It’s that time of year again when the decision is made to pull the plug on Lake Storey for the annual fall drawdown. This fisheries management practice drops the lake level and limits the hiding places for prey fish allowing the predator fish an increased opportunity to thin the herd. It can also reveal secrets on the lake bottom and give anglers a shot at a quality bite as fall feeding activity kicks into gear. Last week, I paid a visit to my old favorite lake and had a solid day.

Gotta love fishing on a weekday

Stats
Date: September 16
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 6:45am-3:00pm
Totals: 17 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 61-85F
Water temperature: 75-78F
Lures: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 10 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 7 bass
Top Bass: 2-6 (Red Eye Shad)
Top 5 Weight: 9-0 (2-6,1-15,1-13,1-8,1-6)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Drawdown Status – The extent of the drawdown seemed to be lagging as a week prior, direct, and secondhand observations had me concerned that the practice may have fallen by the wayside. Fortunately, the water level was indeed on the way down when I arrived at the ramp, so my worries were unfounded. As it turned out, the drop was at an appealing stage as a substantial amount of shallow cover was still fishable and not high and dry.

8:42am – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-15 (15.5″) on a spinnerbait

Droughts – My results on this outing were solid with a catch rate of 2.06 bass/hour compared to an overall 1.14 bass/hour average dating back to 1997. Even with my favorable catch rate, I did have several lengthy stretches of time without a catch. I had a two-pound fish break off on my fourth cast due to a line abrasion and then failed to get my first bass in the boat for over an hour (6:45am-7:51am). Later in the day, I also experienced droughts from 9:47am-10:59am, 11:00am-12:05pm, and 1:46pm-3:00pm.

10:59am – Top Bass at 2-6 (17″) on a lipless crankbait

Good Wood – As I hop around Lake Storey, I have dozens of potential targets in mind. From specific spots, such as Chilly Willy Stump or The Most Fished Tree to sections of bank like Freak’s Point or Cannon Hill, I hit as many as possible (sometimes twice). There are stumps, rockpiles, logs, brush, points, flats, manmade structure, and more that are on my list. On this trip, a number of them let me down or were inaccessible due to being occupied by other anglers on the shore or in watercraft. However, early feedback from the bass indicated that a pattern of a spinnerbait cast and worked tight to any wood cover was a winner. I wore out every log, brush, laydown, and stump that I could and was rewarded with good results.

 

I look forward to matching wits with the Lake Storey bass every fall and the first outing of the season did not disappoint. (Note: while September 16 is not technically fall, once Labor Day passes, it is fall in my book). Before the week was over, I was back again so stay tuned for another Lake Storey report. Talk to you later Troy

Once September arrives, I consider it “fall” fishing even though we aren’t quite there yet. And fall fishing brings anxiety on two fronts. On the upside, the bass will go on a feed and if you time it right, the bite can get wild. On the downside, the next couple of months are the home stretch for my fishing year with the final goal being a November bass before I put the gear away. Choices are tough too, as I have a lot of water that I want to visit and limited time to invest. For this pair of outings, I stuck to The Canal, and I use some pop/rock tunes to help tell the tale in today’s report.

September 14 at 8:18am – Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-0 (13″) on a lipless crankbait 

Stats
Date: September 14-15
Location: Hennepin Canal (2 pools)
Time: 6:45am-10:00am, 6:40am-8:40am
Totals: 3 bass (two on 9/14, one on 9/15)
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 63-79F
Lures: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 1 bass, War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 1-5 (Spro frog on 9/14)
Top 2 Weight (combined trips): 2-5 (1-5,1-0)

Winning – Santana (1981)
“I’m winning, I’m winning, and I don’t intend on losing again.”
The winning lures from September 14

Notes and Nonsense

Dirty Water – The Standells (1966)
The Canal has given me fits lately while hitting spots farther from home. I have found that the further east I progress, the dingier the water. Whether it is solely this variable or not, the results have been as ugly as the water clarity. These two outings were no exception as I could not get anything going despite throwing a bit of everything. From top to bottom and fast to not as fast, it just wasn’t my weekend. The “Dirty Water” tune from The Standells offers up, “I love that dirty water.” Me, not so much.

September 14 at 9:08am – Top Bass at 1-5 (14″) on a topwater frog

Right Place Wrong Time – Dr. John (1973)
My experience of three years and over a hundred miles of rowing, biking, and hiking The Canal has convinced me that there are quality bass all along the waterway. Some stretches are better than others on any given day. For instance, while these two spots had each produced a three-pounder on prior visits, the bass sure had lockjaw on this weekend. In addition, there were a couple glowing reports from anglers fishing to the west of my location. To add my own line to Dr. John’s “Right Place Wrong Time,” I would say that “I was in the right trough, but it must have been the wrong pool.”

September 15 at 6:43am – Lone bass of the morning on a spinnerbait

Go West – Village People (1979)
In my pursuit to post a ten-pound Top 5 on each pool from Colona to the Feeder Basin, I have focused a great deal of time east of Geneseo. On most of the water west of Geneseo, I had already accomplished my goal. While I have not ruled out any more visits to the east before the year ends, I am leaning towards wrapping up the year on the clearer western stretches. Heeding the words of the Village People, “Go west, we will do just fine.”

