Still trying to play catch up as it is often tough to keep the pace with the reports when I string together several fishing days in a short time frame. As such, I had originally planned on passing along some more Lake Storey notes, pics and video but have elected to shift gears. Instead, you get the last of three fishing reports from my fishing “vacation” with plenty more fishing posts next week. So, first things first.

Stats
Date: October 22, 2018
Location: Knox County, IL strip mines – private (2 lakes)
Time: 10:30am-2:15pm
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy
Air Temp: 51-66F
Water Temp: no gauge
Totals: 4 bass
Lures:
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 4 bass
Top Bass: 1-1 Red Eye Shad
Top 5 Weight (only 2 at 12” or better): 2-1 (1-1,1-0)

12:59pm First bass and Top Bass 13.5″ 1-1 Red Eye Shad, only took 2.5 hours to find and fool this one

Notes and Nonsense

The Goal – After a pair of productive outings at Lake Storey to end the previous week I was faced with a dilemma. While Lake Storey was a blast, it typically is not my go to spot when looking for a Top 5 boost which was part of my aim on this day. However, Brent had landed three good fish at Lake Storey, all of which would have provided a bump for my rough Top 5 year. But, that’s Brent fishing and not me. I’d put my money on him for bigger fish out there as opposed to perhaps even money on the strip mines. So, off I headed for a pair of my Knox County strip mines that have solid potential for those sought after Top 5 culls.

I make a point to keep Julie up to speed, at least she knows I’m not lost or worse

The Results – It took me 2.5 hours and two lakes to even catch a bass and not even close to knocking anything out of my Top 5. On a positive note, it only took me five minutes to land my next bass but it was an ounce lighter than the previous non-Top 5 booster. But hey, at least I was perhaps onto something. I managed another pair of short fish on Stop Two before deciding that my finale should be a return to Stop One. Yes, that’s Stop One where I had been shutout to start my day. However, the lure of some large bass that live there brought me back for one more shot. And they all ignored me yet again, shutout on both ends of the Stop One doubleheader.

1:04pm 13″ 1-0 not as big as I was looking for but what I got as the bass come out on top

Top 5 Bass (sort of) – As soon as I arrived on Stop One, I spotted a fellow angler approaching the bank about 50 yards away. Two of his casts later, I heard him tell his wife, who was alongside him, that he had a fish and it was a good one. I proceeded to observe the battle and even from a distance it was indeed a nice bass. The angler asked if I had a scale and I then rowed over to assist with the weigh-in. Final result came in at 5-9, just what I was looking for and perhaps a good sign that some big ones would cooperate (not so much for me as it turned out). I congratulated the fellow on a good catch and, of course, gave a plug for a certain website that showcases the catches of fellow fish chasers. His wife even looked up the site on her phone as we all chatted for a bit, another cool example of how technology can actually be productive. I’ve yet to see the fish in the Inbox but time will tell.

No sense in stretching this one out anymore as it was just a tough day. I briefly thought that perhaps I should have went to the well one more time with a Lake Storey outing but in the end still felt that I made the right decision. I went all in for some big bass and gave it my best shot on some good water but this time around the bass simply won.

A Top 5 Update comes your way Monday that you definitely don’t want to miss followed up by a couple more posts of Lake Storey stuff and then the regular Friday Flashback. A busy week ahead here on the blog featuring some quality content. Hope you’ll tune in and talk to you later. Troy

Finally able to work in a Lake Storey trip for 2018 as I was starting to wonder if I would be able to get it done before the weather got too ugly for me. It took the investment of a pair of vacation days but certainly worth it for back to back days on my “home lake.” The first of the two reports coming at you below and happy to say some productive days on a longtime favorite fall fishing destination.

Stats

Date: October 18, 2018
Location: Lake Storey – Knox County, IL
Time: 10:20am-4:35pm
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy
Air Temp: 44-61F
Water Temp: 54-58F
Totals: 13 bass
Lures:
Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white shad) – 13 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 6-2 (1-8,1-6,1-2,1-1,1-1)

1:03pm Top Bass 14.5″ 1-8 Spinnerbait

Notes & Nonsense

First Cast – Lake Storey can be a stingy lake at times as it supports a population of smart bass that get their education via a steady stream of angling pressure. So when you launch your boat, do your best intro, describe a historically productive spot and then proceed to catch a bass on your first cast of the day, all you can do is laugh at your good fortune. And while I’ve often viewed the “first cast bass” as a potential bit of bad luck, all worked out just fine on this day. Video of the catch below.

