Category: Top 5

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

The Top 5 project is back for year number nine and our first submissions come courtesy of our 2022 champ, Jim Junk. My brother, Brent, is also back on board for another year with all the details on both anglers’ catches below.

Weight: 2-6
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 14
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: Managed one within the first five minutes. Thought it might be a great day. Not to be though. A few more hours and numerous spots with no more bites.

Weight: 2-15
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 14
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: Was going to head home and saw some gulls diving for bait fish at a spot on the way out. Hooked into three within twenty minutes. One was short, another flopped off as trying to pull over some reeds on the bank and landed the last one at 2-15.

Weight: 2-4
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 17
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait

Weight: 1-12
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 17
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait

Weight: 1-3
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 17
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait

Weight: 2-14
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 17
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: Out for a few hours, didn’t find them stacked but caught fish in three of the five lakes I fish at Banner. Couldn’t find a pattern, one was in a channel, one was on a flat and two hit on bank weed lines.
Top 5 Weight: 12-3 (2-15,2-14,2-6,2-4,1-12)

Weight: 1-11
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: March 16
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait
Top 5 Weight: 1-11 (1-11)

Great to see some fish and stay tuned next Monday as a few more late submissions will hit the blog. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 All-Time Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

While a bit late, I am excited to present the annual Top 5 all-time record book update.

For 2021, we added ninety-two bass from a group of eight anglers. Our eight years of fish stories have brought a grand total of 868 bass submissions to the Top 5.

2021 also marked the fourth year of a Top 5 expansion to include species beyond bass. However, only one fish joined to the “Other Species” portion of the record book, but it was quite a fish that showed up in the final Top 5 update of the year. Jim Junk’s muskie was certainly a highlight and we’ll kick things off with a look at that “Other Species” portion of the record book before moving on to the bass breakdown.

Other Species All-Time Records

Bluegill
1-8 Teagan Mills 6/2/19 Private Pond

Channel Catfish
13-0 Teagan Mills (2019)
13-0 Teagan Mills (2018)
8-2 (25”) Chris Schwarz (2018)
6-9 Chris Schwarz (2019)
34-35” Chris Schwarz (2019)
3-7 Troy Jackson (2020)

Common Carp
10-5 Jim Junk (2020)

Crappie
1-2 Troy Jackson (2020)

Green Sunfish
0-13 Jayce Jackson (2017)

Muskie (* = new entry)
*17-10 (43”) Jim Junk (2021)
131” Jake Bresson (47”,31”,29”24” – 2017)
70+” John Kirkemo (40”, 30+” – 2018)
12-12 (36”) Troy Jackson (2020)
29” Troy Jackson (2017)
6-4 Chris Schwarz (2019)

Northern Pike
167.25” Jake Bresson (37.0”,35.25”,33.5”,32.0”,29.5” – 2017)

Rainbow Trout
22” John Kirkemo (11”,11” – 2018)

Walleye
118” Jake Bresson (26.5”,26.0”,25.5”,20”,20” – 2017) on Rapala X-Rap or jig & minnow

Moving on to the bass, let’s look at how our fish stack up with respect to the calendar, conditions, lures and more. Eight years, thirty-nine different anglers and 868 bass (nearly all from Illinois waters) make up the all-time record book.

Group Totals = 868 bass
2014 = 154
2015 = 106
2016 = 136
2017 = 79
2018 = 116
2019 = 95
2020 = 90
2021 = 92

Submissions by month (2014-2021)
183 April (43/33/31/11/12/14/25/14)
149 May (27/23/19/13/24/12/18/13)
115 June (34/14/15/1/10/14/17/10)
99 March (13/11/34/10/0/8/4/19)
89 July (18/11/8/11/8/11/10/12)
63 September (6/4/6/6/16/9/6/10)
58 October (4/5/4/8/24/8/2/3)
33 November (6/0/4/0/8/9/4/2)
31 February (2/2/7/13/5/0/0/2)
27 August (1/3/1/4/4/7/3/4)
13 December (0/0/7/1/0/2/3)
8 January (0/0/0/1/5/1/1/0)

