Congratulations to our 2022 Top 5 Champ, Jim Junk. The victory makes it back-to-back titles for Jim with an impressive weight of 27-13, exceeding his 2021 winning mark of 26-0. Read on for all the numbers from our ninth year of the Top 5 challenge as eight anglers added one hundred bass and four trout to the ledger.
Jim Junk 6-0 April 15
Angler Weights
Jim Junk 27-13 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1,4-7)
Brent Jackson 18-9 (5-4,3-9,3-8,3-3,3-1)
Troy Jackson 16-10 (3-10,3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2)
John Kirkemo: 15-11 (4-2,3-5,2-14,2-11,2-11)
Jayce Jackson 7-1 (2-3,1-11,1-4,1-3,0-12)
Helena Jackson 1-3 (1-3)
Zac Jackson 1-0 (1-0)
Carly Jackson 0-14 (0-14)
Comments: Jim’s winning limit comes in as the eighth heaviest weight in the history of the Top 5. And it marked the only twenty-pound stringer of 2022.
Brent Jackson 5-4 April 24
2022 Monthly Totals
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 15 bass
April = 35 bass
May = 7 bass
June = 16 bass
July = 2 bass
August = 11 bass
September = 5 bass
October = 6 bass
November = 3 bass
December = no submissions
John Kirkemo May 3
Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 14-2 (3-3,2-15,2-14,2-12,2-6)
April = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
May = 11-9 (2-12,2-11,2-5,2-0,1-13)
June = 16-7 (4-2,3-5,3-3,2-15,2-14)
July = 4-11 (3-1,1-10)
August = 15-1 (3-5,3-4,2-15,2-13,2-12)
September = 10-14 (3-10,3-8,1-11,1-5,0-12)
October = 11-12 (2-14,2-10,2-4,2-3,1-13)
November = 11-7 (4-6,4-0,3-1)
December = no submissions
Comments: Thanks largely to Jim’s April contributions (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1), the 2022 total for April marks the fifth largest monthly total in Top 5 history. Brent contributed the other Top 5 April bass (5-4) for a total of 28-10. This total fell just shy of the all-time April record of 29-2 from 2014.
Jayce Jackson September 17
Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 55 bass
Bank = 45 bass
Comments: For the first tine since 2017, bass landed from a boat exceeded bass landed from the bank. The addition of a kayak for Brent and my decision to launch a boat on the Hennepin Canal got a couple more of us off the bank much more often.
Carly Jackson June 18
Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 17-9 (4-2,3-8,3-5,3-5,3-5)
Bank = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
Comments: Even with the additional boating, nineteen of our Top 20 bass still came from the bank.
Helena Jackson June 18
Public vs. Private
Public = 98 bass
Private = 2 bass
Comments: Once again, public waters dominated our haul with the lone exceptions coming on a private water outing in mid-September. The two private water bass were landed by Jayce on The Rock to complete his Top 5 for the year.
Zac Jackson June 18
Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
Private = 2-7 (1-11,0-12)
Comments: Banner Marsh (Jim – four bass) and a public Knox County strip pit (Brent – one bass), contributed to our public Top 5 while Jayce’s pair or bass from The Rock were our lone private water submissions.
The Baits
Plastic Worm = 27 bass (Top Bass 5-12 Jim Junk)
Chatterbait = 16 bass (Top Bass 6-9 Jim Junk) tops 5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20
Spinnerbait = 16 bass (Top Bass 5-4 Brent Jackson)
Lipless Crankbait = 15 bass (Top Bass 4-6 Jim Junk)
Jerkbait = 6 bass (Top Bass 2-5 John Kirkemo)
Crankbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 2-12 Troy Jackson)
Jig = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Brent Jackson)
Buzzbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-5 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 2-3 Jayce Jackson)
Grub = 1 bass (Top Bass 0-13 Troy Jackson)
Popper = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-1 Brent Jackson) no prior entry
Swimbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Jim Junk)
Underspin = 1 bass (3-12 Jim Junk)
Comments: For the fifth straight year, the good, old plastic worm led the way and in our case the lure was exclusively a wacky rigged Senko type worm. However, chatterbaits were the big bass leader in landing five or our Top 10 bass.
Troy Jackson September 4
Monthly Top Bass
January
No submissions
February
No submissions
March
3-3 Jim Junk
April
6-9 Jim Junk
May
2-12 Troy Jackson
June
4-2 John Kirkemo
July
3-1 Brent Jackson
August
3-5 Troy Jackson
September
3-10 Troy Jackson
October
2-14 Brent Jackson
November
4-6 Jim Junk
December
No submissions
Comments: Half of our eight anglers managed to post a monthly Top Bass during the nine months that we had submissions.
Jim Junk 6-9 April 4
2022 Top 10 Bass
6-9 Jim Junk 4/4/22
6-0 Jim Junk 4/15/22
5-12 Jim Junk 4/21/22
5-4 Brent Jackson 4/24/22
5-1 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-7 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-6 Jim Junk 4/19/22
4-6 Jim Junk 11/5/22
4-3 Jim Junk 4/21/22
4-2 John Kirkemo 6/13/22
Comments: A stellar year by our winner as Jim posts eight of our Top 10 bass of 2022. And a solid showing from our crew as it took a bass over four pounds to crack the Top 10.
Bonus Species
Other Species – Trout
John Kirkemo ~48” (12”, 12”, 12”,<12”)
Comments: The Top 5 expanded to include species besides bass in 2017. Submissions have been few and far between over the years but always fun to see something different. Thanks, John, for some variety from the streams of Iowa and a southern Illinois fishing hole.
And many thanks to those who took the time to share fish and fish stories. We had a good mix of young and not as young anglers, as well as guys and gals. I appreciate all and hope that you will consider joining up again in 2023. It’s always a treat to see a new fish story in the Inbox, in a text, or in person. Here’s to celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the Top 5. Stay tuned for a look at the Top 5 record book covering 2014 through 2022. Talk to you later. Troy