Shifting Gears – After nabbing that first cast bass on a spinnerbait, I kept on tossing it around my regular stops and it kept on getting bit. Now I’m not normally a spinnerbait guy on Lake Storey (that would be my brother Brent’s gig as we will see in the next report) as I lean towards more of a crankbait bite. But there’s no way I’m going to alter my offering when the bass are telling me that they want a spinnerbait. Yes, even as a creature of habit, I’m not that stubborn. For proof, the spinnerbait caught every fish on this outing as my brief foray into other offerings (crankbaits, creature baits and lipless cranks) proved to be unproductive so I wisely set them aside.

11:14am featuring a reveal on the bait that got the job done

Fun in the Sun – While full sun concerns me at a number of my fishing holes, Lake Storey is not one of them as I also prefaced in my intro. Turned out just fine as all but one of my catches were soaking up some rays on the banks hit by direct sunlight.

3:11pm Solid, stout fish are easy on the eyes, 14.5″ 1-6 on Spinnerbait

Not Made in the Shade – In contrast to the sun success, I sure couldn’t buy a bite in the shade. Even when fishing similar depth and structure it was just no go. Unfortunately, it took me a while to figure out that even my go to spots just weren’t going to work on the shady side as I went about an hour without a bite before making another run in the sun.

Wood is Good – Recent rains had brought the water level up a bit compared to the full drawdown pool which was kind of cool as it brought some structure back into play. A great deal more wood in the form of laydowns and brush were now shallow targets and 9 of my 13 catches were in those neighborhoods.

Fishing Friend – Ran into a fellow fisherman that I have known since the 80s and had a good chat which was a pleasant addition to our prodigious email correspondence discussing Lake Storey and beyond over the years. I’ll call him “Larry” and while he was walleye fishing on this day, he noted that he’d run into a few bass in the pound range and backed up my assessment on how healthy the bass looked. So while size was lacking the bass were indeed a stout sort.

Consistency – Kind of interesting too, that my Top 5 Weight for the day of 6-2 was an exact match from my last outing on October 2, 2017.
10/18/2018 Top 5 Weight: 6-2 (1-8,1-6,1-2,1-1,1-1)
10/2/2017 Top 5 Weight 6-2 (1-11,1-3,1-2,1-1,1-1)

No lunkers on this outing but I was quite pleased with the quantity of bites and the quality build of the catch. My average catch rate based on data from 1997 to present comes in at 0.98 bass per hour so this trip’s rate of 2.08 was outstanding for me. And what was also cool was the fact that I would be back on the water the next day with my brother, Brent, a spinnerbait wizard, to do it all over again. That report heads your way soon as the 2018 version of something I call “Lake Lowdown.” But first, a recap of what the feature is all about along with the historical data from all prior “Lake Lowdown” outings. Hope you’ll check it out and talk to you later. Troy

After 57 days without a bass, I was quite happy that back to back weekends to end the month offered opportunities to go fishing.  A September without any fish would be a real bummer as it is one of my favorite months of the year to get on the water.  For September fishing trip number two, on top of the expected enthusiasm, I was also looking forward to teaming up with a friend, Jim Junk, who is having quite a year as our Top 5 leader.  Here’s the scoop.

Stats

Date: September 30, 2018
Location: Knox/Fulton County, IL strip pits (3 public, 2 private)
Time: 6:30am-10:45am and beyond (details later in report)
Weather: Partly cloudy/calm to breezy
Air Temp: 53-74F
Totals: 42 bass (Troy = 24, Jim = 18)
Lures Troy
Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (snow white shad) – 8 bass
Senko wacky rig (pumpkin/black flake) – 7 bass
Strike King KVD 2.5 Rattling Squarebill crankbait (sexy shad) – 5 bass
Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) – 3 bass
Zara Spook (black shore minnow) – 1 bass
Lures Jim
Wacky rigged worm or white spinnerbait
Top Bass: Jim 3-14 Wacky worm, Troy 1-13 Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight Jim: 14-7 (3-14,3-4,2-8,2-7,2-6)
Top 5 Weight Troy: 8-11 (1-13,1-12,1-12,1-11,1-11)

7:03am on the board with a double

Notes and Nonsense

The Shallows – After about 20 minutes without a bite we rowed into a spot that afforded casts in opposite directions, each to a shallow pocket. Prior to taking our shots I mentioned that I often get a bite despite there being some pretty skinny water. Right on cue we soon had a double in the boat and we were off and running. Our second catches, mere minutes later, also came aboard in similar synchronized fashion and we missed a third double about ten minutes later. As the day progressed, we continued to find our Knox County bass quite shallow which is just fine by me.

