Well, as I put this week’s post together on Sunday night, it’s spitting snow. Which makes it all the better to revisit the fishing results logged during the recent near-record weather. Three of our anglers got it done as we have quite the Top 5 Update.

Weight: 2-15
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 3-3
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 3-4
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 3-9
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 3-11
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 4-4
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait

Weight: 4-12
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Angler Comments: Spent about eight hours at Banner and kept pretty busy. Took pics and weighed seven bass. Caught another six or seven that I didn’t weigh. Weeds are starting to grow up, so catches were a mix of lipless cranks and chatterbaits.
Top 5 Weight: 22-14 (5-1,4-12,4-8,4-5,4-4) culls a 4-0

Weight: 2-7 (17”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 10
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: ¼ oz. Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (perfect pumpkin)
Structure: Drop
Angler Comments: I cast the lure along a drop and watched as slack indicated that the lure had reached the bottom. As I took up the slack and prepared to crawl the bait, it felt heavy, so I set the hook and the rest is Top 5 history.

Weight: 3-1 (18”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 10
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: ¼ oz. Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (perfect pumpkin)
Structure: Finger/trough
Angler Comments: After landing a 5-3 two days prior on a lake that is not a regular stop, I figured that another visit was in order on this outing. Well, luck was with me again as this fish cooperated.

Weight: 3-0 (17.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 10
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: ¼ oz. Lunker Hunt Finesse Swimbait (perfect pumpkin)
Structure: Finger/trough
Angler Comments: Fifteen minutes after landing the 3-1, I got lucky again with a bass that was a near twin. A crazy couple 2023 April visits to this lake as our previous lake record was 2-3 with no other fish over two pounds. You just never know, but I suspect it will be a regular stop going forward.
Top 5 Weight: 14-15 (5-3,3-1,3-0,2-7,1-4) culls 1-2 and 1-0

Weight: 2-4
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 15
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Top 5 Weight: 12-13 (2-13,2-13,2-12,2-4,2-3) culls 2-1

Good catching by all and one of the bass above wound up being Bass #1000 all-time for the Top 5 project. More on that milestone in a future post. In the meantime, we set our sights on Top 5 Bass #2000. Only nine hundred and ninety-six bass to go. Talk to you later. Troy