Trip number five of my weekly visits to Lake Storey found that the drawdown had finally been implemented. I was starting to worry that the City of Galesburg had opted to skip it, so I was pleased to see those bare banks again for another fall. Time to see if some bass will let their guard down.
The lighter water line indicates the drop in the lake level from the drawdown
Stats
Date: September 29
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 7:50am-3:05pm
Totals: 7 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy, 58-85F
Water temperature: 73-75F
Lures: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 5 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 3-12 (Red Eye Shad)
Top 5 Weight: 11-5 (3-12,2-6,2-3,1-9,1-7)
Starting lineup
Tune of the Trip
Fresh Air – Quicksilver Messenger Service (1970)
“Ooo, have another hit of fresh air, ooo, have another hit.”
I heard this song on the drive down to the lake and found it apt as fresh air is always a hit when you spend your workdays cooped up in an office.
12:07pm – Top Bass #3 at 2-3 (16.5″) on a lipless crankbait
3:05pm – Top Bass #2 at 2-6 (17″) on a spinnerbait
A Dam Struggle – During the drawdown, trailered boats must launch at the west ramp as the east ramp becomes high and dry. In proximity to the west ramp is the dam featuring a hundred yards or so of riprap (chunks and slabs of rock). Typically, I can run a crankbait parallel to the dam while deflecting off the still submerged rocks and fool a few. Not so much this year with only one catch in five visits (and a couple of the trips I have fished the dam both on the way out in the morning and on the way back in the afternoon). Brent did land two bass along the dam on a chatterbait on September 22 so perhaps I need to shift gears.
Also caught a sock, fortunately it did not include a foot
If it Looks Nice, Hit it Twice – I have a rather extensive list of targets on my hitlist at Lake Storey. If time and circumstances permit, there are several that I like to fish twice over the course of a day. In the case of this outing, a reliable log did not produce a bite early in the day. About seven hours later, I returned to the spot and wound up landing my final bass of the day weighing 2-6. The catch was just what I needed to bump my Top 5 Weight for the outing into double-digits.
9:19am – Top Bass at 3-12 (20.5″) on a lipless crankbait
Top Bass – As I fought the largest bass of the day, I thought that I may have a four-pounder. Upon dipping and lipping the bass, I still thought that I may have a four-pounder, The scale told the tale and absolutely no disappointment to record a weight of 3-12. It ranks as my third largest Lake Storey bass of all-time and at 20.5” in length it equals a 9/30/2007 catch that weighed 4-8 (my Top Lake Storey Bass of all-time). And it boosted my all-time Lake Storey Top 5 Weight to 19-10 (4-8,4-0,3-12,3-11,3-11) as it culled a 3-11.
Bigfoot evidence?
Same structure prior to the drawdown
Winning lures
Not a lot of bites but several good ones. The 11-5 Top 5 Weight for the day is my best of the year on Lake Storey and my sixth best of all-time on the old fishing hole (Best Top 5 Weight is 14-5 from 9/30/2007). The past month has produced a batch of quality bites on that old lake, and I was back at it again for more as October arrived. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy