Lake Storey treated me well in September, so I had to see what October had to offer. I was still in search of a ten-pound Top 5 as the three prior trips came up a bit short. I’d had the quality bites on the September trips, but several threw the lures before they made it to the boat. Maybe the fourth trip would be the charm.

10:16am – Top Bass Runner-up at 2-2 (16″) on a lipless crankbait

Stats
Date: October 10
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 9:10am-5:25pm
Totals: 21 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to calm, 53-80F
Water temperature: 71F
Lures: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 13 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 6 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass, Bomber Flat A (baby bass) – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-8 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 9-13 (2-8,2-2,1-13,1-12,1-10)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

Pre-launch predictions

On The Lake Updates – For this outing I decided to post pre-launch predictions on social media followed by regular updates as I caught “keepers” to build and improve a Top 5. Things worked out well as the results turned out close to the predictions. My guess for a Top 5 Weight came up thirteen ounces shy (10-10 prediction vs. 9-13 result). Top Bass was off by eleven ounces (3-3 prediction vs. 2-8 result) but my totals were nearly exact (22 prediction vs. 21 result). It’s always fun to pull the predict and update stunt but I run the risk of looking foolish if the bass outsmart me. Fortunately, things worked out well as the bass made it look like I knew what I was doing.

 

3:29pm – Top Bass at 2-8 (17.5″) on a spinnerbait

Feedback – Around the halfway point of my day, I came within conversation distance of another angler. The fellow greeted me saying that he’d heard from his friend that I was sitting at a Top 5 of 7-7. I did not know the other angler and had never formally met his remote buddy, so I got a kick out of being on the water with someone who was up to date on my updates. I bet we sat in the calm, shady spot for half an hour discussing our morning results, swapping fish stories, and talking about a collection of fishing holes. Kyle, if you are out there reading, I enjoyed the conversation and nice to meet you. And tell Chad that I appreciate his looking at my internet rambles and social media posts. Most of my fishing talk is from behind a keyboard, so it is always a treat to share fish stories in person.

Catch chronology

Close But No Cigar – I had another solid day on the lake but came up three ounces shy of hitting my ten-pound Top 5 goal. I needed just one more good bass and may have had it on as the first bite of the day. Less than half a dozen casts after launching, a solid fish hit my spinnerbait only to get wrapped on a limb and come off before I could get within reach of the branch. Later, I lost another quality fish at the boat although a few casts later I was fortunate to get a 2-2 in the same area. Classic examples of “the one that got away,” but that’s fishing.

 

Stoked by a sold day, I wasn’t done with Lake Storey quite yet as I was back on the water the next morning. And I had another skilled angler on board to take our shot at that ten-pound mark. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

This time of the year is about finales as some of my fishing holes are shutting down and cold weather is on the horizon. For my final visit to a batch of public strip pits, the plan was to hit a few lakes one last time before bidding them farewell for 2024. The goal was thirteen bass as that would establish an all-time yearly bass record of 554 bass.

Stats
Date: September 27
Location: Knox County public strip pits (5 lakes)
Time: 1:20pm-6:35pm (3.75 hours fishing)
Totals: 21 bass
Weather: Overcast/very windy, 73F
Lures: 3.75” Strike King Rage Swimmer Swimbait (sexy shad) with a Twist Lock Flashy Swimmer jighead – 16 bass Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 1-9 (Swimbait)
Top 5 Weight: 6-13 (1-9,1-6,1-6,1-5,1-3)

Winning Lures

Notes and Nonsense

3:20pm – Bass #554 at 1-0 (13″) on a swimbait

Mission Accomplished – At 3:20pm, I landed a 13” bass (weight 1-0) on a swimbait as Bass #554 of the year. I wasn’t overly concerned with what size the record breaker would be, but I was happy that at least it was a “keeper.” And speaking of keepers, ten of the twenty-one bass on this outing met or exceeded the twelve-inch mark. Not a bad percentage, but the best of the keepers only weighed 1-9.

