Well, it sure hasn’t looked much like October the last couple days as several inches of snow have graced the West Central Illinois landscape. Not a fan, but hey, at least its Friday so time for another fish story.

Originally posted 11-6-14 with the tagline: “A couple good bites save the day.”

I always look forward to the annual fall drawdown on Knox County’s Lake Storey.  The Monday after Labor Day is marked on my mental calendar as that is customarily when the plug is pulled, dropping the lake several feet for fishery management purposes.  The body of water can be a tough nut to crack but I eagerly await the challenge each year.  My first visit with Dad back on September 27 was a rough day but didn’t deter Brent and me from giving it another shot nearly a month later; here’s how it went.

8:59am – Brent posts our first bass on what would be a lean day.

Stats

Date: October 26, 2014
Location: Lake Storey
Time: 7:15am-1:15pm
Weather: Sunny/windy
Air Temp:  40-65F
Water Temp: 55F
Totals: 4 bass, 1 muskie
Lures Troy: Xcalibur XR50 lipless crankbait (chicken pox) – 1bass, Strike King KVD Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 1 muskie
Lures Brent: Emiquon Special spinnerbait – 2 bass, Muskrat style creature bait – 1 bass
Top Bass: Brent 3-11 Emiquon Special

A look at several lures that got the job done

Notes & Nonsense

Crowd – I’m kind of a loner when on the water as I would prefer not having to share with too many other anglers.  I’m not entirely antisocial but like my personal space when chasing bass and that comfort zone could accurately be measured in acres.  However, on this day I was pretty impressed with the number of fellow anglers who were taking a shot at various species.  There were guys chunking monster muskie plugs, run and gun or flipping bass fishermen, drifting and casting panfishermen and at least one bankfishing catfisherman.  We all behaved, gave plenty of leeway and from observation and conversation all seemed to be having a tough day.

How’s this for an inexpensive muskie bait?

Price is Right – In a world of $20+ muskie lures I’ve found quite a bargain.  My go to muskie bait is a Strike King KVD Rattling Squarebill crankbait in the Natural Pumpkinseed pattern that carries a price tag of around six bucks.  It’s got me a pair of mid 30” muskies this year including the latest pictured below.  And if not for some hesitation at boatside two years ago that lead to a break off, I would have landed another that would have easily surpassed the twenty pound mark.  Including the “one that got away” with my crankbait in its jaw, I guess these “muskie” lures have actually cost about twelve bucks.  Still a drop in the bucket compared to the several hundred dollars’ worth of muskie stuff I have that I never use.   Of course, each of these fish were bass fishing “accidents” but they all count in my book.

8:35am – my first fish of the day was nearly my only fish of the day

Juice – Our gameplan changed about mid-morning when Brent reported that the bow mount foot controlled trolling motor was not responding well.  Therefore, we switched it over to what is the starting battery for our gas motor as you can’t use it on Lake Storey anyhow.  I also had the spare trolling motor on the back with a moderately fresh battery that we use for “long” runs between our targets.  For once the wind was actually pushing us back to the ramp which was a bonus (normally kind of a Murphy’s Law thing no matter where we fish).  Being worried about enough juice we wound up skipping several go-to spots and hitting a number of other less inspiring possibilities.  While somewhat disappointing, it probably wouldn’t have mattered as it just wasn’t our day to get the bass figured out.

10:13am – Top Bass 18.5″ 3-11 on the Emiquon Special

Saving the Day – About midway through our day Brent set the hook on the fish above which would be our lone quality bass bite of the whole trip.   His bass came from an area that features the combination of a fair sized tree paired with riprap that had been catching some morning sun.  The depth was only about 2-3’ and shows that you can still get your shallow bites late in the year if the conditions cooperate.  It also shows that his legendary Emiquon Special spinnerbait can produce quality bites no matter where it goes.

11:35am – narrowly avoiding a bass shutout…very narrowly

Two trips comprising twelve hours of bass fishing on Lake Storey this year produced the meager results of two decent muskies and eight bass including a 1-11 and a 3-11. Maybe not the idea of a good time (or a good day) for some but that’s life on Lake Storey as the bass just don’t jump into the boat on most days.  No doubt we could have fared better on some strip mine ground which was Plan B for this particular trip if the wind was too much to manage.  But conditions were reasonable and Lake Storey won out as our destination along with winning the battle between bass and fishermen. And I’m okay with that.

While it looks like the snow will leave us alone for the extended forecast, the temps don’t look real pleasant. Call me a fair weather fisherman but the whole November bass to end the season thing is looking rather bleak. Talk to you later. Troy

Once upon a time, one of my buddies showed up late one fall night at Knox College with a fish story. Well, thirty one years later “Hack” is back as the first ever guest blogger here on the website. Enjoy.

A 1980s action shot of my longtime friend and fishing buddy, Hack.

Hack’s Big Bass Story

My name is Hack. I have a big bass story to tell.

