Top 5 bass stats Part II without further ado.

Public vs. Private Water (2014-2019)
Public = 441 bass (92/52/95/42/92/68)
Public Top 5 Weight = 32-2, 31-7, 30-5, 27-7, 24-5 and 25-4 (2019)
Private = 228 bass (53/48/39/37/24/27)
Private Top 5 Weight = 38-10, 30-0, 32-13, 33-14, 31-9 and 24-3 (2019)
Undisclosed = 17 bass (9/6/2/0/0/0)

Comments: It’s tough to beat having access to some private fishing holes and our sample pool of bass show that such waters can pump out some quality bass. But it is also refreshing that the numbers show that our anglers do quite well when chasing bass on waters where everybody can take their shot.

Boat vs. Bank (2014-2019)
Boat = 412 bass (90/63/103/68/55/33)
Boat Top 5 Weight = 30-7, 31-7, 32-13, 33-14, 31-9 and 25-4 (2019)
Bank = 268 bass (64/43/27/11/61/62)
Bank Top 5 Weight = 40-14, 27-6, 27-12, 20-14, 24-2 and 25-7 (2019)
Undisclosed = 6 bass

Comments: Like many hobbies, fishing can be as expensive as one chooses to make it ranging from bass boats to boots. To each their own as our numbers demonstrate that casting from a seat or on your feet are both effective approaches.

The Baits (44 undisclosed)
165 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
76 Spinnerbaits (5-14 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18)
71 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
55 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
55 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18)
33 Chatterbaits (Top Bass 4-10 Mark Balbinot 2/20/16)
29 Swimbaits (8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14)
29 Swim Jigs (6-13 Jake Bresson 4/9/15)
27 Creature Baits (6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17)
24 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson 4/25/17)
20 Jerkbaits (5-10 Ty Hartlipp 6/5/14)
13 Underspins (Top Bass 7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16)
12 Topwater Frog (6-11 Ty Hartlipp 6/11/14)
12 Tubes (Top Bass 5-0 Jake Bresson 4/28/15)
5 Livebait (5-14 Jim Junk 7/4/14)
5 Stickbaits (6-6 Mark Balbinot 8/27/17)
5 Ultralights (3-1 Paul Kessler 10/12/17)
3 Propbaits (6-2 Jake Bresson 5/1/15)
2 Inline Spinners (5-2 Jake Bresson 9/17/17)
1 Blade Bait (5-3 Mark Balbinot 11/16/19)

Comments: Chatterbaits (18 bass in 2019) made a strong showing for the second consecutive year although they still have a ways to go in order to crack out Top 5 lures. Spinnerbaits (15 bass) and lipless cranks (13 bass) also held their own in 2019 while crankbait production was quite lean (3 bass). And what can you say about the tried and true plastic worm (27 bass)? Those counterfeit wigglers are still getting it done in a variety of presentations and still holding their own against the ongoing parade of new lures vying for angler dollars.

