I was able to get away from work last Tuesday, the warmest day of the week with afternoon temperatures pushing sixty after a cool morning. The aim was to land a November bass to meet my annual goal. The wind was a challenge, but Lake Storey came through with a batch of late season bites.

10:14am – Mission accomplished at 1-8 (14″) on a spinnerbait, Top Bass of the day

Stats
Date: November 4
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 9:50am-3:20pm
Totals: 5 bass
Weather: Sunny to partly cloudy/very windy, 52-63F
Water temperature: 51-52F
Lure: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 5 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 (Spinnerbait)
Top 4 Weight (only 4 at 12” or better): 5-5 (1-8,1-7,1-4,1-2)

Winning lure

Tune of the Trip
Against the Wind – Bob Seger (1980)
“I found myself seeking shelter against the wind.”
The wind was a beast on this day and coupled with a broken thrust pad on the trolling motor, boat control was tough. I did find brief shelter from the wind down below what I still call “Lakelawn”, and the area produced three of my five bass.

11:24am – Top Bass #2 at 1-7 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Notes and Nonsense

Wind for the Win – Wind can help to position the bass and windblown cover is a prime target. The downside is boat control as I don’t have any of the fancy (and expensive) accoutrements such as Spot-Lock on the trolling motor or a Power Pole anchor system on the transom. As such, I focused heavily on casting a spinnerbait trying to hit cover from as many angles as possible before the wind blew me off the spots. The goal of a November bass came after twenty-five minutes on the water with my first cast to a stump on a point getting pounded by the wind.

11:47am – Top Bass #4 at 1-2 (12.5″) on a spinnerbait

Missing Muskies – I spent just over fifty-six hours chasing bass on Lake Storey from August 31 through this outing and never saw a muskie. Typical years, with even fewer hours on the water usually result in a sighting or two and if I am lucky, a catch. I did have an odd swirl on a spinnerbait earlier this fall that looked longer than a bass but no confirmation on the species. In addition, I broke off two spinnerbaits on hooksets (including one on this outing) so maybe I had some close encounters that were not visually verified. Or maybe it takes a little imagination to categorize those incidents as muskie misses.

My November notes compiled for reference before I hit the water

November Numbers – While I have long pursued a November bass to end my year, selecting Lake Storey as my destination is not a common occurrence. Looking back over the logs, I observed that Lake Storey posted a November bass in 2008, 2022, and this year. Evaluating the data from those years prior to this outing, I found that I had a Lake Storey November All-Time Top 5 that weighed 9-15 (2-9,2-8,1-13,1-10,1-7). So, as I set out on this trip, not only was I looking for a November bass but shooting for one that weighed in a 1-8 or better to push that Top 5 into double digits. Well, I didn’t make it by much, but the first bass of the day got the monkey off my back as it was right on the mark at 1-8. It would prove to be the Top Bass of the outing and that was just fine as it checked off two goals on one cast.

12:18pm – Top Bass #3 at 1-4 (13.5″) on a spinnerbait, last bass of 2025???

Time will tell if these are the final bass for me in 2025. Daylight is gone at the end of my workdays, and the temperatures are set to drop considerably this week. But it looks like a warmup next weekend, so never say never. Talk to you later. Troy

My seventh visit to Lake Storey over the course of six weeks was my best outing of the year on the old fishing hole. I had what I call a “4-3-2-1” day that included my largest Lake Storey bass of all-time. Read on for the rest of the story.

Starting Lineup

Stats
Date: October 12
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 9:50am-4:50pm
Totals: 17 bass
Weather: Sunny/breezy to windy, 59-78F
Water temperature: 68-71F
Lures: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) – 15 bass, Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad) – 2 bass
Top Bass: 4-14 (Spinnerbait)
Top 5 Weight: 13-13 (4-14,3-4,2-5,1-13,1-9)

4:25pm – Last bass of the trip was my all-time Top Lake Storey Bass at 4-14 (20.5″) on a spinnerbait

Tune of the Trip
Save the Best for Last – Vanessa Williams (1991)
By 4:25pm, I had landed sixteen bass with a solid Top 5 Weight of 9-1. I was on the home stretch of my day hoping for at least one more good bite to boost me to a double-digit Top 5 Weight. I had about half a dozen pieces of cover left to hit mostly consisting of shoreline wood. However, there was also one piece of offshore cover that I had found a couple years ago that I needed to work. Boy, did it pay off with my largest ever Lake Storey bass weighing 4-14. I then fished for another twenty-five minutes without a bite. No matter, I was riding high with the record catch as Lake Storey saved the best for last.

2:33pm – Top Bass #4 at 1-13 (16″) on a spinnerbait

Notes and Nonsense

4-3-2-1 Day – It is a rare occurrence when I catch a four-pounder, a three-pounder, a two-pounder and a one-pounder (a total of seven one-pounders) during one day on the water. The last time that I achieved the feat was May 6, 2023, when I was six ounces shy of a first ever 5-4-3-2-1 day on the Knox County public strip pits. While that May 6 day resulted in a heavier Top 5 Weight (17-15), I think that I am prouder of this Lake Storey day. Those bass get a great deal more pressure and big bites are typically tougher to find.