Just Once – Quincy Jones with James Ingram (1980)
“I did my best, but I guess my best wasn’t good enough.”
Losing lures from September 14

After these tough outings on The Canal, I opted for a change of scenery for my next trip. And I didn’t wait long as I hit the Knox County strip mines on the evening of September 15 for a couple of hours to try and save the day. Stay tuned for that report. Talk to you later. Troy

I gave The Canal a break and headed down to Knox County for an afternoon/evening hike on the strip mines. Feeling spry, I elected to hit several lakes that I had not fished since 2021 which required considerable foot travel to chase those bass.

5:56pm – Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-5 (14″) on a swimbait

Stats
Date: September 7
Location: Knox County public strip pits (4 lakes)
Time: 1:30pm-7:35pm (5.00 hours fishing)
Totals: 45 bass, 1 crappie
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 64-55F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 18 bass, 3.75” Strike King Rage Swimmer Swimbait (pro blue/red pearl) with a Twist Lock Flashy Swimmer jighead – 16 bass and 1 crappie, 5” Yamamoto Senko (natural shad or blue pearl/silver flake) – 8 bass, Rebel Pop-R (purple shad) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 1-6 Senko
Top 5 Weight: 6-5 (1-6,1-5,1-4,1-4,1-2)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

Twin Lake – Back in April 2014, I landed a 4-6 bass from this spot but the largest catch since has been a 1-10 among 167 total bass going back to 2013. So, I have been pursuing another big bass in this lake for ten years and still can’t find one. This outing once again produced numbers with twenty-one bass but the only “keepers” came in right around a pound. Now the question is, do I continue to visit this spot or invest my time on better water?

A bonus “accident” crappie at 0-15 (12.5″) on a swimbait

Horseshoe Lake – A pair of quality catches continue to convince me to make a return to this spot. Brent posted a 3-13 and a 3-8 during 2014 to put this lake on the radar. Like Twin Lake, we have not caught anything worth a darn since. That trend continued this afternoon as I landed ten bass with all falling under twelve inches.

With my daughter in the NIU Huskie Marching Band and performing at the game, I will always remember right where I was when this went final.

Cottonwood Lake – This lake is loaded with small bass, but I still hold out hope that some of them will grow up. Over the years, I have recorded fifty bass from this lake but only nine have been “keepers” and the Top Bass weighing a mere 1-1. This outing produced five more bass between nine and ten inches. But the highlight of this stop was following the Northern Illinois-Notre Dame football matchup. My daughter, Carly, is a member of the NIU Marching Huskie Band and was onsite in South Bend, IN and got to perform on the field. She also witnessed an impressive upset that will be talked about for a long time. My cell reception was spotty, so it kept me on edge waiting to see the result of what was the game winning field goal attempt.

7:03pm – Top Bass at 1-6 (14″) on a Senko

Strip Mine Lake – My finale for the evening was a spot where I have not invested much time fishing over the years. My previous Top Bass among the seventeen bass caught in my brief stops is a 1-15 but I did observe another angler with a five-pounder earlier this year. My results on this day were nine bass (and a quality crappie) in just under two hours of fishing including seven “keepers” but a Top Bass of only 1-6. Encouraging, but tough, steep bank access makes the lake a challenge. Unlike the other three lakes on this trip, I am eager to give it another shot before the year is out.

Plenty of steps and most of them aren’t particularly easy

Wear and Tear – Each year, I intend to get in better shape so that these strip mine hikes aren’t quite so taxing. Yet again, I failed to do so just like every other year going back to 2019. I pushed my hike well off the beaten path and wound up with two sore heels, a twinge in my right knee, and a sore back. And it did not take long for an ongoing case of “caster’s elbow” to start nagging my right elbow. In the middle of the night a cramp flared up in my left calf but fortunately I was able to move around and fend off a full-blown instance.

 

In the end, a particularly good haul in terms of quantity but could not find the big bites. Was it worth the effort and the sore muscles? Well, I was back for more the following afternoon. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Lately, my Canal trips have been to less traveled stretches while attempting to boost my Top 5 weights for those locations into double digits. On this trip, for a change of pace and a shorter drive, I stayed closer to home.

4:31pm – Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-13 (15.5″) on a buzzbait

Stats
Date: August 28
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 4:10pm-6:55pm
Totals: 6 bass
Weather: Sunny/calm, 87F
Lures: Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 4 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 1 bass, Senko wacky rig (natural shad) – 1 bass
Top 4 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 6-7 (1-15,1-13,1-7,1-4)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Evening Heat – Nearly all my summer fishing this year has been morning outings to beat the heat. On this day, I took a weekday off work, and had my errands completed by mid-afternoon, so I felt that I had earned time on the water. Having been distracted by my tasks all day, I did not realize just how hot it was. In addition, the tree-lined stretch of The Canal I chose along with calm conditions made for a hot, still tunnel hit by full sun the entire afternoon. In no time at all, I was soaked with sweat, long before I reached the turnaround and had to row close to a mile back to the parking lot.