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

Top 5 Weights per 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 (2014-2021)
Public = 586 bass (92/52/95/42/92/68/63/82)
Public Top 5 Weight = 32-2,31-7,30-5,27-7,24-5,25-4,25-13,26-4(2021)
Private = 260 bass (53/48/39/37/24/27/27/5)
Private Top 5 Weight = 38-10,30-0,32-13,33-14,31-9,24-3,30-5,13-3(2021)
Undisclosed = 17 bass (9/6/2/0/0/0/0/0)

Boat vs. Bank (2014-2021)
Boat = 462 bass (90/63/103/68/55/33/26/24)
Boat Top 5 Weight = 30-7,31-7,32-13,33-14,31-9,25-4,21-4.18-6(2021)
Bank = 395 bass (64/43/27/11/61/62/64/63)
Bank Top 5 Weight = 40-14,27-6,27-12,20-14,24-2,25-7,30-6,26-4(2021)
Undisclosed = 6 bass

The Baits (44 undisclosed)
237 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
93 Spinnerbaits (6-14 Chris Schwarz 3/25/20)
80 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
61 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
81 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18) – moved up
56 Chatterbaits (5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20)
30 Swimbaits (8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14)
29 Swim Jigs (6-13 Jake Bresson 4/9/15)
30 Creature Baits (6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17) -moved u
28 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson 4/25/17)
27 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)
8 Livebait (5-14 Jim Junk 7/4/14)
6 Stickbaits (6-6 Mark Balbinot 8/27/17)
5 Ultralights (3-1 Paul Kessler 10/12/17)
4 Grubs (Top Bass 7-0 Chris Schwarz 11/28/20)
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)
1 Popper (3-1 Troy Jackson 9/25/01)

The 20-Pound Club * = 2021 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)
27-12 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 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-6)
25-13 Jim Junk (5-15,5-5,4-15,4-14,4-12)
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)
21-7 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 (4-10,4-4,4-3,3-9,3-6)

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

And just for fun…

All-Time Weights (30-pound minimum “career” mark)
(Note: not all anglers have participated each year)
160-3 Troy Jackson (20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9,14-4,18-12,20-0)
141-6 Jim Junk (11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8,24-14,25-13,26-0)
123-8 Mark Balbinot (33-14,32-13,31-9,25-4)
112-12 Brent Jackson (18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2,13-7,13-3,18-11)
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)
37-4 John Kirkemo (10-8,6-14,8-0,11-14)

A fair amount to digest, but I love my stats. Talk to you later. Troy

2021 Top 5 Final Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Congratulations to our 2021 Top 5 Champ, Jim Junk. Not only did he have a stellar year of bass fishing, but he also submitted our only other species entry with an impressive December muskie. Jim kicked of the 2021 Top 5 with our first bass submission on February 2 and then posted our final bass submission on December 9. For his bass dominance, Jim receives the big check for 2021. Read on for all the numbers from our eighth year of the Top 5 challenge as nine anglers added ninety-two bass and a muskie to the ledger.

First Bass – Jim Junk February 2

2021 Totals
January = no submissions
February = 2 bass
March = 19 bass
April = 14 bass
May = 13 bass
June = 10 bass
July = 12 bass
August = 4 bass
September = 11 bass
October = 2 bass
November = 2 bass
December = 3 bass
Comments: No surprises in the monthly breakdown as quite similar to other years. Springtime sees substantial numbers as we fill out our Top 5 limits and then the numbers decline as we try to knock out the lower weights and boost our total.

Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = 7-3 (3-15,3-4)
March = 21-14 (5-5,4-3,4-2,4-2,4-2)
April = 21-6 (5-3,5-2,4-0,4-0,3-1)
May = 14-14 (4-6,2-12,2-10,2-10,2-8)
June = 15-8 (4-3,3-9,2-14,2-8,2-6)
July = 22-7 (6-0,4-10,4-4,3-13,3-12)
August = 7-2 (3-4,2-3,0-14,0-13)
September = 18-2 (4-7,3-13,3-8,3-5,3-1)
October = 5-9 (4-4,1-5)
November = 3-0 (1-8,1-8)
December = 9-11 (3-14.3-7,2-6)
Comments: While no new monthly records were established, any time we can post a group weight of twenty pounds is a winner. Among those, I would say that the July weight of 22-7 was an impressive surprise.