8:56am with my second largest bass of the day at 1-12 on a buzzbait

Old Boat, New Junk – Jim has posted quite a Top 5 creel this year which I find additionally impressive due to his catches coming while prowling the bank. So, while my eight foot johnboat is not particularly glamorous I hoped that it at least provided some new scenery as we hit all the spots that a bank angler views as “I sure wish I could get over there.” Jim and I had visited one of the lakes in Dad’s Bass Tracker in June but the little boat is a whole different ballgame and I had a laugh later upon realizing that I had added another Junk to the list of co-anglers in the watercraft. Back in the 80s I prowled Knox County waters with his brothers, John and Mark, took his sister-in-law, Lisa, along about 15 years ago (she was eight months pregnant at the time) and his nephew, Brady, has had the boat out for a few adventures (not sure if Jim’s boy, Matthew, may have been aboard on some of those as well). I always say that I take too much stuff along on my outings but apparently never can have enough Junk in the boat.

9:45am – Jim’s 2-8 was Top Bass from the Knox County leg of the day

12:22pm – My Top Bass of the day at 1-13 on a spinnerbait from Knox County walk-in strip mine

Full Day Addendum – While we had a successful morning in combining for 37 bass in just under four hours at Little John, we both had other tricks up our sleeves. I headed to some walk-in ground after our joint outing for another dozen bass while Jim remained at Little John chasing some crappie. I stopped by again on my way home about 2:00pm just as Jim was wrapping up, or so I thought. Instead, about 7:45pm I got a text from Jim stating that he had made his last casts of the day at around 6:30pm at Banner Marsh where he fooled five more at 3-14,3-4,2-7,2-6 and 1-9.

Jim couldn’t get enough fishing it seems and his dedication paid off in Fulton County to end a long day

One That Got Away – As painful as it can be, it’s a fishing standard that inevitably hits every angler from time to time. The fishing gods decided it was Jim’s turn this time around. Shortly before we ditched the little boat and went our separate fishing ways, Jim flicked his wacky rig onto a shallow ledge featuring a collection of laydowns and worked his lure towards the edge into deeper water. I wasn’t sure if it was a fish or a snag in the initial split second when I saw his rod bend but a huge thrash just at the surface and a big flash of green and white screamed “Big fish!” However, seconds later the worm came loose and we were left to wonder. I did not offer up an estimate, not the time or place, and we didn’t fish long enough afterwards for the topic to come back up. But after nearly a week to replay those few seconds, I’ll just say that the current lake record of 5-14 (a bass caught by Jim in 2014) wouldn’t be the lake record anymore.

My arsenal for the day while Jim scored with a wacky rig and spinnerbait

A solid and enjoyable day on the water as we put the first week of Fall behind us. If pressed to choose, I would have to say that this is my favorite time of the year to chase some bass. Too tough to put the appeal into words but knowing that the days on the water are numbered seems to bring an added appreciation. Just a vibe that this is the home stretch knowing what looms on the horizon in terms of the seasons. Those bass know it too, providing us anglers with a good opportunity to find a few that let their guard down. Here’s hoping for a few more chances to cross paths with a Fall feeding frenzy. Talk to you later. Troy

Boy, is it fun when you get it right.

And even more rewarding when you are traipsing cross country over some challenging terrain in search of some bites with a longtime fishing companion.

The best day of 2013 (83 bass including a rock solid Top 5) comes your way below via some excerpts from the original post.

Back in 1980, the R&B/Funk duo, The Brothers Johnson, posted their third and final Top 10 hit with an entertaining cut called “Stomp!.” Well, lets fast forward to September 2013 when the bass fishing duo known as The Brothers Jackson put a “stomp” on some Knox County strip mine bass. Here’s how it went down.

