My “good luck” this year on Lake Storey brought me back again for the fourth May outing of 2026. Like many football or basketball games these days, it was a tale of two halves when looking at the start and finish to my day on the water. Read on for the stats, first and second half breakdowns, and what I found to be an interesting conversation.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: May 15
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 8:15am-3:45pm
Totals: 16 bass, 1 shad
Weather: Partly cloudy to sunny/windy to very windy, 55-77F
Water temperature: Not available
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad (sight fish) – 16 bass, 1 shad
Top Bass: 3-5 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 12-12 (3-5,3-3,2-5,2-3,1-12)

Tune of the Trip
“Okay, here’s the situation…”
Parents Just Don’t Understand – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (1988)
My mind has a soundtrack and at times I wonder stuff like, “Why in the world am I singing part of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song.” Such was the case as I loaded my boat and gear as I prepared to leave the lake. Then it dawned on me that I had just texted Julie regarding my status.

1:26pm – Top Bass at 3-5 (18.5″) on a chatterbait

Notes and Nonsense

First Half Stats – I caught eight bass during each of the two halves of my day. However, from 8:15am to noon the quality was not as good with a Top 5 Weight of only 6-13 (1-12,1-6,1-6,1-5,1-0). A fast start of four bass in the first forty-five minutes had me pondering a thirty bass day. But the next three hours would only double my total, leaving me with eight bass at “halftime.”

1:35pm – Top Bass Runner-Up at 3-3 (19″) on a chatterbait

Second Half Stats – From noon to 3:45pm, eight more bass were entered into the log and four of them would give my Top 5 Weight a significant boost. First was a 2-3 at 12:46pm followed by a pair of three-pounders caught in rapid succession only nine minutes apart (1:26pm and 1:35pm). The final boost came at 2:54pm with a 2-3 to push my Top 5 Weight to 12-12. And that’s why you maintain your focus, hit your spots, and keep on casting as your day can turn around at any time.

The Scavenger Meets the Sculler – Late in my day, I crossed paths with a self-proclaimed “scavenger” rolling his bicycle along the exposed shoreline. He looked to be similar in age, but he had opted for the shirtless look on this pleasant day and sported a ballcap along with a full, ample, graying beard. He was a well-spoken fellow who entertained with a few tales of finds during his endeavors as well as a little personal history and a couple of fish stories (yes, they were actually the fishing kind). Later, I told Julie of the brief encounter, and I said that he was probably telling his acquaintances about the weird, old guy with the floppy hat that he saw rowing an eight-foot johnboat over, around, and across the windblown lake. A couple of oddballs, just doing our thing. I did have to laugh at Julie taking a stab (or was it a jab) at helping me feel less weird in saying, “Well, at least you didn’t still have your scraggly beard.”

The chatterbait continues to dominate, landing 134 of my 152 bass thus far in 2026

 

Another good day on the old home lake gets me one step closer to the 2026 goal of landing one hundred bass on Lake Storey. Currently, I sit at eighty-four Lake Storey bass, so another solid day will allow me to hit the mark much sooner than I anticipated. Talk to you later. Troy

On Thursday, May 15, I took my first shot of 2026 at dragging a boat into a Knox County public strip pit. Not by coincidence, the Illinois High School Bass Fishing Regional was being held on nearby Lake McMaster at Snakeden Hollow. The plan was to invest a few hours of my own casting before heading over to see how the prep anglers fared with their efforts.

Starting lineup

Stats
Date: May 14
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Time: 9:50am-12:35pm
Totals: 17 bass
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 56-70F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: 5” Yamasenko wacky rig (blue pearl black and holo flake) – 13 bass, Booyah Buzz Buzzbait (black or white) – 4 bass
Top Bass: 2-2 (Buzzbait)
Top 5 Weight: 8-0 (2-2,1-12,1-8,1-6,1-4)

10:10am – Top Bass at 2-2 (17″) on a buzzbait

Battered buzzbait from the Top Bass, just had to bend it back in line

Notes and Nonsense

Lost Lures – This outing cost me two lures. First up was a black Booyah Buzzbait that I launched into the middle of the lake after hitting a dead tree limb on my backcast. Next was a chatterbait the broke off on a hookset. I saw the flash of the bass that hit the lure but not enough to get an estimate on size. Lucky for me, Farm King in Galesburg had Z-Man chatterbaits marked down 15%. So, I bought three to replace the one that I lost.

