Category: Top 5

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

My brother, Brent, has been too busy to fish this year but he was able to get out on some public Knox County strip mine stomping grounds this weekend. The bass were biting well but quality bites were tough to come by leaving him one bass shy of his initial Top 5. Great to have him on board again and I expect he’ll get that fifth bass in short order once he gets out for some more casts.

Weight: 2-4
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 13
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Jerkbait

Weight: 1-10
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 13
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Jerkbait

Weight: 1-6
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 13
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Jerkbait

Weight: 1-4
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 13
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Jerkbait
Top 5 Weight: 6-8 (2-4,1-10,1-6,1-4)

Well done with some hard-earned quality “keeper” bites on a tough day. I was along for the hike and couldn’t muster any to exceed Brent’s bites and give myself a Top 5 boost. Stay tuned for the report on our trip as I try and catch up on the April outings. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A fun update today features a comparison of black bass “cousins” with a spotted bass from the southeast and a local largemouth bass.

Weight: 1-7 (15”)
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: March 27
Weather: High 60s low 70s air temperatures with partly cloudy skies. Light wind
Water Temp: 60 – 63 degrees
Location: Lake Keowee, SC
Lure: Four inch black and silver shallow running Rapala
Angler Comments: Fished late morning and midafternoon. During the morning session I noticed open water surface feeding. I started trolling the Rapala and within a few minutes got the hit. The fish was strong, and my line was only 6 lbs. test fluorocarbon, so it took a while to get him to the net. This was my first ever spotted bass. I had no other hits.
Top 5 Weight: 2-12 (1-7,1-5)

Weight: 1-11 (15″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 1
Weather: Overcast/windy, 51F
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Rapala Shad Rap (blue)
Structure: Drop
Angler Comments: As my day neared an end, I finally found a spot where the bass would bite. This was the first and biggest of nine bass in forty-five minutes all on the Shad Rap.
Top 5 Weight: 9-2 (2-6,1-14,1-11,1-11,1-8) culls a 1-7

The weather is on the upswing locally this week with above average temperatures and no more rain. Taking a peek at the Lake Keowee weather, it also looks pleasant although a bit damp mid-week. Perhaps this week’s featured anglers will have an opportunity to add to their creels. Of course, anybody else is free to pitch in as well. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Happy April Fool’s Day as another angler joins the pursuit with a quality fish. No fooling either as this catch happens to be his Top Bass of all-time.

Weight: 3-4
Angler: Jayce Jackson
Date: March 31
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 58F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (white) with a Strike King Rage Swimmer trailer ()
Editor’s Comments: This bass represents Jayce’s largest bass, topping a 2-5 from the Knox County strip mines in 2018.
Top 5 Weight: 3-4 (3-4)

Way to go, Jayce, as that is a quality catch anywhere and an impressive specimen from The Canal. A great start to your Top 5 and I look forward to seeing what you can add as the year rolls on. More on the catch when I get around to catching up on fishing reports. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

We have another limit and another contender as three more bass join the ledger.

Weight: 3-1
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 17
Weather:
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait

Weight: 3-14
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 18
Weather:
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Angler Comments: Made it out yesterday for about three hours and today for like one and a half hours. Very windy both days, but much cooler today. Yesterday ended up with four bass. Three dinks and a 3-1 that all came on a black and red skirted chatterbait. Today only had one bite but it was a nice 3-14 on the same chatterbait.
Top 5 Weight: 17-5 (4-6,3-14,3-10,3-1,2-6)

Weight: 1-5
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: March 23 at 3:00pm
Weather: Partly cloudy and breezy with air temperature in high 60s to low 70s
Water Temp: 61F
Location: Lake Keowee, SC
Lure: Wacky worm
Angler Comments: This fish hit the wacky worm in about 5 feet of water along a sun-drenched wooded shoreline (See attached picture of location.) This was the only hit I had in about two hours of afternoon fishing. My first ever South Carolina largemouth. No competition from shore fisherman. (See attached picture of shoreline warning sign.)
Top 5 Weight: 1-5 (1-5)

Good stuff as Jim edges nearer the coveted twenty-pound mark and the Top 5 bass collection expands to the southeast with John’s catch from The Palmetto State. As April nears, it looks like the local weather forecast is promising and hopefully it will translate into an uptick in the bite. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Three bass join the list for this week’s update as I fill my initial limit and bump a couple of my earlier catches out of my Top 5.