Stats
Date: September 29, 2013
Location: Knox County public walk-in strip mines
Time: 7:50am-1:15pm (4 hours fishing, the rest walking)
Weather: Sunny/windy
Air Temp: 60-75F
Water Temp: not available
Totals: 83 bass & 2 green sunfish (7 different lakes)
Brent Totals: 44 bass & 1 green sunfish
Troy Totals: 39 bass & 1 green sunfish
Lures Brent: White Spinnerbait, Mann’s 4- crankbait
Lures Troy: Rebel Suspending Jerkbait – 22 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (orange craw) – 10 bass, Bass Pro Shops River Bug – 5 bass, Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait (rainbow) – 1 bass, K9 Walker stickbait (Madd Shad) – 1 bass
Top Bass Brent: 2-5 Mann’s 4- crankbait
Top Bass Troy: 4-3 Rebel Suspending Jerkbait
Top 5 Weight: 15-7 (4-3,4-0,3-5,2-5,1-10)

8:52am Top Bass #3 of the day 19.5″ 3-5 Jerkbait

Changeups – Lots of decisions are made during four hours on the water (or bank in this case) and it is rewarding when they pay dividends. It doesn’t always work in our favor but just as I report the lackluster performances and bad calls, I also pass along the times when we get it right. Either way, it’s simply a matter of giving you my version of the straight dope from a day on the water. The following “changeups” went a long way towards making this a memorable day.

9:54am Top Bass #4 of the day 2-5 Crankbait

Changeup #1 (9:54am) – Relying solely on his white spinnerbait, Brent had put on a fishing clinic at our third stop while never leaving his spot on the bank. He’d landed nine bass in just over twenty minutes before his bite left. As we were considering leaving he tied on a Mann’s 4- crankbait and proceeded to nail a 2-5, his largest of the day, on his first cast. While taking the above photo I made sure to compliment Brent on this changeup to add a solid second fish to our creel (all fish released though). We wound up sticking around for another twenty minutes and landed nine more bass combined to bring the lake totals to 19 bass in 45 minutes.

10:25am Top Bass #5 of the day 1-10

Changeup #2 (10:25am) – Brent moved from the main body of our fourth lake to a narrow finger and proceeded to clean house with his spinnerbait. In a hurry, he had five bass to my one and added another solid bass to our five fish limit with a 1-10. Once again I offered a thumbs up on a productive decision that would eventually produce a total of thirteen bass for him in forty five minutes.

10:43am Top Bass #2 of the day 20″ 4-0 Jerkbait

Changeup #3 (10:43am) – I took over the point Brent had vacated with his move to the finger and quickly had a large bass explode on my K9 Walker stickbait. I briefly had the fish on but it let go and left me pretty bummed that it hadn’t hooked up. A few casts later, to my surprise, the bass busted the bait again but completely missed with its tail clearing the water and providing reason for dejection as it was a good one. I opted to leave the fish alone and moved to a nearby dropoff with a muskrat run extending out into deeper water. Two casts later with a suspending jerkbait and Brent was snapping a photo of me holding a 4-0.

10:53am Top Bass of the day 20″ 4-3 Stickbait

Changeup #4 (10:53am) – I definitely wasn’t leaving without giving my hot fish one more chance and moved back to the point where I’d enticed the two blowups. Amazingly, the bass gave me a third shot and this time his aim on the K9 Walker was true and our former Top Bass was displaced after ten minutes with a 4-3. The neat thing is that this is a handmade bait that I received from a blog reader and commenter, Frank Harvey. In fact, as I posed for the picture, leaving the lure hanging out of a lip, I said to Brent, “How cool is that to catch it on Frank’s lure.” Thanks, Frank, it’s a winner!

K9 Walker homemade stickbait crafted by a reader at my former blogging gig

We wound up our day hitting all the spots we’d aimed to fish, racking up a couple dozen more bass in our run and gun process. It was tough to leave a few fishing holes but we were on a mission as we had plans to attend a birthday cookout for Dad that evening. At one point during a good bite, Brent wondered aloud if we’d make it to all of the lakes we had on our agenda. I responded that if the bass kept it up we might not make it to the family gathering. It was that kind of day. We left tired and a little sore, but a good kind of tired and a little sore. It didn’t take me long to get over it though as I was back the following day headed for a half dozen more lakes in a different direction. But that’s another story.

