Top 5 bass stats Part II without further ado.

Public vs. Private Water (2014-2018)
Public = 373 bass (92/52/95/42/92)
Public Top 5 Weight = 32-2, 31-7, 30-5, 27-7 and 24-5 (2018)
Private = 201 bass (53/48/39/37/24)
Private Top 5 Weight = 38-10, 30-0, 32-13, 33-14 and 31-9 (2018)
Undisclosed = 17 bass (9/6/2/0/0)

Comments: It’s tough to beat having access to some private fishing holes and our sample pool of bass show that such waters can pump out some quality bass. But it is also refreshing that the numbers show that our anglers do quite well when chasing bass on waters where everybody can take their shot.

Boat vs. Bank (2014-2018) * = new record
Boat = 379 bass (90/63/103/68/55)
Boat Top 5 Weight = 30-7, 31-7, 32-13, 33-14 and 31-9 (2018)
Bank = 206 bass (64/43/27/11/61)
Bank Top 5 Weight = 40-14, 27-6, 27-12, 20-14 and 24-2 (2018)
Undisclosed = 6 bass

Comments: Like many hobbies, fishing can be as expensive as one chooses to make it ranging from bass boats to boots. To each their own as our numbers demonstrate that casting from a seat or on your feet are both effective approaches.

The Baits (44 undisclosed) * = new record
138 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
68 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
*62 Spinnerbaits (5-14 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18) – Old Record (5-4 Terry Isbell 10/22/14)
50 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
*42 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18) = Old Record (5-13 Troy Jackson 3/21/15)
29 Swimbaits (8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14)
27 Swim Jigs (6-13 Jake Bresson 4/9/15)
26 Creature Baits (6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17)
21 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson4/25/17)
20 Jerkbaits (5-10 Ty Hartlipp 6/5/14)
14 Chatterbaits (Top Bass 4-10 Mark Balbinot 2/20/16)
12 Tubes (Top Bass 5-0 Jake Bresson 4/28/15)
11 Topwater Frog (6-11 Ty Hartlipp 6/11/14)
9 Underspins (Top Bass 7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16)
5 Stickbaits (6-6 Mark Balbinot 8/27/17)
5 Ultralights (3-1 Paul Kessler 10/12/17)
4 Livebait (5-14 Jim Junk 7/4/14)
2 Inline Spinners (5-2 Jake Bresson 9/17/17)
2 Propbaits (6-2 Jake Bresson 5/1/15)

Comments: What can you say about the tried and true plastic worm? Still getting it done in a variety of presentations and more than holding its own against the never ending parade of “can’t miss” concoctions constantly tugging at your wallet.

