Congratulations to Mark Balbinot who makes it four in a row with a late season surge to claim the Top 5 crown. His winning weight marks his fourth straight year with a creel topping the 25-pound mark, very impressive. His efforts have earned him the customary big check, don’t spend it all in one place.

Here’s how it all shook out with the 2019 Top 5 final stats covering 95 bass and 5 additional submissions (3 other species) from a group of 9 anglers.

2019 Totals (* = new record)
January = 1 bass
February = no submissions
March = 8 bass
April = 14 bass
May = 12 bass
June = 14 bass
July = 11 bass
*August = 7 bass
September = 9 bass
October = 8 bass
November = 9 bass
December = 2 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month (* = new record)
January = 3-3 (one bass)
February = no submissions
March = 19-3 (4-8,4-2,4-1,3-5,3-3)
April = 19 -10 (4-1,4-1,4-0,3-12,3-12)
May = 19-1 (4-6,4-0,3-15,3-10,3-2)
June = 19-15 (4-3,4-1,4-1,3-15,3-11)
July = 13-15 (5-3,3-14,1-15,1-8,1-7)
*August = 19-4 (4-14,4-10,4-6,2-14,2-8)
*September = 24-5 (5-3,5-0,5-0,4-12,4-6)
October = 20-6 (4-12,4-5,4-3,3-10,3-8)
November = 25-8 (5-5,5-3,5-1,5-1,4-14)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 33 bass
Bank = 62 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 25-4 (5-5,5-3,5-1,4-14,4-13)
Bank = 25-7 (5-3,5-3,5-1,5-0,5-0)

Public vs. Private
Public = 68 bass
Private = 27 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 24-9 (5-3,5-0,4-14,4-12,4-12)
Private = 25-13 (5-5,5-3,5-3,5-1,5-1)

The Baits
Plastic Worm = 27 bass (Top Bass 4-14 Jim Junk)
Chatterbait = 18 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Jim Junk)
Spinnerbaits = 15 bass (Top Bass 4-5 Brent Jackson)
Lipless Crankbaits = 13 bass (Top Bass 4-8 Jim Junk)
Jigs = 5 bass (Top Bass 4-14 Mark Balbinot)
Underspin = 4 bass (Top Bass 5-5 Mark Balbinot)
Buzzbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 2-4 Troy Jackson)
Crankbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 4-13 Mark Balbinot)
Swim Jigs = 2 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Chris Schwarz)
Blade Bait = 1 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Mark Balbinot)
Creature Bait = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-9 Troy Jackson)
Prop Bait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-12 Jim Junk)
Livebait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-1 Jim Junk)
Topwater Frog = 1 bass (Top Bass 1-1 Landon Hannam)

Monthly Top Bass

January
3-3 Jim Junk
February
No submissions
March
4-8 Jim Junk
April
4-1 Jim Junk
May
4-6 Jim Junk
June
4-3 Jim Junk
July
5-3 Jim Junk
August
4-14 Jim Junk
September
5-3 Chris Schwarz
October
4-12 Jim Junk
November
5-5 Mark Balbinot
December
3-4 Chris Schwarz

Top 10 Bass
5-5 Mark Balbinot 11/9
5-3 Jim Junk 7/28
5-3 Chris Schwarz 9/22
5-3 Mark Balbinot 11/16
5-1 Mark Balbinot 11/9
5-1 Jim Junk 11/10
5-0 Jim Junk 9/15
5-0 Chris Schwarz 9/22
4-14 Jim Junk 8/3
4-14 Mark Balbinot 11/16

Angler Weights
Mark Balbinot 25-4 (5-5,5-3,5-1,4-14,4-13)
Jim Junk 24-14 (5-3,5-1,5-0,4-14,4-12)
Chris Schwarz 20-12 (5-3,5-0,3-11,3-10,3-4)
Troy Jackson 14-4 (3-14,2-11,2-10,2-9,2-8)
Brent Jackson 13-7 (4-5,2-14,2-6,1-15,1-15)
Landon Hannam 10-1 (4-3,2-7,1-4,1-2,1-1)
John Kirkemo 6-14 (1-9,1-7,1-6,1-5,1-3)
Terry Jackson 3-13 (1-15,1-1,0-13)
Jayce Jackson 2-13 (1-8,1-5)

Other Species
Bluegill 1-8 Teagan Mills 6/2/19 Private pond
Channel Catfish 13-0 Teagan Mills 4/20/19 Private Pond
Catfish 6-9 Chris Schwarz 6/12/19 Spring Lake – McDonough County
Catfish 34-35” Chris Schwarz 6/2/19 Spring Lake – McDonough County
Muskellunge 6-4 Chris Schwarz 6/28/19 Lake Storey

Well done by our group of anglers and we are off and running already with last week’s Top Update post which featured a January 4 catch. Things have become more winter like with more chill on the way here in West Central Illinois. But if anybody is out there fooling frigid fish I’m ready to hear about it. Until then, I am looking to post a rundown of the all-time Top 5 Stats along with plenty of other things I have up my sleeve. Talk to you later. Troy