Month: May 2023

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

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

Hennepin Canal Report – April 29

Posted on by Troy Jackson

I had a good day on the strip mines yesterday but since I have been unable to keep up with the latest fishing reports, I am still wrapping up April. So, here we go with my most recent Canal visit where I found a solid number of bites when I had a couple afternoon hours to spare.

Stats
Date: April 29
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 2:30pm-4:45pm
Totals: 7 bass
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy, 59F
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with a BPS XPS double tail grub trailer (Houdini) – 7 bass
Top Bass: 1-3
Top 5 Weight: 5-2 (1-3,1-1,1-0,1-0,0-14)

Winning Lure

Notes and Nonsense

Wind – This day was extremely windy which is generally less of a factor on The Canal than any other waters I fish with a boat. However, if the wind is from the west, even The Canal gets pounded on many of the stretches that I visit. Such was the case, so I chose a stretch bordered by trees on both sides and a high bank on the west end. In addition to the windbreak, this choice also gave me an opportunity to explore. I had fished this section twice before but both times were later in the year when the weeds really took hold. The lack of weeds in late April provided ample open water cover to fish and resulted in enough bites to keep me interested.

3:06pm Top Bass at 1-3 (14.5″) on a spinnerbait

Top 5 Quest – In just under two years of fishing The Canal, I have landed bass in many stretches of the waterway from Colona to Wyanet. Being a stat guy, I log all catches and track the Top 5 from each section that I have designated (that’s another story on how I divide The Canal). Anyway, the section that I fished on this trip only had two “keepers” in the log (keeper = 12” or better and always released) totaling 2-1 (1-1,1-0). Thus, I was in search of at least three more keepers to establish a Top 5. Each of the seven bass that I fooled on this outing were between 12-14.5” so I met my goal. The Top 5 for this section now stands at 5-5 (1-3,1-1,1-1,1-0,1-0). Not a particularly impressive Top 5 but it gives me something to shoot for on my next visit as I try to boost my weight.

 

Spinnerbait Holdout – All seven of the bass landed on this trip came on a spinnerbait. In fact, a spinnerbait was about all I threw due to a combination of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” along with the abundant wood structure setting up ideally for the presentation. I cut my bass fishing teeth throwing spinnerbaits just like the pros back in the 1980s. While the lure has faded over the years on the paid circuit, this amateur, wannabe bass angler still wears them out when conditions warrant. And much of The Canal screams out, “Spinnerbait!”

Bites on The Canal this year have been tough to come by so seven bass in a couple of hours was a winner. Time will tell if this gets me back on track as I headed away from The Canal on my next outing. The strip mine bass treated me well so stay tuned for Monday’s Top 5 Update and a full report later next week. Talk to you later. Troy

Top Bass #1000

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Congratulations to our Top 5 leader, Jim Junk, as he was the fortunate angler to reel in Bass #1000 all-time for the Top 5 project. And it was quite a fish as noted by the pic and details below.

Weight: 4-12
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Angler Comments: Wish I had a great story for #1,000 but it was really a typical, or above average, early spring day at Banner. Fast moving baits over emerging weeds. Ended up with a few that day, but glad the biggest one made #1,000!

It’s fitting that Jim wound up with the milestone bass as he has been the most prolific contributor over the years. Jim took part in the initial Top 5 back in 2014 and has submitted fish every year except for 2017. In that span he has racked up a whopping 215 bass added to our database and is our two-time defending champion.

This whole thing started back in March of 2014 while I was blogging for the Heartland Outdoors website. I invited readers of my “Meandering” column to share their catches in the format that remains to this day. I left Heartland Outdoors to start my own website in 2017 and the Top 5 project has continued to this day unlike that old website.

The concept was inspired by a fellow angler that I met through my blogging, corresponded with for a few years, and shared a boat with a couple times. I’d long kept stats and even tracked my best bass of each year but never thought of tracking the Top 5 from year to year. Thanks, Terry, for the inspiration.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a trivia (and baseball) guy. So, how about a tangent for another milestone that occurred forty-eight years ago today.