The 20-Pound Club * = 2018 entry
33-14 Mark Balbinot 2017 (7-4,6-15,6-13,6-8,6-6)
32-13 Jake Bresson 2014 (9-4, 8-8, 6-6, 4-10, 4-1)
32-13 Mark Balbinot 2016 (7-7,6-8,6-5,6-5,6-4)
32-0 Gary Le 2014 (8-10,6-8,5-12,5-10, 5-8)
*31-9 Mark Balbinot 2018 (7-2,6-12,6-3,5-14,5-10)
29-7 Austin Chapman 2015 (6-4,6-2,6-0,5-14,5-3)
27-12 Jake Bresson 2015 (6-13,6-2,5-5,5-0,4-8)
27-6 Randy Sampson Sr 2015 (7-0,6-1,4-13,4-12,4-12)
27-6 Jake Bresson 2016 (6-3,5-13,5-4,5-2,5-0)
26-13 Troy Jackson 2017 (6-2,5-11,5-9,5-0,4-7)
26-4 Austin Chapman 2016 (5-14,5-10,5-2,4-14,4-12)
26-1 Brice Wangler 2014 (5-11, 5-5, 5-2, 5-0, 4-15)
25-8 Brice Wangler 2015 (5-7,5-4,5-2,4-14,4-13)
24-14 Ty Hartlipp 2014 (6-11, 5-10, 5-5, 4-0, 3-4)
24-9 Terry Isbell 2014 (5-8,5-4,5-2,4-8,4-3)
23-12 Jake Bresson 2017 (5-4,5-2,5-2,4-3,4-1)
23-11 Randy Sampson Sr. 2017 (6-0,4-14,4-12,4-11,3-6)
*23-8 Jim Junk 2018 (5-4,5-2,4-9,4-5,4-4)
22-15 Adam Bean 2015 (5-13,4-9,4-6,4-2,4-1)
22-13 Mike Mooney 2014 (6-4, 5-7, 4-3, 3-9, 3-6)
22-12 Troy Jackson 2015 (5-13,4-13,4-10,3-12,3-12)
21-8 Randy Sampson Sr. 2016 (5-12,5-8,4-11,3-1,2-8)
21-7 Brice Wangler 2016 (4-8,4-7,4-4,4-2,4-2)
21-3 Troy Jackson 2016 (5-9,5-4,3-9,3-7,3-6)
*20-15 Chris Schwarz 2018 (4-11,4-11,4-8,4-0,3-1)
20-14 Troy Jackson 2014 (4-13, 4-6, 4-2, 4-1, 3-8)
20-9 Austin Chapman 2014 (4-15, 4-4,4-0,3-13,3-9)
20-1 Bruce Zilkowski 2014 (4-11,4-3,4-0,3-12,3-7)

Comments: Three more entries into the coveted 20-pound club in 2018 including another one up there in the rare air of the 30-pound club. Mark Balbinot makes it a three-peat of titles, all 30-pound limits. Jim Junk posts his personal best total and impressively reels them all in from the bank. Newcomer, Chris Schwarz, also gets the job done along with sharing his enjoyment of our hobby with a batch of youngsters (perhaps a closer look at that bunch later this year).

Top 10 Top 5 Bass * = 2018 entry
9-4 Jake Breeson 5/23/14 Jig
8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14 Swimbait
8-8 Jake Breeson 5/23/14 Jig
8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14 Crankbait
7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16 Underspin
7-4 Mark Balbinot 10/29/17 Jig
*7-2 Mark Balbinot 11/23/18 Underspin
7-0 Randy Sampson Sr. 3/22/15 Jig
6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17 Creature Bait
6-13 Jake Breeson 4/9/15 Swim Jig
6-13 Mark Balbinot 12/10/17 Creature Bait

Comments: Our 2018 champ nabbed the only bass that was able to crack the all-time Top 10 and that’s not easy to do. It will take a near seven-pounder to displace a fish from this list as we head into a New Year.

And just for fun…

All-Time Weights (40-pound minimum “career” mark)
(Note: not all anglers have participated each year)
111-11 Jake Bresson (32-13,27-12,27-6,23-12)
107-3 Troy Jackson (20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9)
98-4 Mark Balbinot (33-14,32-13,31-9)
76-4 Austin Chapman (20-9,29-7,26-4)
73-0 Brice Wangler (26-1,25-8,21-7)
72-15 Bruce Zilkowski (20-1,17-0,17-14,18-0)
72-10 Randy Sampson, Sr. (27-6,21-8,23-12)
67-7 Brent Jackson (18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2)
66-12 Paul Kessler (18-6,17-6,16-6,14-10)
64-11 Jim Junk (11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8)
45-11 Mike Mooney (22-13,4-9,18-5)

Comments: We have our second member of the “career” 100-pound club despite the fellow struggling a bit and failing to keep his 20-pound limit streak alive. Maybe this year and looks like the next catch for our current champ will put him in the club as well.

Year five is in the books and back for more in 2019 for anyone who is interested. And we’ll take all species again this year if you chase or happen upon something other than bass. We already have our first catch of the New Year so make sure you stop by tomorrow for the earliest Top 5 Update in the history of the project. Talk to you later. Troy