4:05pm – Top Bass at 1-9 (14″) on a swimbait

Rare Sight – Some of these waters are well off the beaten path, so I don’t often see many anglers who aren’t my brother. On this trip, I did spy another fellow across a deep strip mine cut. The guy was a few hundred yards away as the bass swims. However, it would have taken half a mile of walking to get to have a normal conversation. I could not determine what he was casting, and I did not hear the commotion of any catches as I focused on my fishing tasks. Hopefully, he had success though as I have been in his shoes. It takes considerable effort to get to where he was standing.

Some serious wind on this day

Strip Pit Perils – Hiking the strip mines is no walk in the park. At this time of the year, terrestrial vegetation presents navigational challenges. It can range from knee high on high ground to over your head in the low-lying areas. It also hides washouts, so you must be careful not to get in too big of a hurry and not get too ambitious jumping over what appear to be small ruts. On several lakes, the banks are steep and the extreme wind on this day also rocked me on my heels numerous times. Oh yeah, and then there’s all the Argiopes (commonly called “garden spiders”) hanging between the weeds.

It’s a workout

Aftermath – The combination of four miles of challenging hiking along with standing in a boat for eight hours on the previous day left me sore. The list included a stiff lower back, a twinge in my right knee, a version of tennis elbow (I call it “caster’s elbow), a sore left shoulder, both of my heels were hollering at me, and my hands hurt. On the upside, I managed to avoid the post-trip cramps that have popped up in the last several years. Julie and I went out for lunch and a drive the following day for our anniversary, and I got along just fine. In the past, I got stuck on an elevated stool at a restaurant as my legs cramped up so bad that I was not going to be able to stand if I left the stool. Last year, I ended up sitting in my truck in the driveway for five minutes after the hour drive home waiting for leg cramps to run their course. Just can’t beat fun at the old fishing hole.

 

With record Bass #554 in the log, I have now set my sights on reaching the six-hundred mark. And I have already started chipping away with a couple trips to The Canal. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

So long to this batch of strip pits. See you again in April of 2025.

A successful Monday on Lake Storey prompted me to get back out on the old fishing hole again on Saturday.

9:32am- Top Bass Runner-up at 1-15 (16″) on a spinnerbait

Stats
Date: September 21
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 7:30am-11:30am
Totals: 8 bass
Weather: Sunny to heavy rain/breezy to windy, 64-77F
Water temperature: 76F
Lures: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 6 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 bass, ZMan Chatterbait (sexy shad) with swimbait trailer – 1 bass
Top Bass: 2-10 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 9-10 (2-10,1-15,1-14,1-11,1-8)

Winning lures

Notes and Nonsense

Avian Anglers – There’s more to fishing than fishing and there are more anglers than just the guys and gals on boat and bank. Several birds that have fish in their diets were also hanging around the lake. Prowling the bank and perching on some dead trees were several great blue herons and their smaller relatives, green herons. The trill call of a kingfisher also caught my ear as it flitted about the shoreline in search of a meal. Twice a barred owl emerged far enough out of the woods for a good look (did some research to verify that these eat fish on occasion). Lake Storey is also good for spotting a one-of-a-kind bird of prey, the osprey, and this day it did not disappoint. And finally, I had the good fortune of observing a bald eagle. The majestic bird is a much more common sight these days around fishing holes but remains a treat.

 

Missed Spots – I strayed from my regular route to start the day as bank anglers and one boat had beat me to my spots. All good though as it forced me to explore water that I don’t normally fish. And maybe there’s a reason I skip these stretches as my first two hours on the water only produced two bass with one keeper weighing in at 1-8. Once I got to my go-to spots the next two hours resulted in six bass, four of which were keepers totaling 8-2. Then the storm started brewing.

