a Knox County strip mine trip in mid-May, all my subsequent fishing trips have been on The Canal. Most of those trips have been within twenty miles of my driveway as I look to keep fuel costs down. And it doesn’t hurt that those “local” spots provide decent fishing as well. So, on this morning I decided to splurge on gas and wander roughly forty miles to the east to try new water. Read on to see if it was worth the money.

Winning Lures

Stats

Date: August 28 (two spots)
Time: 6:05am-11:20am (4.50 hours fishing)
Totals: 11 bass (2.44 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 71-80F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 8 bass, Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-12 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-2 (1-12,1-7,1-6,1-5,1-4)

Notes and Nonsense

First Impressions – I have found the pools to be considerably less weedy as I head east. While several of the local pools have surface vegetation so thick that you could darn near walk across it, the new water I fished had wide open channels between the modest weed beds lining both banks. However, the water clarity diminishes to the east with a fellow Canal angler describing it as “split pea soup—green and thick with chunks of stuff in it.” In terms of cover, I hit every piece of wood I can find, and I would describe the availability as sparse. Finally, the depth is much better as I make my way east. Locally, I can often see the bottom in the clearer stretches, whereas the pools on this trip were deeper than the oar which is my crude depthfinder.

6:12am – on the board on a new stretch of The Canal

Startling Start – So, I am rowing up The Canal in the near dark before sunrise and lost in a daydream when something explodes near enough to the boat that the splash got my pants wet (luckily, I’d relieved myself prior to launching). It scared me half to death, made me jump and involuntarily utter something unintelligible as my mind snapped back to reality. In hindsight, my best guess is that a beaver and my boat were on a collision course before one of us steered clear. Possibly a carp but it would have been massive based on the splash. I also scanned the bank to see if Sasquatch had tossed a boulder at me and my watercraft (don’t laugh as I know of a Bigfoot report from The Canal about a mile and a half downstream). As a seasoned rower, when moving from spot to spot, I often just put my head down and row with only an occasional look over my shoulder. Therefore, I cannot say what caused the commotion, but I sure was glad that the sun was peeking over the horizon.

A necessary task to reach some new bass

Tubes – While on the subject of creepy, travels on The Canal can feature a row through a tube under the roadways. And those corrugated corridors are crawling with cobwebs. I suspect that there are plenty of the cobweb creators present as well but I don’t look too closely as I don’t really want to know.

9:40am – introducing myself to a bass on another new stretch of water

Oh yeah, I also saw a snake slither by the boat within oars reach. Many creatures were astir on this day even if the bass sightings were a bit below expectations.

Got ugly by the time I was headed home

I ended my day exploring since I was already a ways from home. This was simply driving as my back was hollering at me and I did not really have time to launch the boat to give any spots a true test. I checked out every road crossing or parking access in the vicinity and have several new spots on my wish list. Time will tell if those spots get a shot in 2022 as I have other destinations to visit beyond The Canal before the fishing year is over. Talk to you later. Troy

With the summer sunrises getting a bit later, I decided to splurge on some fuel and wander a bit farther from home for a daybreak launch. My destination was a stretch of The Canal on the east side of Henry County that I had not fished or seen before. New water is always an interesting undertaking, so read on the see how it turned out.

6:37am – First bass on some new water

Stats

Date: August 14
Time: 6:10am-10:40am
Totals: 10 bass (2.22 bass/hour)
Weather: Overcast/breezy 70-76F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 9 bass, Special K Buzzbait (green/white) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-0 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 7-14 (2-0,1-15,1-13,1-3,0-15)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

First Glance – The first couple items that catch my eye when checking out a new pool are water clarity and aquatic vegetation. In terms of water clarity, this stretch had a heavy green tint which limited visibility to about half a foot before losing sight of my lures. In addition, there was a significant surface covering of algae. Neither aspect was what I would consider favorable, but I did like the amount of open water available compared to other stretches that are weed choked by this time of the year.

Goals – My three standard goals on an outing are as follows: Learn, don’t get shutout, post five bass at twelve inches or better for what I call my “Top 5 Weight”. Goal One takes care of itself, especially on new water. Goal Two took me about a half hour and had me worried after no takers on some decent looking spots. Goal Three was checked off the list with my tenth and final catch of the morning, a bass weighing in at 1-13 at 10:15am.

One More Log – I am fortunate to have a small johnboat that is ideal for prowling The Canal. However, as I made my way down this lengthy stretch of water, I found myself a long way from where I started. I call it the “One More Log Conundrum.” At some point, I know that I must turn around and row back, but I regularly see an appealing piece of structure in the distance. And before I know it, “one more log” has me a long ways from home.

10:01am – Top Bass at 16″ and 2-0

Goal Four – In addition to my three primary goals noted earlier, the icing on the cake is a double-digit Top 5 Weight. I fell one or two “good ones” shy of hitting that mark (note: a “good one” is my term for a bass at two pounds or better). The only bite I missed was one that I had briefly hooked on a creature bait, but I never saw the fish in the murky water and have no guess on whether it would have boosted my weight.

Time (and fuel costs) will tell if I get back to this pool or any others in the area. However, a friend reported that his initial visit to an adjacent portion produced several quality bites. He landed a “good one” and had two “better ones” that got away. Overall, encouraging results from our outings as The Canal continues to leave a favorable impression. Talk to you later. Troy