John Kirkemo – July 7

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 29 bass
Bank = 63 bass
Comment: The 2021 crew featured a collection of anglers who spend the bulk of their time prowling the banks rather than launching their boats. Having spent a lot of time hiking and biking for my bass, I find this to be a cool stat. After all, the bank is accessible for any of us when looking to make a few casts and likely where most of us got our start.

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 18-6 (4-4,4-3,3-9,3-8,2-14)
Bank = 26-4 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-10)
Comments: Even when we took the opportunity to get out in a boat, the bass that we fooled could not compare to those fooled from the bank. Of course, the bank bass more than doubled the boat bass. Still an impressive weight difference when you figure that a boat gives you access to the entirety of a body of water while bank anglers can be restricted by shoreline cover and terrain.

Public vs. Private
Public = 85 bass
Private = 7 bass
Comments: Public water catches dominated our submissions which I also found cool. While I do have access to the private waters of Little John Conservation Club and most any angler knows the value of having permission to fish a private honey hole, it’s rewarding to fool fish where everybody else can fish. Our catches are a testament to the quality of fish out there in our public waters, primarily in West Central and Central Illinois but it does take some work to get to them and fool them.

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 26-4 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-10)
Private = 13-3 (3-13,2-10,2-8,2-6,1-14)
Comments: An impressive haul from public waters featured four bass from our Top 5 Champ, Jim Junk, and an unexpected catch from New York. As far as private water, we just squeaked in with a Top 5 as there were only seven bass submitted as noted previously.

Wacky Rigged Senko

The Baits
Plastic Worm = 41 bass (Top Bass 6-0 Jim Junk)
Lipless Crankbait = 20 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Jim Junk, Troy Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Troy Jackson)
Crankbait = 7 bass (Top Bass 4-0 Brent Jackson)
Chatterbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Jim Junk)
Jerkbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 1-8 John Kirkemo)
Jig = 2 bass (Top Bass 1-8 John Kirkemo)
Buzzbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-4 Troy Jackson)
Creature = 1 bass (Top Bass 5-5 Jim Junk)
Livebait = 1 bass (Top Bass Patricia Kirkemo 2-10)
Popper = 1 bass (Top Bass Troy Jackson 3-1)
Stickbait = 1 bass (1-11 Troy Jackson)
Swimbait = 1 bass (1-13 Troy Jackson)
Comments: The good, old plastic worm leads the way again and in our case the lure was exclusively a Senko, fished either wacky rigged or Texas rigged. It accounted for just over 40% of our catches and caught our Top Bass of the year. Lipless crankbaits also made a strong showing with 20% of our catches. Beyond those top two lures, the remaining results were scattered among a batch of standard offerings with a Popper, a Stickbait and a Swimbait joining the list after being absent in 2020.

Top September Bass – Brent Jackson

Monthly Top Bass
January
No submissions
February
3-15 Jim Junk
March
5-5 Jim Junk
April
5-2 Jim Junk
May
4-6 Jim Junk
June
4-3 Troy Jackson
July
6-0 Jim Junk
August
3-4 Troy Jackson
September
4-7 Brent Jackson
October
4-4 Troy Jackson
November
1-8 John Kirkemo
December
3-14 Jim Junk
Comments: Our Top 5 champ dominated the calendar with near identical bookends and several other top monthly bass in between. It was cool that four or our nine anglers were able to claim a monthly Top Bass along the way.

2021 Top Bass – Jim Junk

Top 10 Bass
6-0 Jim Junk (7/4)
5-5 Jim Junk (3/26)
5-3 Jim Junk (4/8)
5-2 Jim Junk (4/6)
4-10 Troy Jackson (7/11)
4-7 Brent Jackson (9/3)
4-6 Jim Junk (5/25)
4-4 Jim Junk (7/6)
4-4 Troy Jackson (10/10)
4-3 Jim Junk (3/30)
4-3 Troy Jackson (6/19)
Comments: Jim darn near claimed the Top 5 for our Top 10 Bass, missing out by only a few ounces. Overall, a successful year for our crew when our Top 10 catches all came in above the four-pound mark.

