A pair of belated entries push our Top 5 leader over the 30-pound mark for the second consecutive year. Hey, if you’ve wavered on submitting any fish, don’t sweat it as it’s not too late for some earlier 2017 catches.

Weight: 6-3
Angler: Mark Balbinot
Date: June 18
Location: Fulton Co. IL strip mine lake
Lure: Spro Frog (white)
Water Temp: 80F
Structure: Open water about 15’ of water
Angler Comments: I realized that I had forgotten to send a catch from a Father’s Day trip with my daughter this past June. We have fished together the past few years on this day.

Weight: 6-6
Angler: Mark Balbinot
Date: August 27
Location: Fulton Co. IL strip mine lake
Lure: Strike King Sexy Dawg (white)
Water Temp: 78F
Structure: Tree top in about 20’ of water
Angler Comments: Went out early with blue skies and fished over 7 hours. Caught a lot of small ones to start and then a cold front approached that afternoon and the skies clouded up. Water was like glass, air was still and not even a bird was chirping. I knew a storm was getting close and the topwater bite turned on.
Top 5 Weight: 30-15 (6-15, 6-6, 6-3, 5-15, 5-8) culls 5-2 and 4-2

And check out Mark’s video from the August 27 outing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTq2v2Fo-rg

Way to go, Mark, two for two on meeting and beating a 30-pound limit to go along with a 32-13 bag from last year which tied the all-time Top 5 record. Still some time to go with the bass looking to strap on the fall feedbag here at some point once the weather heads towards fall conditions. So, don’t put those poles away quite yet, folks, as you’ll miss out on some good fishing. Got a few more fish for next week already that came in after I’d scheduled today’s post as well as a couple reports from my latest outings and a few other associated bits to pass along. Good luck, stop back by throughout the week and talk to you later. Troy