Keeping up with my plan to fish Lake Storey once a month, I got my June trip completed early. While the lake is on the rise from the prolonged drawdown, it still has a ways to go before it reaches full pool again. The bass seemed confused by the extended drawdown period as they were rather elusive. At least that’s my excuse for only boating a half dozen along with a pair of “accidental” catches.

Winning lures

Stats
Date: June 7
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 6:35am-12:50pm
Totals: 6 bass, 1 muskie, 1 bluegill
Weather: Partly cloudy/calm to windy
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad (sight fish) – 5 bass, Zoom Baby Brush Hog (watermelon seed) – 1 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 1 muskie, 1 bluegill
Top Bass: 2-0 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 8-10 (2-0,1-15,1-10,1-9,1-8)

Notes and Nonsense

7:09am – An “accidental” toothy catch

Accidents – My focus on this trip was the largemouth bass like normal. However, anytime that you have a lure in the water, anything can happen. Over the years, I have hooked many other species, including some that weren’t fish. Such catches are what I term “accidents” as they were not the intended target although they all count. My first accident on this trip was a small muskie and I followed that up by hooking a bluegill with both hitting a lipless crankbait. The muskie was the first that I had caught on Lake Storey since 2017. The lake is home to some quality specimens and while my catch was not one of them, it was still pretty cool.

7:38am – First bass of the day weighing 1-9 (14″) on a chatterbait

Back to Bass – Just over an hour into my outing, my third fish of the day was one that I was targeting. The solid fourteen-inch fish came on a chatterbait and tipped the scales at 1-9. Over the next three hours, I would land five more bass that were all “keepers” (12” or better) before ending my day in a two-hour slump without a fish. During the drought, I did have a fish in the two-pound range hooked but after a brief fight it came loose.

8:41am – Top Bass weighing 2-0 (16″) on a chatterbait

9:53am – Top Bass Runner-Up weighing 1-15 (15.5″) on a chatterbait

Gnat Nuisance – As has been the case on a few recent trips, the gnats were terrible. Inside my glasses, up my nose, in my ears, under my hat band, and a couple for a snack tested my tolerance level. I had forgotten my dipnet and Mom and Dad saved the day by bringing it to me when they helped with vehicle relocation a couple hours into my morning. Dad commented that my face and neck showed the effects of the biting little pests and offered up bug spray. I was tempted but declined as I dislike the smell and feel of that stuff. Inevitably, it also gets on my hands which I hate when fishing. All told, I’d rather put up with the bugs and the resultant itchy red spots on my neck, ears, bald head, and various other areas of my body. I must say that there is a sadistic sort of glee when a slap hits its mark with a little crunch. But the gnats win in the end as they have me vastly outnumbered and it’s hard to slap and reel at the same time.

It wasn’t for lack of presentations as I threw a variety of baits

I enjoy any day on the water but there are days when I leave less than satisfied with my results. Chalk it up as a win for the bass as this day is an example of why it is called “fishing”, instead of “catching.” Talk to you later. Troy