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 26-0 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-6)
Troy Jackson 20-0 (4-10,4-4,4-3,3-9,3-6)
Brent Jackson 18-11 (4-7,4-0,4-0,3-8,2-12)
John Kirkemo 11-14 (2-10,2-8,2-8,2-6,1-14)
Jayce Jackson 5-4 (1-13,1-3,1-3,1-1)
Terry Jackson 4-7 (1-2,0-14,0-14,0-13,0-12)
Emerson Hannam 3-13 (3-13)
Landon Hannam 2-12 (2-12)
Patricia Kirkemo 2-10 (2-10)
Comments: Jim’s impressive limit comes in as the fourteenth heaviest weight in the eight-year history of the Top 5. I was able to squeak in with a 20-pound creel that marked the thirty-fifth limit to hit the 20-pound mark in Top 5 history.

Jim Junk – December 9

Other Species
Muskellunge – Jim Junk 17-10 (43”) – Decmeber 9
Comments: The Top 5 expanded to include species besides bass in 2017. Submissions have been few and far between over the years but always fun to see something different. And what a fish for our lone bonus species in 2021 with Jim’s quality toothy catch.

 

Many thanks to those who took the time to share your fish and fish stories. We had a great mix of young and not as young anglers, guys and gals, frequent fishers, and their partners. I appreciate all and hope that you will consider joining up again in 2022. It’s always a treat to see a new fish story in the Inbox or texts. Here’s to a productive ninth year of Top 5 angling and stay tuned for a look at the Top 5 record book covering 2014 through 2021. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Thanks again to Jim Junk as the hits keep coming for the 2021 Top 5. And boy, what a hit with one of his submissions. Read on for a classic fish story that will certainly be told again and again by several on the scene.

Weight: 3-14
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: December 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: A few casts later got this 3-14. (Note: see next entry for the preceding catch)
Top 5 Weight: 26-0 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-6)

Weight: 17-10 (43”)
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: December 9
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: Decided to go to Banner when they opened at 1:00pm. Fished some regular spots for a couple of hours and didn’t even get a bite. Was going to go home and lick my wounds but pulled into another spot (to answer Nature’s Call) where I had never put in much effort and saw a couple guys crappie fishing from the bank. Watched one guy catch a small bass on a minnow and caught my interest. A friend pulled up and said he was going to fish in the area, so I pulled out my trusty lipless crankbait and started making some casts. Within the first dozen casts I had a strong hit. Very cool fight, stripping line and fighting good. One of the guys that was crappie fishing saw the fight and offered a net and my friend heard the commotion and came to assist too. My friend was in the water and landed the fish by hand before the net got there. Besides the pictures, we kept the fish in the net, and water, for length, weight, and release.
Top 5 Weight: 17-10 (17-10)

Folks, that is a fish story. Such tales can be categorized under many headings and this one is no exception. I’ll call this one a “what the heck, I’ll make a few more casts” fish story. Of course, contributing factors such as a bladder, a buddy and a bass certainly came into play as well. Ain’t fishing great.

 

Congrats, Jim, on an impressive catch and let’s not forget that is a darn good December bass as well. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

A shout out this week to our Top 5 leader, Jim Junk, as he’s still out there catching. His outing last Thursday to his regular stomping grounds produced a handful of solid fish with the two submissions below being the largest.

Weight: 3-7
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: December 2
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait

Weight: 2-6
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: December 2
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: Not much to report recently but did get out to Banner on Thursday from 1:00pm to about 4:30pm. 3-7 and 2-6 and two smaller ones. Also missed what I think was a pretty good one.
Top 5 Weight: 26-0 (6-0,5-5,5-3,5-2,4-6)

Well done, and if these are our final submissions for 2021, they provide a solid bookend to a productive year on the water for our anglers. Looking back, Jim kicked us off with a bass on February 2 and he’s still reeling them in ten months later. Final stats to come after the first of the year when all is officially said and done. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Most years in the history of the Top 5 we have wound up with a handful of November bass but this year I was beginning to wonder. Fortunately, one of our anglers found some bites down around our state capital. Read on for the results.