Do you know which of these players scored run #1,000,000 in baseball history? (Note: my card collection lacks a 1975 Topps Bob Watson so I picked my favorite poses of both players instead, Concepcion – 1974 Topps with Wrigley Field backdrop, Watson – 1977 Topps)

As we headed towards Bass #1000, I couldn’t help but think of the 1975 Major League Baseball quest to see what player would score MLB run number one million. I won’t fill up space here with the tale, but it is a cool event from the days before the internet provided instant feedback on game status. However, I will leave you with a few details and a link. Run number one million came down to a footrace between the two players above as they simultaneously headed for home in separate cities. And it occurred on May 4, 1975, hence my decision to reveal our Top 5 milestone on May 4, forty-eight years later. Check out the link below to see which of these two guys crossed the plate first.

MLB Run #1,000,000

And speaking of trivia, here is the answer to who submitted Bass #1 for the Top 5.

From the original March 24, 2014 Top 5 Update
Weight: 4-3
Angler: Bruce Zilkowski
Date: 2/19
Location: Newton Lake
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad)
Structure: Shallow point
Angler Comments: “First thing in the morning we pulled up on a shallow underwater point that extended out from the shoreline. I think it was less than 5 casts before it hooked up.”

It’s been a fun ten-year ride for the Top 5 and the hits keep coming. As I typed this post up, I received a text and pic of the new 2023 Top 5 Top Bass. But you’ll have to wait until the Monday update for that to be revealed. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Behind schedule on my monthly Top 5 Stat Updates as I failed to post any of the numbers for February or March. So here we go to catch up on the data for the forty-one bass submitted through April.

2023 Totals
January = no submissions
February = 2 bass
March = 7 bass
April = 32 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = 6-10 (3-9,3-1)
March = 19-8 (5-1,4-5,4-4,3-5,2-9)
April = 24-0 (5-5,5-3,4-12,4-8,4-4)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 6 bass
Bank = 35 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 12-3 (2-14,2-13,2-4,2-3,2-1)
Bank = 24-13 (5-5,5-3,5-1,4-12,4-8)

Public vs. Private
Public = 41 bass
Private = 0 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 24-13 (5-5,5-3,5-1,4-12,4-8)
Private = no submissions

The Baits
Lipless Crankbait = 22 bass (Top Bass 5-1 Jim Junk)
Chatterbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-5 Jim Junk)
Grub = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Troy Jackson)
Jerkbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 2-13 Brent Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 2-14 Troy Jackson)
Jig = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-13 Brent Jackson)
Plastic Worm = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-4 Brent Jackson)
Swimbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-0 Jim Junk)

Monthly Top Bass
January
No submissions
February
3-9 Jim Junk
March
5-1 Jim Junk
April
5-5 Jim Junk

2023 Top 10 Bass
5-5 Jim Junk 4/23
5-3 Troy Jackson 4/7
5-1 Jim Junk 3/5
4-12 Jim Junk 4/9
4-8 Jim Junk 4/1
4-5 Jim Junk 3/11
4-4 Jim Junk 3/26
4-4 Jim Junk 4/9
4-0 Jim Junk 4/2
3-13 Jim Junk 4/23

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 23-15 (5-5,5-1,4-12,4-8,4-5)
Troy Jackson 16-9 (5-3,3-1,3-0,2-14,2-7)
Brent Jackson 12-13 (2-13,2-13,2-12,2-4,2-3)

More than a few years of fishing for our current Top 5 crew but hoping as the spring rolls on to get some younger anglers on the list including a lady or two or three. Stay tuned and if anyone out there wishes to join up just send your pics, catch details or any questions my way at troy@troyjacksonoutdoors.com. Just note that a picture is required along with a weight. Bass minimum length is twelve inches and other species can be submitted as well.

And it looks like this is going to be a Top 5 sort of week here on the blog. Stay tuned for the reveal of Top 5 Bass #1000. Talk to you later. Troy