Night and Day – It wasn’t only the bite that was like night and day between the start and finish of the trip. The day began bright and sunny as I launched around 7:30am intending to fish until 3:30pm. I made my way down the entire lake focusing mainly on the southern bank with the intent of hitting my spots on the north bank as I made my way back to the ramp. Around 11:30am I found myself near the beach and the skies did not look so good in the west. My weather app confirmed that a storm was headed my way just about the time that Brent sent the above text. Rumbles of thunder and a few flashes of lighting got my attention as I trolled back to the launch, arriving nearly in time to avoid getting wet. Thankfully, Brent was waiting and assisted with loading the boat just as the skies unleashed. We ended up sitting in the truck for over thirty minutes before finishing boat prep for the ride back to my folks.

9:37am – Top Bass at 2-10 (17.5″) on a spinnerbait

Lucky Me – An abbreviated trip but I counted my blessings considering the plight of a few fellow anglers encountered along the way. As I was launching, I met a fisherman headed back to the boat ramp. He had elected to end his day out of concern that his two-wheel drive wasn’t going to cut it after spinning out on the ramp after he launched. I offered to assist and was ready to pull his truck, but all was good. Turned out, his trailer had dropped off the end of the ramp when launching resulting in the earlier spin out. At the end of the day, a pair of anglers beached their boat in the rain and hustled to their truck shortly after we’d pulled out. Brent and I were left scratching our heads as they headed back out during a slight break in the downpour. Unfortunately for them, the skies opened up big time, and I suspect they were left bailing their boat and certainly drenched.

 

While I was disappointed that the weather ran me off the lake only needing one more decent bite to get a ten-pound Top 5, it was a solid four hours on the water. But I’m not done with Lake Storey quite yet as I plan to be on the lake again real soon in search of that double digit Top 5. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

After a struggle on The Canal in the morning, I made a quick evening trip to the Knox County strip mines following a visit to my folks. For this outing, I opted to invest my entire time on one lake to maximize fishing and minimize walking.

4:49 pm – An mmbitious bass at 7″ caught on a 5″ Senko

Stats
Date: September 15
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Time: 4:45pm-7:15pm
Totals: 42 bass, 1 green sunfish
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 80F
Lures: Whopper Plopper 110 (bone) – 20 bass, Spro Flappin Frog 65 (natural red) – 12 bass, 5” Yamamoto Senko (PB&J or blue pearl/silver flake) – 10 bass, 1 green sunfish
Top Bass: 2-7 (Whopper Plopper)
Top 5 Weight: 5-2 (2-7,1-8,1-3)

Winning lures

Bonus species with a feisty green sunfish

Notes and Nonsense

Maiden Lake – Eleven years ago, I named this spot Maiden Lake as it was the first lake that I ever fished on the property. The upside of the lake is that it is only a short walk from a parking area. The downside is that I have difficulty finding quality bites. Coming into this trip, I had landed one hundred and one bass on the water but only eight were “keepers” (an 8% keeper rate). My Top 5 total stood at 10-3 prior to this outing, anchored by a Top Bass of 3-10 that was landed last year. Here’s the thing though. My brother, Brent, has landed a 5-4, 4-0, and 3-9 from the lake so there are definitely good bites in there, I just can’t find them.

5:45pm – Top Bass #2 at 1-8 (14.5″) on a topwater frog

Quantity Over Quality (Again) – Yet again, I racked up big numbers with forty-two bass in two and a half hours. Yet again, a small percentage were “keepers” with only three bass at 12” or better (a 7% keeper rate).

5:56pm- Top Bass #3 at 1-3 (13″) on a topwater frog

One Good One – Any bass that I land at two-pounds or better is what I call a “good one.” As I reeled in little bass after little bass to start my evening, I still felt there were a couple good ones that would show up. Well, at least I was halfway correct as bass number thirty-four of the evening tipped the scales at 2-7.

6:44pm – Top Bass at 2-7 (17″) on a Whopper Plopper

Forty-two bass on this outing pushed my yearly total to 493 bass. My all-time best year of bass was 2022 when I landed 553. I hadn’t really thought about a shot at the record until wrapping up this outing but now I’ve got my eyes on the prize. I fished the following day in an effort to boost my total on what is not such a numbers lake. Stay tuned for the first Lake Storey report of the year. Talk to you later. Troy