It’s been a busy last several days with a pair of visits to my “home” lake, Lake Storey in Knox County, Illinois. I’ve been fishing the lake since I was a little kid and have racked up more than a few stories over many years and many casts on the fishing hole.

The recent visits have been winners on a variety of levels and I’m really looking forward to passing along all the details. Kind of a time crunch as of late though with time on the water and time with family so the best I can do at present is a bit of a video recap. This one has already been out there on my Facebook page for a couple days so if you aren’t my “friend”, may be worth a request as there is additional content out there in addition to the blog.

I shot this brief wrap-up upon returning home after a wildly successful Friday outing with my brother, Brent. It is actually one of a series of video rambles on Lake Storey, some basic bass fishing stuff and a few bits of random assorted nonsense. It just gets kind of tough at times to review, compose, edit and submit all of the content around what is truly important.

Yes, I dedicate a decent amount of time to sharing fish stories and such but being a husband, Dad and co-breadwinner reside quite a bit higher up the priority list and trump fisherman, blogger and videographer. As such, here’s a quick hit as a tease to some of the recent developments that have taken place on the water. I hope to get the reports out next week and perhaps work in periodic video clips down the road as my fishing days are likely drawing to a close for 2018.

Thanks all for tuning in and right back at you tomorrow with a pretty cool Top 5 Update featuring some stellar Fall catches. Good luck out there, stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

You win some, you lose some.

And some that you lose sting a little more than others.

Gotta admit that this one stung for a while.

Makes it even worse that it was caught on video so I can relive it over and over again if I so choose.

I have so chosen and you know, it’s really kind of a cool strike, especially in slow motion. It gives me some extra time to analyze the incident and assess what I could have done differently to land this boatside blast from a bass in the 4 to 5 pound range. I actually got a great split second view of the fish in the last couple feet of the retrieve as it chased down and struck the bait. Kind of weird there too as that brief instant also seemed to have a slow motion feel to it. However, it did not last long before reality shifted back to full speed and the fish and my buzzbait were gone.

Slow motion version of the clip

In regards to what I could have done to land the fish, I guess one potential item would involve having my drag set a little looser thus potentially allowing the fish to run. Tough call on this one as my drag was pretty well dialed in for a typical strike whereas a strike with only a couple feet of line out is a whole different ballgame.

A second possibility would have been to disengage my reel and thumb it in free spool as the fish charged off with the bait. I’ve actually done this with success on a couple boatside muskie strikes but must admit that those were nowhere near as vicious and sudden as this bass strike thus providing an extra fraction of a second for those motor skills to instinctively kick in.

A final possible route to success would be to switch my allegiance from monofilament line to some sort of braid or super line. Not gonna happen in the near future, if ever, as I’ve been there and they just didn’t suit me. Besides, my good, old Trilene 12-pound test has come out on top versus muskies pushing 20-pounds, walleye over 10 pounds and just a few big bass. Plain and simple, I’ll put my money on my experience and low budget gear over pricey superlines any day of the week.

In the end, this one just wasn’t meant to be and while I was disappointed at the time, I eventually got over it. I can watch this video and simply appreciate the power of the freight train like strike of this fish and admit that it got the best of me on this day. My main concern in looking back on the bad break is that the bass was able to dislodge the lure, go about its business and live to make another mistake. Hopefully, just a little farther away from the boat.

One last time in super slow motion and yes, it still gets away

This concludes my 2017 Top 10 Video countdown, appreciate anyone who has taken the time to tune in. However, I do have one more video compilation up tomorrow in light of the holiday. April Fools’ Day, that is. Talk to you later. Troy

You ever see one of those fancy bass tourneys where the anglers dig around in the livewell to fill their bag for the weigh-in and triumphantly thrust their largest catch into the air triggering the adulation of thousands of fans?

Well, this wasn’t quite like that.

For one thing, we were bluegill fishing. For another thing, we had just pulled the boat out of the lake via a gravel and grass boat ramp. And, oh yeah, there wasn’t another soul in sight for our fishing trip finale and video shoot.

Nope, this was a pretty low key affair but with a couple high energy young anglers in tow and some high strung bluegill in the livewell it got rather exciting. You see, fishing some feisty, slimy bluegills out of a partially drained livewell can present a challenge as they don’t quite have the handy handle like a largemouth bass lip. Even with little hands it still not a lot to grasp.

And here’s the kicker, this particular bluegill had a rough time when getting unhooked sustaining some considerable damage to its lip. As a result, Jayce and Zac had taken to referring to this particular catch as “No Lip.”

Well, when old “No Lip” was snatched from the livewell it appeared as if he was in the mood to get a little revenge. As Papa notes in the video, those bluegill have some pretty stiff fins that can inflict a bit of pain or even draw blood if they get you good while flopping around. And in Jayce’s case in this clip, there was more than the typical finger stick at stake. Let’s just say a bit more tender.

We all continue to get a laugh from this video at the expense of that poor bluegill. Just gets you tickled to hear a kid so excited and even better when that excitement arises from the hijinks on a fishing trip. Talk to you later. Troy

Kids are cool.

Bass are cool.

Kids and bass are…well, check out the video.

I’ll admit it can be a challenge teaching kids to fish but memories like this serve to reinforce that it’s well worth it. All of the pulling lures out of trees, “stand back so you don’t get hooked”, “really, it’s okay to pee over there, nobody will see you”, “you don’t need hand sanitizer…” and so on fade away when that bobber goes under.

And it’s fun as a grownup to realize that sometimes you aren’t so far removed from being a kid yourself. Listening to Jayce holler, “Bass, bass, bass” got me to thinking about that little voice in my head that involuntarily starts in with the same mantra once I’ve set the hook.

Never really thought about that before and that’s another aspect of this whole video thing that has been fun while also providing an opportunity for more than a few laughs with the advent of more user friendly recording.

We’re not the big boys, we don’t have a script and any catchphrases that may be spouted out on a regular basis are just the natural reaction to the simple joy of fooling a fish. As a grown up it’s kind of weird sitting all alone in a boat or balancing on a spoilbank while trying to provide the “viewers” with a feel for what you’ve got going on. But throw in a hookset met with some scaly resistance from the other end and a sort of verbal auto pilot feature kicks in. A reaction that goes back as long as I’ve fished, another thing that I never really consciously thought about. I’ve been talking to the fish for years, seems a natural part of the pursuit. Just takes a bit of getting used to when you see it on video.

Which brings me back to the joy of observing kids fishing or hanging with kids in general. Imagination and silliness typically run high even for a fellow like Jayce who is more than a bit reserved in most situations. Thus, it’s a treat to see the goofiness and excitement come pouring out while he’s sharing a common interest with a guy who just so happens to resemble a bigger version of that kid.

Before I sign off, here’s a bonus video from the same day on the water.  It serves to show that kids also learn other valuable fishing skills from their mentors beyond casting and reeling.  And yes, not surprisingly, I learned this one from Jayce’s Papa.

Here’s to more “bass, bass, bass”, “bluegill, bluegill, bluegill” and hopefully one of his 2018 goals of “catfish, catfish, catfish.” Talk to you later. Troy