Always have a spare (or two or three) of a productive lure

Winning lures

11:41am – Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-12 (16″) on a Senko wacky rig

Firsts of 2026– I began my day trying to force feed the bass a buzzbait in less-than-ideal buzzbait conditions (clear skies and clear water). My thought process was that I had limited time on the water, so I opted to swing for the fences in search of a big bite. I did get my  first topwater bass of the year and my Top Bass of the day weighing 2-2 mangled my buzzbait but that was the largest of my four buzzbait bass. For the last hour on the water, I shifted gears to a wacky rigged Senko resulting in my first Senko bass of the year with a dozen more to follow.

Lake McMaster IHSA Regional teams headed for the weigh-in

IHSA Tourney – Back in 2009, I was able to attend the weigh-in at Banner Marsh during the first year of the Illinois High School Bass Fishing Tournament as my nephew was fishing for Canton High School. For the second straight year, I have invested a vacation day from work to watch the Lake McMaster Regional weigh-in, working in a pre-event fishing trip of my own on a nearby water. Thirteen of the twenty teams were able to post five fish limits, but the bigger bites were elusive. It is always exciting to see what the young anglers reel in, especially on a lake that I first fished in 1987, several years before it was opened to the public.

Lake McMaster IHSA Regional Results

A solid day on the water for anglers both young and old. Comparing our hauls, I would have finished in third place with a weight or 8.00, trailing the top two teams who boated 9.39 and 8.53, respectively. Apples and oranges for sure as they had to cover a lot more water. But they also got to fish for over twice as long as the old guy. I did get to put in a full day on Friday at Lake Storey, however, but that is another story. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

In my 2026 quest to fish Lake Storey once a month, I was able to check off May right away. And, as a bonus, my sixteen-year-old son, Jayce, was along for the row. Read on to see how we fared on this day along with a flashback memory as well.

2:06pm – Dad Top Bass Runner-Up at 2-4 (17.5″)  on a chatterbait

Stats
Date: May 3
Location: Lake Storey, Knox County, IL
Time: 12:15pm-4:30pm
Totals: 13 bass (Dad – 7, Jayce – 6)
Weather: Sunny to partly cloudy/very windy, 63-70F
Water temperature: Not available
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (white or sexy shad) with swimbait trailers – 13 bass
Top Bass: 2-9 Chatterbait
Top 5 Weight: 10-3 (2-9,2-4,1-15,1-12,1-11)

Winning lure

Notes and Nonsense

Learning Curve – No matter how long you fish, you will never be able to avoid mishaps, and you should never stop learning a thing or two along the way. Between the two anglers in the boat, we wound up snagged several times. I told Jayce that means that we were casting where the bass live and the advantage of fishing out of a boat means that we can get those lures back. One that we won’t get back now lies on the bottom of the east end of the lake. Jayce experienced a pronounced backlash that abruptly halted his cast, breaking the line and launching the lure. On a windy day, even the best of us cannot avoid such “professional overruns.” On the upside, Jayce got a better feel for casting and catching on a chatterbait along with being right on target with the dipnet on our Top Bass of the trip.

2:28pm – Jayce Top Bass at 1-8 (14″) on a chatterbait

July 26, 2019 – Jayce with a Lake Storey bass flashback

Fishing Flashback July 26, 2019 – Jayce and I have teamed up in a boat on Lake Storey a few times, and only one other instance where our focus was on bass fishing. That trip took place on July 26, 2019, and Jayce out fished me on that evening to the tune of four bass to zero. On our latest outing, I got an early lead, but Jayce landed our last two bass of the day, leaving him one bass shy of a tie at seven to six before we ran out of lake. However, if you combine that 2019 outing, he has the edge at ten bass to seven. I’d say, “Who’s counting”, but I am pretty sure we both are.

4:13pm – Dad Top Bass at 2-9 (17.5″) on a chatterbait

Narration and Conversation – I always enjoy fishing with Jayce and an eight-foot johnboat made for much closer quarters than our previous bank fishing trips this year. Beyond just hanging out, I got a kick out of providing insights into our approach and relating fish stories gathered over the years. I try not to lay it on too thick, but I could talk fishing all day long and when you are within less than a rod’s length on the water, it’s just what you do. Earlier this year after a visit to my folks’, Jayce said, “I really like listening to Papa tell his stories.” I do as well, and hopefully days like this will spur Jayce to carry on the tradition.

4:30pm – Jayce Top Bass Runner-Up at 1-2 (13″) on a chatterbait

Chalk up some more memories on Lake Storey. Feels good to keep things going with the next generation. Talk to you later. Troy