Well, it was quite a week for the trio of anglers that make up this year’s Top 5 project. Bass were added on five of the seven days during the week to the tune of over thirty-five pounds combined for the nine entries. Along the way, Jim and Brent landed their new Top Bass for the year and I came up just a bit short on mine. Read on for the details.

Weight: 5-9
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: May 2
Weather: Besides the wind, the weather was very reasonable with a wind breaker.
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Structure: Weedy flat
Angler Comments: Weather might not have been bad, but the bite was tough. In 2.5 hours of fishing, I only managed one, but it was an impressive one. This 5-9 beauty came on a chatterbait. Pulling over weeds on a flat adjacent to a windblown cove.

Weight: 4-14
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: May 5
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Structure: Weed tops

Weight: 4-4
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: May 5
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Dark Sleeper
Structure: Weed tops
Angler Comments: I went after work for a couple of hours and managed four bass. Two dinks and two that were photo worthy. Weeds are growing quickly but was still able to pull a chatterbait and Dark Sleeper over the weeds and the snot moss.
Top 5 Weight: 25-9 (5-9,5-5,5-1,4-14,4-12) culls 4-8 and 4-5

Weight: 4-10 (21″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: May 6
Weather: Overcast/very windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Whopper Plopper 110 (bone)
Structure: Windblown ledge/dropoff
Angler Comments: A strong south wind was a direct hit on a narrow finger of this lake. I was hoping it would get some bass fired up and I was not disappointed. I initially thought this one was going to beat my current Top Bass of 2023 (5-3) but not quite. An entire upcoming post dedicated to this specific scenario and catch is in the works so stay tuned.

Weight: 4-2 (20.5″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: May 6
Weather: Overcast/very windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Whopper Plopper 110 (bone)
Structure: Flooded trees
Angler Comments: Roughly ten minutes after arriving at an unfamiliar lake, I had this four-pounder in hand. I really had no idea what to expect from the lake other than I had observed a bass during a brief peek while walking the bank prior to putting in the boat. More quality bass followed as noted below.

Weight: 3-7 (18.5″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: May 6
Weather: Overcast/very windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: War Eagle spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with twin tail trailer (Houdini)
Structure: Point/dropoff
Angler Comments: I let the wind push me up against the bank in a pocket with decent depth as I was tired of fighting for boat control. The natural anchor provided for fan casting, and I had already thoroughly worked the area with a Whopper Plopper without a bite. However, the area looked like it should hold a fish and a change of presentation proved me right. Cool when it works out like that.

Weight: 3-1 (17.5″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: May 6
Weather: Overcast/very windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Whopper Plopper 110 (bone)
Structure: Flooded trees
Angler Comments: In less than an hour, I had landed a 4-2, 2-11, and 2-8 on new water and was feeling quite fortunate about my stroke of luck. Next up was this 3-1 on a Whopper Plopper and I just had to laugh. I’ve been fishing for a long time and kind of know what I am doing but stretches like this still don’t come along every day. And with that stroke of luck, I am back in the 20-pound club after missing the mark the last year.
Top 5 Weight: 20-7 (5-3,4-10,4-2,3-7,3-1) culls 3-0,2-14, and 2-7

Weight: 1-10
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: May 4
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Angler Comments: Looks like forty-seven total bass on the day, but the good one got away.

Weight: 3-8
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: May 7
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Buzzbait
Angler Comments: The buzzbait is the bait today. Nine bass this morning, one on Chug-N-Spit and eight on buzzbait. Seven of the eight were between 1-6 and 2-1, the other was 3-8.
Top 5 Weight: 14-2 (3-8,2-13,2-13,2-12,2-4) culls 2-3

Jim added a picture with his 4-4 catch from May 5 noting the bloody tail indicative of a bass engaging in the spawn. Another of his submissions, a 5-5 from April 23 exhibited the same affliction. Cool observation of both physical characteristics as well as behavioral factors that influence bass location and mood over the calendar year. Kudos to Jim for releasing those quality bass to continue their contribution to the gene pool of an impressive fishery.

And with that I conclude another Top 5 Update and set my sights on the latest strip mine report and other fishing related stuff. Talk to you later. Troy