June turned out to be a downer in terms of our Top 5 project as no new submissions joined the ranks.  I gave it a few shots, had a good time, caught a decent amount of fish but just couldn’t fool anything to give to give our totals a boost.  Back at it a couple days ago with July underway and me and Dad found several bites that got it done.

Weight: 0-14 (12”)
Angler: Terry Jackson
Date: July 8
Location: Little John Conservation Club
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Structure: Brush/drop
Angler Comments (actually mine for Dad): Part of our only double, Dad’s 12” bass outdid my 11” fish and got him on the board for the 2017 Top 5.

Weight: 1-3 (14”)
Angler: Terry Jackson
Date: July 8
Location: Little John Conservation Club
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Structure: Brush/drop
Angler Comments (actually mine for Dad): This bass came from a productive spot that I was originally going to skip as it is rather confined for a real bass boat as opposed to my regular eight footer.  But fortune smiled as Dad got hung in an underwater limb prompting us to go in after the snag.  One cast later, as soon as his Senko hit the water near some overhanging bushes he had Top 5 bass number two in the boat.

Weight: 3-5 (20”)
Angler: Terry Jackson
Date: July 8
Location: Little John Conservation Club
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Structure: Brush/drop
Angler Comments (actually mine for Dad): Dad noted that this was probably the largest Senko bass he’d nabbed.  It sure put a bend in his pole and stripped drag during a battle that included a pole submerging dive at the boat.  Dad and I were bent and ready at the side of the boat with pole and dipnet waiting for the fish to surface, and it did.  Only thing was, it was behind us about eighteen feet away, having swam completely under the boat. Somehow the 8-pound test held and we got both a good fish and a good fish story that we’ve already told a few times.
Top 5 Weight: 5-6 (3-5,1-3,0-14)

Weight: 5-0 (21.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: July 8
Location: Little John Conservation Club
Lure: Booyah Buzz Buzzbait
Structure: Point/drop
Angler Comments: Took a couple hours of intermittent casting amidst a decent Senko bite and was the only successful strike I had all morning on a buzzbait (two half-hearted swirls otherwise). Definitely worth the effort in the end as I had told Dad a couple times that “all it takes is one bite.” Got it on this morning. Full report and then some later this week.
Top 5 Weight: 23-6 (6-2,5-9,5-0,3-6,3-5) culls 2-5

Fun day with Dad and a few Top 5 bass provide some icing on the cake.  On a personal note, my current tally of 23-6 represents my best limit since kicking off this project back in 2014.  From 2014 to 2016 I managed to rack up totals of 20-14, 22-12 and 21-3, respectively.  So, I guess from here it’s a matter of seeing how high I can push my limit with at least four months of casting remaining.  Looks like 26-2 puts me in the Top 10 all-time limits so I suppose that is a good number to target, two pounds and twelve ounces to go.  Pretty fun stuff, these stats, if I do say so myself.  Feel free to join the fun…Talk to you later.  Troy