I always think of myself as a BASS fisherman. Although I’ve been unofficially retired for more than 20 years, I believe I can still get right back into the game. I look forward to reading Troy’s fishing exploits and blog entries every week. The time is now 2019. I have now lived in South Carolina for more than 16 years. There is a huge man-made lake in my backyard where multiple BASS tournaments have taken place. I kick myself for not taking advantage of Lake Hartwell every day.

My name is Hack. I was born and raised in Knoxville, Illinois. I have been a buddy of Troy’s since the early 80’s. I’m a Knox County born guy who spent my youth running around the Illinois Midwest area chasing largemouth BASS. Together, we spent many days carrying fishing gear to the best fishing holes that showed promise to deliver the biggest lunker. Typical targets included Lake Storey, Emstrom’s Pond, The Ponderosa, Green Oaks, strip mines, and various other water holes.

My name is Hack. My story begins with a typical 1988 fall Tuesday night in Knoxville. I’m a recent graduate of Knox College. I have a friend that lives at Oak Run. Oak Run has a Tuesday night Bass tournament. My friend that lives at Oak Run invites me to be his partner in the tournament. I’m All In!

The timeframe is September 1988. I have to be at work at Gates Rubber Company at 11:00 pm. The tourney begins around 5 pm on a Tuesday night. I arrive at my buddy’s house and we take off to meet the fellow competitors at the main dock. It’s a typical night. All is going to plan. I’ll fish. Have a couple beers. Head to work.

The tournament begins. Like every tourney night, we fish the good spots; tossing spinner baits against the docks. We let them drop and gradually reel them in. Life is good! Life is normal.

My name is Hack. This night is different. My partner and I have caught a couple keepers. We are comfortable enough to enjoy a couple of white cans while we fish. It’s getting dark and we only have an hour to go in the tournament. I cast a long side armed cast with my spinning reel that hits the float of a pontoon in its dock. The spinner bait drops. I feel a tug. I set the hook. The fight is on!

I’m fighting a big one. We both know it. My rod is doubled over and as the fish approaches the boat, the drama begins. The fish is going directly under the boat. I cannot move quick enough to keep the line from being trapped under the boat near the motor. I quickly stick my rod into the water and try to move to the front end of the boat. SNAP! My pole breaks.

My name is Hack. I’m ticked off. I just lost a big one! I throw my rod down to the floor of the boat and say a couple of my favorite cuss words. The pessimist in me is obvious.

My partner is an optimist. Thank God! He grabs my line and begins pulling. The fish is still connected to the hook. My rod is just broke. WOW! He yells at me to pick up my reel and he’ll be the rod. Sure enough, we land the fish. It is Huge!

I can’t believe we just caught a big bass with a broken pole. Time now to celebrate with a couple white cans as we head back to the weigh in. I’m sure we are winning some money tonight.

As we approach the docks, some of the other fishermen ask what all of the hollering was about that they heard. It wasn’t us. (wink, wink)

My partner in crime on this night decided that we would not bring our fish to the weigh-in until all others were done. We acted like we hadn’t caught anything at all.

The time was now upon us to show out. The totals were in except for the missing partner. He states that he is coming to the scales. There is my big fish along with the few other keepers in the bag. The crowd knew something was up. We didn’t win the total weight for the evening but we did win the biggest fish. Total earnings for the big fish was $120. A great night!

Now comes the tradition of the winners of the tourney sharing their prosperity with the other anglers. The team that won the total weight overall buys a round of drinks for all of the competitors at the local watering hole. The team that won the biggest fish overall buys a round of drinks for all of the competitors at the local watering hole.

My name is Hack. This is where the story of my Big Bass begins to be legendary.

I keep the 6 pound 4 ounce bass on ice to keep and have mounted. The round of beer that I owed to all of the participants quickly wiped out the bulk of my winnings. I split the balance of the remaining amount with my partner since he provided the boat. Oh, Snap! I forgot that the fish broke my pole. That’s another $50 bucks. This fish is going to cost me money.

I haven’t mentioned the cost to have the fish mounted. Oh man! This big bass is killing me.

By the time we’re done celebrating with the fellow fisherman, I realize that I do not have enough time to make it to work on time. I call in sick!

I find my way back to my buddies at Knox College to share the events of the evening knowing that they will provide me a shelter to hide while I miss a night of work.

The story of the fish is told. I’m a hero only in my own mind.

Guilt killed me as I should not have called out of work. The fish stayed in a deep freeze cooler for years before my brother paid to have it mounted for me as a Christmas gift.

When I finally received the mounted fish, I displayed it with pride in a house at Lake Bracken. The fish now resides with the one person who may appreciate it more than me. The lure that tricked it to bite still hangs from its mouth.

Likely not the actual lure but similar style and vintage from the 1980s

Still dig that tale having heard and told it just a few times over the years and even better direct from the source all these years later. Well done, Hack, and thanks for the contribution.

That bass hung on the wall of my house at Lake Bracken through the 90s and later made the move to several of my other residences over the next couple decades. However, by the time we made our last move from Galesburg to the Quad Cities, the bass had deteriorated to the point that it was time to say “Farewell.” When recruiting Hack to share his tale I informed him that the mount was no more. He responded, “No issues here with the retirement of the bass. He led an interesting life.”

And as the subject of a fish story, that bass continues to live on with a tale that could end up who knows where via a medium that essentially did not exist back in the day. Talk to you later. Troy

Original log entry from a successful day on the water

Here’s a fish story from a pretty amazing Central Illinois fishing hole that I was fortunate enough to get a look at for the first time five years ago today.

Originally Posted 10-22-14

Is this there anything quite as exciting for an angler as new water?

It always gets me pretty fired up; even more so if it is a premier fishing hole with a reputation for some outstanding Illinois bass fishing. So when I got an invite this summer from a fellow named Chris Rock to wet a line in his lakes I was more than a little enthused. However, I was also more than a little bit busy and nearly missed my shot for 2014. A challenging weather day didn’t make it easy on us but it was sure worth an occasional numb digit and several layers of clothing.

Stats
Date: October 18, 2014
Location: Peoria County lakes
Time: 9:30am-4:45pm
Weather: Overcast/windy
Air Temp: 47-52F
Water Temp: 54-56F
Totals: pushing 100 bass (Troy – 46 bass, Chris – similar numbers)
Lures Troy: Booyah Counterstrike Spinnerbait (salt & pepper) – 18 bass, Xcalibur XR50 lipless crankbait (chicken pox) – 11 bass, Senko weighted wacky rig (baby bass or natural shad) – 8 bass, Jig & Pig (black/blue or watermelon/green/black) – 7 bass, Strike King KVD Rattling Squarebill Crankbait (natural pumpkinseed) – 2 bass
Lures Chris: primarily a jig along with a chatterbait and Strike King crankbait
Top Bass: Chris 5-10 Jig

 

As big as they got for me but quantity was real solid for a chilly October day

Notes & Nonsense

Backstory – Chris runs a truck route for one of my employer’s plants and apparently is one of the few people that I’m not related to who actually reads my blog postings. A co-worker mentioned that I should meet Chris and in that process I got an invite to fish. I was well aware of the lakes from the occasional appearance on a regional outdoor website and was real interested.

Fishing Fall – If pressed to select a favorite time period to chase bass, mid-September through October would quite likely be tops. However, during this time frame you just never know what hand Mother Nature will deal as the weather can be all over the place. Being a weekend angler with family obligations these days it narrows the window and keeps me honest when professing that “the best time to go fishing is anytime you can.” On this day the mercury hit the low 50’s but with a pretty steady north wind it sure never resembled what one would call warm. Despite reeling in more than a few bass neither Chris nor I worked up a sweat that necessitated removing any layers. In fact, we both went as far as stocking caps shortly into the trip and stayed that way all day. Luckily we never had to resort to gloves and a near 100 bass day does go a long way towards negating the occasional chill.

Had to shift gears from the tried and true black and blue to fool a few

A Pig of a Different Color – When it comes to jig fishing, I am true black and blue through and through. I’d bet that 90% of my jig bass have been fooled by some variety of this general color scheme. Therefore, it was a little unsettling when my old faithful bait just wasn’t getting the job done. Chris was knocking them pretty good on a brown variety so I decided that it was time to give the star performer a break and put it on the bench. It kind of felt like scratching a Cal Ripken off the lineup card and inserting a Mark Belanger but you gotta do what you gotta do. Don’t know if it was a good idea or not but the color combo pictured above did manage to produce several fish. Even so, it took some getting used to and I never really got used to it.

Speaking of Hogs – The bass pictured below claimed the Top Bass title for this trip and was a real interesting looking fish with a series of dark markings. Even though it’s a good photo it still doesn’t do justice to the splotches around the eye, on the gill plate, on both pectoral fins and near the tail; really cool stuff. And it was also really cool when Chris set the hook on one of those bites that looks and feels more than a little different than your run of the mill bass. He stated that it was a good one and the bend in his rod seconded that assessment. I got the honor of lipping the fish for him as he brought it boatside getting to hold a fish nearly a pound larger than what I’ve been able to muster on my own, good stuff.

Chris with a 5-10 Top Bass of the trip 

Good Company – As good as the fishing was, it was also enjoyable shooting the breeze on matters fishing and otherwise. I don’t really hang with any friends who fish so it’s always cool to talk fishing (ranks among my favorite topics along with my family, old school baseball and 70’s classic rock/pop music). It was extra cool having Chris provide a history on the area from rock quarry to fishing hole while relating epic catches, describing the lay of the land under the surface and pointing me in the right direction to catch some bass.

All in all, a great time on some cool water with a guy who knows how to get it done. It’s always interesting fishing with a new partner and I just do my thing and hope it leaves a favorable impression. I was encouraged near the end of our outing after needing Chris to troll in to rescue my jig for the only time all day. He offered that staying unstuck in such a jungle of trees showed that I knew what I was doing. I was even more enthused when he mentioned trying our luck again next year. 

Nothing close to a lunker for this guy but boy, what an interesting fishing hole.

I was able to fish the spot again in April of 2015 and March of 2016 but those are flashbacks for another time. Perhaps another time I may also be able to create some new fish stories at the fantastic fishing hole. Talk to you later. Troy