Winning lures

Wood Beats Rocks and Flats – On my previous Lake Storey outings this year, rocky cover has been a consistent producer. I hit my rocky spots hard again on this trip, but they only produced one short bass. I also worked over some flats and points but only fooled two bass off such structures. The winner on the day was wood cover in the form of stumps, logs, brush, and downed trees. Every day is a different day and while making my rounds I found that wood was good. Actually, wood was great (but that does not rhyme).

2:13pm – Top Bass #2 at 3-4 (19.5″) on a spinnerbait

Top Bass Runner-Up – When you catch a near five-pound bass, it is easy to overlook or fully appreciate some of the other catches of the day. One of those was a bass weighing 3-4 that was my second largest of the day and a darn good bass. This bass came off a spot that I call “The Most Fished Tree” as it is reachable for shore anglers and begs a few casts as an impressive looking piece of cover.

12:01pm – Top Bass #3 at 2-5 (16.5″) on a spinnerbait

Top Bass Second Runner-Up – My third largest bass of the day tipped the scales at 2-5, thus qualifying as what I call a “good one” (a bass in the two-pound range). This fish was caught off what could rank as “The Second Most Fished Tree” although it is not as easily accessible from the bank. It is also a great looking piece of cover although not as productive as “The Most Fished Tree” over the years. In fact, this 2-5 bass may be the largest that I have caught from the spot.

A second shot of the Top Bass at 4-14 (so nice that I included it twice) 

When you have a great day on the water, it leaves you pondering why it all worked out so well. Maybe the weather pattern, maybe timing the mood of the bass, maybe the right angle on a cast or the speed of the retrieve, and just maybe, a little luck. On this trip though, I can’t help but wonder if it was a different fishing hat and some shades that I borrowed from Dad. Julie and the kids had dropped me off in Galesburg after a family day trip and I forgot my floppy hat and sunglasses at home in my truck. As such, perhaps the bass didn’t recognize me as the guy who has been harassing them for the last five weeks and they let their guard down. Now I have a dilemma, do I return to my normal hat and shades?

Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

I had not made a cast on The Canal for seventy-eight days when I set out on the morning of October 5. Instead, my time on the water had focused on the strip mines and more recently, Lake Storey. Read on for the report as The Canal drew a crowd of people on this day but not too many bass.

Starting Lineup

Stats
Date: October 5
Location: Hennepin Canal (two pools)
Time: 7:30am-10:50am
Totals: 3 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 61-75F
Lures: Booyah Buzzbait (black) – 3 bass
Top Bass: 2-6 Buzzbait
Top 2 Weight (only two bass at 12” or better): 4-4 (2-6,1-14)

7:53am – Top Bass Runner-up at 1-14 (16″) on a buzzbait

Tune/Lyric of the Trip
“But man, I still think them cats are crazy.”
The Boys (and Girls) Are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy (1976)
My choice of destination was several miles east of the Colona finish line for the Hennepin 100, a hundred-mile ultramarathon. An admirable feat as those guys and gals are a different breed and a couple of the folks I observed were pretty spent but continuing to move ahead. I chatted briefly with a few and wished them good luck on the home stretch. I found it amusing though as one of the fellows told me that I was the one who needed luck as he said that he had never been particularly impressed with the bite on The Canal.

Hennepin 100 Finish Line in Colona, IL

Hennepin Hundreds – One of these days, I should try and figure out an estimate of how many miles I have rowed on The Canal. Most of my outings cover several miles as I row out from my launch and then must row back to the truck. I did a downstream float trip once which was cool as it eliminated the need to row back upstream. Otherwise, the dilemma is how far to fish away from the truck knowing that I will have to row all the way back. Anyway, I pulled up a map and my estimate for this row was just over four miles. Like the Hennepin 100 runners/walkers, I have covered one hundred miles (and more). Of course, I have done so over several years, not all at once. By the way, the winner of the race covered 100 miles in just under fourteen hours. Yes, “them cats are crazy.”

8:04 am – Top Bass at 2-6 (17.5″) on a buzzbait

Top 5 Results – I fished two pools and caught all three bass on the first stop before rowing through a tube and failing to get a bite on the other side. Two of my three bites were “keepers” (12” or better) and provided a boost to my Top 5 for the pool. Prior to the trip my Top 5 on the stretch sat at 11-0. Landing bass weighing 2-6 and 1-14 bumped up my weight to 11-13.

Winning lure

I had not fished this area in over a year as I had already achieved my goal of posting a ten-pound Top 5 during the summer of 2024. As a result, I have chosen to spend my time on The Canal on stretches where I have yet to hit the double-digit mark. The tough part is that I now must drive quite a ways to the east to find a pool that is lacking. We’ll see if The Canal comes into play as the year winds down and I chase my goal of ending the year with a November bass. But I am getting ahead of myself as there are plenty of October bass to report from two recent trips to Lake Storey. Talk to you later. Troy

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