Weight: 1-8
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: November 9
Weather: Overcast with mid to high 60s air temperature and light wind
Water Temp: 58-60 degrees
Location: Sangchris Lake
Lure: Black and silver floating Rapala

Weight: 1-8
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: November 9
Weather: Overcast with mid to high 60s air temperature and light wind
Water Temp: 58-60 degrees
Location: Sangchris Lake
Lure: Black and silver floating Rapala
Angler Comments: These two bass along with three others of lesser weight were caught casting the pictured Rapala to shoreline cover.
Top 5 Weight: 11-14 (2-10,2-8,2-8,2-6,1-14)

John’s winning lure pictured below

Well done, John, on fooling those late season bass and great to see a classic lure getting in on the action. The old Rapala Floating Minnow is still a winner over 60 years after making its debut in the United States. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

It’s always good to get a late season submission as the fishing days for most of us are winding to a close.

Weight: 1-5
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: October 14
Weather: Cloudy with rain early followed by clearing skies and sun
Water Temp: 67-68F
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Wacky rigged Senko
Angler Comments: Not much action with only light taps on the wacky worm until a soft hit by this fish near some submerged timber. No other fish caught in about three hours of fishing. Tried a Chatterbait for awhile but no hits.
Top 5 Weight: 11-14 (2-10,2-8,2-8,2-6,1-14)

Thanks, John, for the fish. Good to see you on the water that day and appreciate you introducing me to this specific bass. For a little something different, here is a look at this Top 5 catch from my perspective.

Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

So, I hit Snakeden Hollow yesterday sitting at 19-1 for my Top 5 weight. Thus, I needed a boost of fifteen ounces to reach the 20-pound mark. That meant I would need a 4-4 bass to knock out the 3-5 that was the lightest in my creel. Well, believe it or not…

Weight: 4-4
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: October 10
Weather: Overcast/rainy/breezy
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Booyah Buzzbait (black)
Structure: Open water
Angler Comments: Several things fell into place to get this one in the boat. Brent and I waited out a storm and wound up at a different lake than I intended for my first casts. I was delayed after losing a boat cushion and had to walk back to retrieve, thus delaying my launch. I had just ditched my spinnerbait in favor of the buzzbait. I simply cast into the middle of a shallow bay not having any specific target. And what are the odds that the bass would weigh exactly 4-4? (See scale pick below, not pulling your leg or telling a fish story). Seems like it was just meant to be.
Top 5 Weight: 20-0 (4-10,4-4,4-3,3-9,3-6) culls a 3-5

Closing time nears for Snakeden Hollow so this trip will likely be my final visit of 2021. What better way to call it a year on the site? Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Time is running out on access to the collection of lakes at Snakeden Hollow and my brother has made the most of his time to get away and take his shot.

Weight: 2-4
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: September 30
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Senko wacky rig

Weight: 2-8
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: September 30
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Senko wacky rig

Weight: 3-8
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: September 30
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Senko wacky rig

Weight: 2-4
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: October 2
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Top 5 Weight: 18-11 (4-7,4-0,4-0,3-8,2-12) culls 2-6

Don’t quote me on it as it seems that there is always some confusion on the final day of Snakeden access, but I am guessing October 18. If you try your luck before closing time, send those catches my way. And here’s hoping Brent gets back out and finds the needed ounces to push him to the 20-pound mark. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Three three-pounders this week including one from a new angler to the Top 5. The other pair from a not so new guy.

Weight: 3-13
Angler: Emerson Hannam
Date: September 26
Location: Private pond
Lure: Wacky rigged Senko
Top 5 Weight: 3-13 (3-13)

Weight: 3-1
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: September 25
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Rebel Pop’R Zell Rowland Model
Structure: Open water
Angler Comments: This fish was the second quality fish in the first two casts I made at sunrise on the canal. It missed on the first strike but came back for a second chance as I resumed the retrieve after a brief pause.

Weight: 3-5
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: September 26
Weather: Sunny/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white chartreuse)
Structure: Weed edge
Angler Comments: It took some hiking through some high weeds but a fish like this one makes if worth the work.
Top 5 Weight:19-1 (4-10,4-3,3-9,3-6,3-5) culls a 3-4

Way to go, Emerson, and welcome aboard with a very impressive catch. It sure is tough to beat the Senko wacky rig.

Up next, I have a backlog of reports following a three-day weekend of fishing so stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy