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