Believe it or not that is the slightly abbreviated version. As much as I like to talk fishing, I sometimes find it hard to stop. Especially on a day when the bass make you look like you actually know what you are doing. Talk to you later. Troy

My boy, Jayce, gets us on the board for September

In conjunction with a weekend work errand I was able to swing a visit to the Knox County, Illinois strip mines, Little John Conservation Club to be specific. A last minute change of plans also had me playing fishing guide as opposed to struggling angler desperately trying to fool some more respectable bass for his less than impressive Top 5 total. Perhaps some time for that later this month as taking one of your boys fishing should take priority.

And it did.

As expected, however, it put just a little different spin on the outing. The nine-year old version of a fishing trip is considerably briefer and a bit more prone to distraction than the fifty-something guy who thinks he’s a Bassmaster version. We put in maybe 45 minutes on the water/bank and fooled only one bass but nonetheless had an adventure complete with some education, celebration, imagination and one’s that got away.

Jayce’s request for a heavier version of the wacky rig was the right call as the Zappu Inchi Wacky Head saved the day

Education – Rather strong winds were not only a challenge for the guide while rowing the boat but also raised a red flag for my young fishing partner. His weightless Senko wacky rig just didn’t have much sink to it in the choppy conditions prompting Jayce to ask, “Dad, do you have anything with weight?” Indeed I did and I was quite impressed with Jayce’s assessment that his presentation needed an adjustment from the only way he’d ever previously fished the highly effective wacky rig. Enter the Zappu Inchi Wacky Head which proved to be a winner mere minutes later. Well done, young man!

Well done, young man, on this task also as its kind of nice to just chill in the truck

Celebration – Like a dummy, I did not have my GoPro rigged up to catch the exciting action of our lone bass but we did do a post catch interview. Just like the big boys we ran down the details on the lure that got the job done even though we have yet to market our skills to some sponsors (Gary Yamamoto, if you’re out there reading though…). Unlike some of the big boys, however, we actually reported the stats on our catch to the nearest half inch and ounce. A little education here as well, the old “honesty is the best policy” standard.

Imagination – Don’t know if anybody else out there is into this “The Meg” thing but my boys sure are “obsessed with it” (Jayce’s description). If you are unaware, it’s “Jaws” for the new generation with a giant, prehistoric shark known as a Megalodon terrorizing ocean goers and facing off with a band of heroes out to save the day. Well, what I didn’t know is that apparently “The Meg” is not relegated to salt water as it had a bead on our eight foot johnboat while headed back to the ramp (insert classic boat line from “Jaws” here). Other than a handful of lightning storms or high winds, I have never rowed so fast during my decades on the business end of some oars. I’m not sure how “The Meg” ends as I’m still wavering on whether viewing is such a good idea for a seven and nine year old but in our adventure the good guys lived to fish again.

My assessment of how it feels as you attempt to escape the colossal “Meg”

Ones That Got Away – About ten minutes in, Jayce started to holler. “Dad! Dad! Dad!” and I observed the tip of his bowed rod nearly hitting the water’s surface. Jayce then stated, “It’s pulling good” before the lure came shooting out of the water as the fish had let go. Who knows but sure looked like it could have been a quality fish. Near the end of our afternoon Jayce told me to go ahead and fish as he prowled the bank messing with little frogs. A cast to a productive laydown got me a bite and from my perch on the bank about six feet above the water I actually got a decent look before my fish also let go. Looked to be one pushing the two pound range which qualifies as a “good one” in my book and a downright trophy bass for my rough 2018.

Chalk up another adventure that played out a bit different than the original plan but good stuff during some rare one on one time with one of the kids. Although the haul was only one bass I was encouraged by three bites in limited casting and less than ideal water conditions as the normally clear lake still features a substantial stain to the water. Solid call on altering his lure presentation by my protégé and good practice for him in casting for bass from a watercraft as opposed to the bank, he did quite well.

A welcome exclamation point to our outing

Oh yeah, and we tuned into the radio on the ride to hear the makings of a Cubs victory as they played longball on a young Phillies Cy Young Award candidate. A great day all around. Talk to you later. Troy