The 20-Pound Club * = 2019 entry
33-14 Mark Balbinot 2017 (7-4,6-15,6-13,6-8,6-6)
32-13 Jake Bresson 2014 (9-4, 8-8, 6-6, 4-10, 4-1)
32-13 Mark Balbinot 2016 (7-7,6-8,6-5,6-5,6-4)
32-0 Gary Le 2014 (8-10,6-8,5-12,5-10, 5-8)
31-9 Mark Balbinot 2018 (7-2,6-12,6-3,5-14,5-10)
29-7 Austin Chapman 2015 (6-4,6-2,6-0,5-14,5-3)
27-12 Jake Bresson 2015 (6-13,6-2,5-5,5-0,4-8)
27-6 Randy Sampson Sr 2015 (7-0,6-1,4-13,4-12,4-12)
27-6 Jake Bresson 2016 (6-3,5-13,5-4,5-2,5-0)
26-13 Troy Jackson 2017 (6-2,5-11,5-9,5-0,4-7)
26-4 Austin Chapman 2016 (5-14,5-10,5-2,4-14,4-12)
26-1 Brice Wangler 2014 (5-11, 5-5, 5-2, 5-0, 4-15)
25-8 Brice Wangler 2015 (5-7,5-4,5-2,4-14,4-13)
*25-4 Mark Balbinot 2019 (5-5,5-3,5-1,4-14,4-13)
24-14 Ty Hartlipp 2014 (6-11, 5-10, 5-5, 4-0, 3-4)
*24-14 Jim Junk 2019 (5-3,5-1,5-0,4-14,4-12)
24-9 Terry Isbell 2014 (5-8,5-4,5-2,4-8,4-3)
23-12 Jake Bresson 2017 (5-4,5-2,5-2,4-3,4-1)
23-11 Randy Sampson Sr. 2017 (6-0,4-14,4-12,4-11,3-6)
23-8 Jim Junk 2018 (5-4,5-2,4-9,4-5,4-4)
22-15 Adam Bean 2015 (5-13,4-9,4-6,4-2,4-1)
22-13 Mike Mooney 2014 (6-4, 5-7, 4-3, 3-9, 3-6)
22-12 Troy Jackson 2015 (5-13,4-13,4-10,3-12,3-12)
21-8 Randy Sampson Sr. 2016 (5-12,5-8,4-11,3-1,2-8)
21-7 Brice Wangler 2016 (4-8,4-7,4-4,4-2,4-2)
21-3 Troy Jackson 2016 (5-9,5-4,3-9,3-7,3-6)
20-15 Chris Schwarz 2018 (4-11,4-11,4-8,4-0,3-1)
20-14 Troy Jackson 2014 (4-13, 4-6, 4-2, 4-1, 3-8)
*20-12 Chris Schwarz 2019 (5-3,5-0,3-11,3-10,3-4)
20-9 Austin Chapman 2014 (4-15, 4-4,4-0,3-13,3-9)
20-1 Bruce Zilkowski 2014 (4-11,4-3,4-0,3-12,3-7)

Comments: Three more entries into the coveted 20-pound club in 2019. Mark Balbinot makes it four in a row with another limit exceeding 25 pounds. Jim Junk posts his personal best total for the second year in a row while impressively reeling in nearly all of them from the bank. No sophomore jinx for Chris Schwarz either as he posts another 20-pound limit nearly identical to his 2018 weight.

Top 10 Top 5 Bass
9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14 Jig
8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14 Swimbait
8-8 Jake Bresson 5/23/14 Jig
8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14 Crankbait
7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16 Underspin
7-4 Mark Balbinot 10/29/17 Jig
7-2 Mark Balbinot 11/23/18 Underspin
7-0 Randy Sampson Sr. 3/22/15 Jig
6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17 Creature Bait
6-13 Jake Bresson 4/9/15 Swim Jig
6-13 Mark Balbinot 12/10/17 Creature Bait

Comments: The impressive Top 10 list above stands pat as a 5-5 was the best our group fooled in 2019. Truly takes a trophy to crack this list as a near seven-pound fish just doesn’t come along every day, often the fish of a lifetime for most anglers.

And just for fun…

All-Time Weights (40-pound minimum “career” mark)
(Note: not all anglers have participated each year)
123-8 Mark Balbinot (33-14,32-13,31-9,25-4)
121-7 Troy Jackson (20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9,14-4)
111-11 Jake Bresson (32-13,27-12,27-6,23-12)
89-9 Jim Junk (11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8,24-14)
80-14 Brent Jackson (18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2,13-7)
76-4 Austin Chapman (20-9,29-7,26-4)
73-0 Brice Wangler (26-1,25-8,21-7)
72-15 Bruce Zilkowski (20-1,17-0,17-14,18-0)
72-10 Randy Sampson, Sr. (27-6,21-8,23-12)
66-12 Paul Kessler (18-6,17-6,16-6,14-10)
45-11 Mike Mooney (22-13,4-9,18-5)
41-11 Chris Schwarz (20-15,20-12)

Comments: Mark Balbinot takes over the all-time weight lead and has only needed four years to claim the title. The runner-up fellow has found it tough to find some quality bites the last two years despite ample opportunity to hit the water. Look for 2020 to add at least one more member with Jim Junk barely ten pounds away. And if my brother, Brent, can find time to get out, well, maybe he can find a 20-pound limit to push him over the century mark.

Year six is in the books, year seven is off and running in 2020 and you’re all invited whether you are reeling in or tuning in. Once again, we’ll take all species this year if you chase after or happen upon something other than bass. What do you say we push it past 100 submissions this year?

Talk to you later. Troy