Topwater Commitment – This stretch of The Canal has abundant weed growth this time of the year. Over forty percent of the surface is weed covered, with another quarter of the stretch featuring vegetation just under the surface. The weed free portions consist of narrow channels between the surface weeds and scattered pools of open water. As such, the one-two punch of a buzzbait and frog get a workout. Ideally, cloud cover is desired, but you can’t control the weather and must make the best of what you’ve got. In such instances, I like to hit shady spots around overhanging trees and work a lot of retrieves as close to lengthy weed edges as possible. The aim is to run the bait along as much edge as possible in hopes that a bass lurking in the shade of trees or surface weeds will get tempted to take a shot.

 

Bass #800 – While it wasn’t much of a bass in terms of quality, the catch in the above video represented Bass #800 all-time from The Canal. A solid fishery and a lot of hours of learning since June 5, 2021, when I landed my first Canal bass. I still can’t believe that I neglected the waterway for nearly seven years after moving to the Quad City Area. In the meantime, the old Canal has been good to me, and I have my sights set on Bass #1000 sometime next year.

4:44pm – Top Bass at 1-15 (15.5″) on a buzzbait

Top 5 Quest – In my Canal experience, I have logged just under thirty hours on this stretch and landed ninety-three bass. My current all-time Top 5 weight on the pool sits at 12-8, consisting of bass weighing 2-12,2-12,2-8,2-7, and 2-1. My Top Bass of 1-15 on this outing came up a bit shy of giving me a boost but glad I gave the area a shot for the first time this year.

 

I am not sure if I will be back on this stretch before the year ends as I have my eye on spots that lack a double-digit Top 5. And speaking of that, stay tuned for the first September report of the year as I took a shot at a spot in search of an eleven-ounce boost. Talk to you later. Troy

Back on July 7, I hit one of my seldom visited stretches of The Canal and ran into an uncomfortable spider situation in one of the tubes that I had to traverse. Well, I wanted to fish the water again but this time I was smarter (and scared), so I opted to approach it from an alternate launching point. While this allowed me to avoid the spiders, I found that the resident bass were in a mood to avoid me. I did fool a few though so read on for the results and rambles.

7:36am – First Bass at 1-11 (15.5″) on a topwater frog

Stats
Date: August 17
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 7:20am-10:50am
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Overcast/breezy to windy, 67-75F
Lures: Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 2 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 2 bass
Top 2 Weight (only 2 at 12” or better): 4-4 (2-9,1-11)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Comparing Notes – About an hour and a half into my morning, I had just landed my second (and largest) bass as a pair of boating anglers got within conversation distance. Disappointed with my total, I was feeling a bit embarrassed to fess up that I only had two bass to show for my efforts. To my surprise, the other anglers admitted that they had only landed two smaller bass after covering even more distance. I told them not to take it the wrong way, but it made me feel better to know others were struggling as well.

8:41am – Top Bass at 2-9 (17″) on a topwater frog 

Confidence – Even after forty plus years of trying to be a bass fisherman, it can be difficult to keep your chin up during a tough bite. But my chat with the other anglers about their similar struggle recalled a conversation with Dad a number of years ago about experience. He said that Brent and I shouldn’t sell ourselves short as not just anybody can go out there and catch a batch of bass consistently. Great advice to keep the confidence up from a guy who knows a thing or two about fishing and the outdoors. Of course, he’s a little biased and would also profess that he taught us everything we know.

Sample shot of multiple gar breaking the surface

Gulping Gar – On one portion of the stretch that I was fishing, I observed constant, scattered ripples of fish breaking the surface. Initially, I assumed they were shad being chased by bass, but the frequency, consistency, and sheer number of disturbances seemed different than the sporadic flurries of prey spooked by predators. As I got closer, I stopped casting to focus on figuring out what was taking place. When several of the fish broke the surface near the boat, I suddenly realized that they were gar. Now, I have seen a handful of gar on The Canal, but this was something to behold as dozens of the fish repeatedly rolled at the surface. I attempted to get a strike on a wacky rigged Senko but only had one follow that I observed upon lifting my lure out of the water at boatside. That fish was of considerable size as best I could make out in the murky water and was the largest of any that were observed up close. It was a cool sight, and I stopped in the same area again as I headed back downstream later. Internet research revealed that gar will come to the surface in such a manner to intake air for supplemental oxygen in low oxygen environments. Summer on parts of The Canal with sluggish current and dingy water would certainly fit the bill and result in such behavior.

A little tough to see but this was a sizeable gar that followed my Senko to the boat

The learning on The Canal continues as you never know what you will encounter. While I did not encounter many bass on this trip, the gathering of gar was something to behold. And before I forget, the 2-9 Top Bass knocked a 1-9 out of my Top 5, raising my weight for the stretch to 10-1. Mission accomplished and talk to you later. Troy