Weight: 1-14
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 16
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy, 52F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Chatterbait (sexy shad) with Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad trailer (pro blue)
Structure: Laydown
Angler Comments: On my first cast of the evening, my lure had barely hit the water alongside a lengthy fallen tree when this bass loaded up. It established my new Top Bass for the year but would only hold the mark for two hours before being bested by one of the fish below.

Weight: 1-11
Date: March 16
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy, 52F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw)
Structure: Open water
Angler Comments: While my target was a point across The Canal, this one hit as my lure crossed the open channel well away from the point. Perhaps it followed the bait, maybe there is some hidden structure in the vicinity, or maybe I just got lucky. At any rate, another quality fish for a boost to my Top 5 total.

Weight: 2-6
Date: March 16
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy, 52F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Chatterbait (sexy shad) with Bass Pro Shops Speed Shad trailer (pro blue)
Structure: Submerged logs
Angler Comments: My final cast of the day resulted in my largest fish. Since I was only a few hundred yards from the truck and wrapping up my evening, I opted to pack up my gear, hop on the bike, and end my day with a quality catch.
Top 5 Weight: 8-14 (2-6,1-14,1-11,1-8,1-7) culls a 1-5 and 1-2

A solid trio of fish for me and pleased to be off to a good start this early in the year. Here’s hoping I can add a few more and push my limit into double digits before April arrives. In the meantime, I am hoping to push out some 2024 early season fishing reports and possibly some more stats from 2023. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Our 2024 Top 5 kicked off with two entries last week consisting of a pair of February catches. This week features a solid March start as a couple more Top 5 veterans get on the board with a handful of bass.

Weight: 4-6
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 3
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait

Weight: 3-10
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 3
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait

Weight: 2-6
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 3
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad
Top 5 Weight: 10-6 (4-6,3-10,2-6)

Weight: 1-8
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 3
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 64F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue)
Structure: Submerged log

Weight: 1-7
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 3
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 64F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Chatterbait (sexy shad) with BPS Speed Shad trailer (pro blue)
Structure: Submerged log

Weight: 1-5
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 3
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 64F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw)
Structure: Point

Weight: 1-2
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 3
Weather: Sunny/very windy, 64F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw)
Structure: Riprap
Top 5 Weight: 5-6 (1-8,1-7,1-5,1-2)

Another solid start for our defending champion and it sure feels good for me to get on the board. The weather looks to be above normal throughout the week so the fish should only get more active. Here’s hoping that some anglers are active, and the catching continues. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

We are back at it again as we kick off year number eleven of the Top 5 project. Leading off 2024 is Top 5 veteran, John Kirkemo, with a pair of bonus species from The Palmetto State.

Rainbow Trout

Brown Trout

Lengths: Estimated 12 inches (weight unknown)
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: February 5, 2024
Weather: Temperature in the high 50s with bright sun and clear skies
Water Temperature: Unknown
Location: Chattooga River near Burrell’s Ford Bridge, South Carolina Upstate
Lure: 2 ½ inch black and silver floating Rapala
Comments: And so it was that on February 5, 2024, I caught my first South Carolina fish. The two trout were stocked hatchery fish taken from a beautiful section of the Chattooga River that forms the Georgia – South Carolina border in the
South Carolina Upstate region.

Bonus shot of John’s picturesque environs

Thanks, John, for a cool start to another year. As noted in the data above, these fish were landed and submitted nearly a month ago. I have been neglecting the blog this winter but looking to get back on track. Plenty of stuff in the works including the 2023 wrap-ups even though 2024 fishing is already underway. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 All-Time Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

2023 marked the tenth year of the Top 5 project. Eighty-eight more bass joined the ledger including Bass #1000 from our crew, fittingly caught by Jim Junk, our three-time defending champ. In addition to the 2023 final stats that were posted last month, I also like to provide an annual update of the all-time numbers. So, here we go.
(Note: the stats for this post only include bass submissions, not additional species).

Jim Junk with Top 5 Bass entry #1000 caught on April 9, 2023

Group Totals = 1056 bass
2014 = 154
2015 = 106
2016 = 136
2017 = 79
2018 = 116
2019 = 95
2020 = 90
2021 = 92
2022 = 100
2023 = 88

Submissions by month (2014-2023)
250 April (43/33/31/11/12/14/25/14/35/32)
176 May (27/23/19/13/24/12/18/13/7/20)
140 June (34/14/15/1/10/14/17/10/16/9)
121 March (13/11/34/10/0/8/4/19/15/7)
101 July (18/11/8/11/8/11/10/12/2/10)
71 September (6/4/6/6/16/9/6/10/5/3)
67 October (4/5/4/8/24/8/2/3/6/3)
40 August (1/3/1/4/4/7/3/4/11/2)
36 November (6/0/4/0/8/9/4/2/3/0)
33 February (2/2/7/13/5/0/0/2/0/2)
13 December (0/0/7/1/0/2/3/0/0)
8 January (0/0/0/1/5/1/1/0/0/0)

Top 10 Top 5 Monthly Weights (group total)
37-9 May 2014
29-8 June 2014
29-7 March 2016
29-2 April 2014
28-10 April 2022
28-9 October 2018
28-7 December 2016
27-14 April 2015
27-12 March 2015
27-11 July 2014

Top 5 Weights by Month (group total)
January (2018) = 13-5 (3-15, 2-7, 2-6, 2-6, 2-3)
February (2016) = 22-9 (6-7,4-15,4-10,4-1,2-8)
March (2016) = 29-7 (6-5,6-1,5-14,5-10,5-9)
April (2014) = 29-2 (8-0, 5-11, 5-10, 4-15. 4-14)
May (2014) = 37-9 (9-4, 8-10, 8-8, 6-1, 5-2)
June (2014) = 29-8 (6-11, 6-4, 5-10, 5-8, 5-7)
July (2014) = 27-11 (6-6, 6-0, 5-5, 5-0, 5-0)
August (2019) = 19-4 (4-14,4-10,4-6,2-14,2-8)
September (2019) = 24-5 (5-3,5-0,5-0,4-12,4-6)
October (2018) = 28-9 (6-3,5-14,5-10,5-10,5-4)
November (2018) = 26-1 (7-2,6-12,4-3,4-0,4-0)
December (2016) = 28-7 (7-7,6-5,5-13,4-11,4-3)

Monthly Top Bass
January
3-15 Mark Balbinot 1/27/18 Crankbait
February
6-7 Mike Overturf 2/27/16 Plastic Worm
March
7-0 Randy Sampson Sr. 3/22/15 Jig
April
8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14 Crankbait
May
9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14 Jig
June
6-11 Ty Hartlipp 6/11/14 Topwater Frog
July
6-6 Jake Bresson 7/11/14 Plastic Worm
August
6-8 Gary Le 8/16/14 Swimbait
September
6-0 Austin Chapman 9/19/15 Jig
October
7-4 Mark Balbinot 10/29/17 Jig
November
7-2 Mark Balbinot 11/23/18 Underspin
December
7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16 Underspin

Public vs. Private Water (2014-2023)
Public = 774 bass (92/52/95/42/92/68/63/87/98/85)

Public Top 5 Weight (2014-2023)
32-2,31-7,30-5,27-7,24-5,25-4,25-13,26-4,28-10,26-8 (2023)

Private = 265 bass (53/48/39/37/24/27/27/5/2/3)

Private Top 5 Weight (2014-2023)
8-10,30-0,32-13,33-14,31-9,24-3,30-5,13-3,2-7,8-4 (2023)

Undisclosed = 17 bass (9/6/2/0/0/0/0/0/0/0)

Boat vs. Bank (2014-2023)
Boat = 556 bass (90/63/103/68/55/33/26/28/55/35)

Boat Top 5 Weight (2014-2023)
30-7,31-7,32-13,33-14,31-9,25-4,21-4,18-6,17-9,21-14 (2023)

Bank = 494 bass (64/43/27/11/61/62/64/64/45/53)

Bank Top 5 Weight (2014-2023)
40-14,27-6,27-12,20-14,24-2,25-7,30-6,26-4,28-10,26-0 (2023)

Undisclosed = 6 bass

The Baits (44 undisclosed)
291 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
118 Spinnerbaits (6-14 Chris Schwarz 3/25/20)
120 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18) – moved up
86 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
79 Chatterbaits (5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20)
66 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
37 Jerkbaits (5-10 Ty Hartlipp 6/5/14)
34 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson 4/25/17)
33 Swimbaits (8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14)
30 Creature Baits (6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17) -moved u
29 Swim Jigs (6-13 Jake Bresson 4/9/15)
14 Underspins (Top Bass 7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16)
14 Topwater Frogs (6-11 Ty Hartlipp 6/11/14)
12 Tubes (Top Bass 5-0 Jake Bresson 4/28/15)
10 Grubs (Top Bass 7-0 Chris Schwarz 11/28/20)
9 Propbaits (6-2 Jake Bresson 5/1/15)
8 Livebait (5-14 Jim Junk 7/4/14)
8 Poppers (3-1 Troy Jackson 9/25/01)
6 Stickbaits (6-6 Mark Balbinot 8/27/17)
5 Ultralights (3-1 Paul Kessler 10/12/17)
2 Inline Spinners (5-2 Jake Bresson 9/17/17)
1 Blade Baits (5-3 Mark Balbinot 11/16/19)

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
7-0 Chris Schwarz 11/28/20 Grub
6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17 Creature Bait

The 20-Pound Club * = 2023 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)
30-5 Chris Schwarz (7-0,6-14,5-12,5-7,5-4)
29-7 Austin Chapman 2015 (6-4,6-2,6-0,5-14,5-3)
27-13 Jim Junk 2022 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1,4-7)
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)
26-0 Jim Junk 2021 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-6)
25-13 Jim Junk 2020 (5-15,5-5,4-15,4-14,4-12)
*25-9 Jim Junk 2023 (5-9,5-5,5-1,4-14,4-12)
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)
*21-10 Troy Jackson (5-3,4-10,4-2,4-1,3-10)
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)
20-0 Troy Jackson 2021 (4-10,4-4,4-3,3-9,3-6)

And just for fun…
All-Time Weights (30-pound minimum “career” mark)
(Note: not all anglers have participated each year)
200-6 Troy Jackson
(20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9,14-4,18-12,20-0,18-9,21-10)
194-12 Jim Junk
(11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8,24-14,25-13,26-0,27-13,25-9)
123-8 Mark Balbinot
(33-14,32-13,31-9,25-4)
150-8 Brent Jackson
(18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2,13-7,13-3,18-11,18-9,19-3)
111-11 Jake Bresson
(32-13,27-12,27-6,23-12)
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)
72-0 Chris Schwarz
(20-15,20-12,30-5)
66-12 Paul Kessler
(18-6,17-6,16-6,14-10)
45-11 Mike Mooney
(22-13,4-9,18-5)
44-6 John Kirkemo
(10-8,6-14,8-0,11-14,7-2)

I have been slacking on the blog for various reasons during the “off season” but intend to be back with more stats from 2023 as well as our first Top 5 entry for 2024. Stay tuned as we head into a new year on the water and revisit the highlights of the previous year. Talk to you later. Troy

2023 Top 5 Results

Posted on by Troy Jackson

 

Jim Junk makes it three years in a row as Top 5 Champ, claiming the 2023 title with a weight of 25-9. Jim established an early lead in racking up a twenty-pound limit by late March and maintained that lead wire to wire. Overall, this year, eleven anglers pitched in to submit eighty-eight bass and a channel catfish. Read on for the final stats from our tenth year of the Top 5 project.

Bass Stats
2023 Totals (no submissions for Jan, Nov, Dec)
February = 2 bass
March = 7 bass
April = 32 bass
May = 20 bass
June = 9 bass
July = 10 bass
August = 2 bass
September = 3 bass
October = 3 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
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)
May = 24-11 (5-9,5-6,4-14,4-10,4-4)
June = 11-6 (3-2,2-13,2-4,2-0,1-3)
July = 16-10 (4-1,3-5,3-3,3-1,3-0)
August = 7-5 (3-11,3-10)
September = 10-6 (4-4,3-2,3-0)
October = 11-3 (4-7,3-10,3-2)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 35 bass
Bank = 53 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 21-14 (5-6,4-7,4-4,4-2,3-11)
Bank = 26-0 (5-9,5-5,5-3,5-1,4-14)

Public vs. Private
Public = 85 bass
Private = 3 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 26-8 (5-9,5-6,5-5,5-3,5-1)
Private = 8-4 (3-9,2-11,2-0)

The Baits
Lipless Crankbait = 24 bass (Top Bass 5-6 Natalee Townsend)
Plastic Worm = 23 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Troy Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 4-7 Brent Jackson)
Chatterbait = 7 bass (Top Bass 5-9 Jim Junk)
Popper = 6 bass (Top Bass 3-11 Brent Jackson)
Grub = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Troy Jackson)
Jerkbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 2-13 Brent Jackson)
Propbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Troy Jackson)
Buzzbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 3-8 Brent Jackson)
Frog = 2 bass (Top Bass 4-1 Troy Jackson)
Swimbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 4-4 Jim Junk)
Jig = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-13 Brent Jackson)

Monthly Top Bass
February
3-9 Jim Junk
March
5-1 Jim Junk
April
5-5 Jim Junk
May
5-9 Jim Junk
June
3-2 Troy Jackson
July
4-1 Troy Jackson
August
3-11 Brent Jackson
September
4-4 Troy Jackson
October
4-7 Brent Jackson

2023 Top 10 Bass
5-9 Jim Junk 5/2
5-6 Natalee Townsend 5/26
5-5 Jim Junk 4/23
5-3 Troy Jackson 4/7
5-1 Jim Junk 3/5
4-14 Jim Junk 5/5
4-12 Jim Junk 4/9
4-10 Troy Jackson 5/6
4-8 Jim Junk 4/1
4-7 Brent Jackson 10/22

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 25-9 (5-9,5-5,5-1,4-14,4-12)
Troy Jackson 21-10 (5-3,4-10,4-2,4-1,3-10)
Brent Jackson 19-3 (4-7,4-4,3-11,3-8,3-5)
Natalee Townsend 7-9 (5-6,2-3)
John Kirkemo 7-2 (2-4,1-15,1-3,0-14,0-14)
Carly Jackson 3-10 (2-13,0-13)
Landon Hannam 3-8 (3-8)
Terry Jackson 2-11 (2-11)
Jayce Jackson 1-3 (1-3)
Julia Jackson 0-14 (0-14)
Zac Jackson 0-11 (0-11)

Other Species – Channel Catfish
2-3 John Kirkemo July 6 – Lake Storey

Well done, Jim, and thanks to all for participating for another year. And with the New Year upon us, let’s do it all again for an eleventh year. Send your 2024 catches my way at troy@troyjacksonoutdoors.com and stay tuned for a look at the all-time Top 5 stats covering 2014-2023. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

It has been a little lean on Top 5 Updates this fall. Quality fish have been caught but it gets tough to give a solid limit a boost as it takes a really good fish. Well, Brent got one of those this past weekend. Not only did it set a new mark for his Top Bass of 2023, it also breaks the mark for the largest bass from the public strip pit where it was landed (beating his 4-4 from last month). He got another solid bass that fell just short of upgrading his weight but warranted inclusion in today’s update. Similarly, I fooled one that didn’t increase my weight but set a new mark for the body of water where it was landed.

Weight: 4-7
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: October 22
Location: Public strip pit
Lure: Spinnerbait

Weight: 3-2
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: October 22
Location: Public strip pit
Lure: Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 19-3 (4-7,4-4,3-11,3-8,3-5) culls 3-3

Weight: 3-10 (19″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: October 20
Weather: Sunny/windy, 60F air temp
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: War Eagle Spinnerbait (chartreuse/white) with BPS twin tail trailer (Houdini)
Structure: Fallen trees
Angler Comments: Although it does not give my Top 5 a boost, this fish ties for my fifth largest bass of the year. Better yet, it establishes my new Top Bass for the Hennepin Canal beating a pair at 3-6.
Top 5 Weight: 21-10 (5-3,4-10,4-2,4-1,3-10)

There you go, don’t put those poles away quite yet. Hoping to take at least one more shot before it is all said and done as I always shoot for a November bass. Not sure if Brent is done either, so stay tuned. Talk to you later. Troy