Last Saturday saw a tag team match of sorts on some strip mine stomping grounds that my brother and I fish. I was out in the morning and had texted him with an update only to find out that he had the same destination in mind for the afternoon. While we didn’t cross paths and physically tag off like a wrestling duo, we put up a good fight in the windy conditions to add a couple Top 5 catches.

Weight: 1-11
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: May 1
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pit
Lure: Zara Spook (natural frog)
Structure: Saddle/flat
Angler Comments: Spotted this fish and caught it on the third retrieve past its location. Tune back in for further details as the complete fishing report is coming your way later this week.
Top 5 Weight: 9-13 (3-1,1-13,1-11,1-10,1-10) culls a 1-1

Weight: 2-2
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: May 1
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pit
Lure: Senko wacky rig
Top 5 Weight: 14-8 (4-0,4-0,2-3,2-3,2-2) culls a 1-12

Hard to believe that it is May already but that bodes well for some fishing. The bluegill and crappie should be cooperative and for those who enjoy catching bass on topwaters and wacky rigs, those bites should be off and running. And it won’t be long before the area catfish move shallow to spawn on some moving waters. Truly a good time for multi-species anglers. Send ‘em my way when you catch ‘em. Talk to you later. Troy

Jim Junk and my brother, Brent, come through again with another batch of quality bass for today’s update. A couple of the fish are a bit belated as travel got in the way of an update last week. But better late than never.

Weight: 5-2
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 6
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait (white)
Structure: Submerged weed flat
Angler Comments: Lots of stops and presentations with very little success. Had a couple short strikes on white chatterbait and maybe a bump on a lipless crank. Ended up with three dink bass and one real nice one. The 5-2 was the first to come off a submerged weed flat on a white chatterbait.

Weight: 5-3
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 8
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait (bluegill)
Structure: Weedline
Angler Comments: Numbers have decreased since last week’s barrage, but quality is great! Couple hours fishing late morning/early afternoon, one bite and one more quality bass. 5-3 hammered a bluegill chatterbait approaching a weedline.
Top 5 Weight: 23-15 (5-5,5-3,5-2,4-3,4-2) culls 4-2 and 4-2

Weight: 2-3
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits
Lure: Spinnerbait

Weight: 2-3
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits
Lure: Spinnerbait

Weight: 4-0
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 12
Location: Knox County, IL public strip pits
Lure: Spinnerbait
Angler Comments: I fished from about 9:30 – noon. I think the wind got stronger and colder the whole time. It was pretty close to white caps on one of the lakes on the way back. I probably could have used another layer of clothing. As far as fishing it turned out pretty good. Almost all of the fish I caught had a fat belly like they had been eating good.
Top 5 Weight: 14-2 (4-0,4-0,2-3,2-3,1-12) culls 1-10,1-10,1-5

Also had the bonus April 13 submission above from Jim that he suspected may have added some weight to his 2021 total. Tough break though as he noted “the battery in my scale went dead.” I suspect that Jim will find some more bites (and batteries) to make up for it before all is said and done. Talk to you later. Troy

Jim Junk continues to impress in landing another batch of quality bass over the last week. In addition, one of my brothers gets in on the act to kick off his 2021 Top 5, wielding a lipless crank, nonetheless. Not normally his thing as more of a spinnerbait wizard. Read on for the results, details, and an entertaining fish story from Jim Junk regarding his current 2021 Top Bass.

Weight: 1-0
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: March 27
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (chartreuse sexy shad)

Weight: 0-13
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: March 27
Location: Snakeden Hollow
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (chartreuse sexy shad)
Top 5 Weight: 1-13 (1-0,0-13)

Weight: 3-7
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 21
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait (black/red) with small craw trailer

Weight: 3-12
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 21
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait (black/red) with small craw trailer

Weight: 4-0
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 23
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait (white)
Angler Comments: Got out for about three hours this afternoon. Found shad, tied on a white chatterbait and it was on fire.

Weight: 4-2
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 24
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait

Weight: 3-1
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 24
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: Ok, five more bass today. 4-2 and 3-1 were the biggest, both came on lipless crank. Others were on a black chatterbait.

Weight: 5-5
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 26
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Gene Larew Biffle Big Bug (green pumpkin/pumpkin neon)
Angler Comments: Went out for a few hours this afternoon. Pretty slow, got three small bass from a number of locations. Went to another spot that I started fishing last year and it does have many quality bass, however, there are only three little openings from the bank. Hadn’t had any luck with lipless, crankbait and or any other presentations there yet this year. Was going to try different presentations and had a Fluke Texas rigged on a weighted hook. Nothing took and was going to rig with a Senko. Turns out all my Senkos were in a bag at home. Rigged a Gene Larew Biffle Big Bug and the story begins. Fairly deep bowl type lake. After maybe five or six casts throwing deep and trying to drag along bottom, this bass followed the lure up to the small flat in front of me. Went dead stick and he just stared at the lure. At this point, I’m thinking there is no way he’ll take it. Twitched a couple times and he came closer. Two more twitches and he took it right in front of me. Set the hook and landed easily.
Top 5 Weight: 21-11 (5-5,4-2,4-2,4-2,4-0) culls 3-15, 3-13, 3-12

My whole blogging habit started many years ago in sending fish stories to a group of family and friends. All these years later, the Top 5 allows others to get in on the act as you can never have too many fish stories. And they don’t get much better than Jim’s latest and largest catch of 2021. Looks like it’s going to be quite pleasant in the region as we near Easter weekend so hope some can get out there and do some catching. As always, send ‘em my way. Talk to you later. Troy

Although a bit delayed from our regular Monday Top 5 slot, better late than never with a couple more quality bass. Jim Junk is back up to his old tricks in a new year and now sits one catch away from his limit.

Weight: 3-1
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 7
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait

Weight: 4-2
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 7
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Angler Comments: Finally got two today, both came on the trusty lipless crankbait in the same area.
Top 5 Weight: 14-6 (4-2,3-15,3-4,3-1)

Well done, Jim. I hope you and other anglers are getting in some more casts during this recent and welcome warm-up. Lots of area fishing holes are opening up and some predicted rain should do a number on those that are still in ice out limbo. Here’s to a productive 2021 for all and send ‘em my way when you catch ‘em. Talk to you later. Troy

While a bit late, I am excited to present the annual Top 5 all-time record book update. Eight years of fish stories have brought us to a grand total of 776 bass submissions to the Top 5. The 2020 featured 90 bass from a group of eleven anglers. These entries bring the all-time total to 776 bass submitted.

2020 also marked the third year of a Top 5 expansion to include species beyond bass. However, only four fish were added to the “Other Species” portion of the record book (a catfish, a crappie, a carp and a muskie). We’ll kick things off with a look at that 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
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

Comments: Bass are obviously my favorite species to pursue but it is cool to see those other species show up in my email (or on the end of my line). So, if you are a multi-species angler or just luck into an unexpected catch, feel free to send them my way for a little added variety.

Moving on to the bass, let’s take a look at how our fish stack up with respect to the calendar. Eight years, 38 different anglers and 776 bass (nearly all from Illinois waters) make up the all-time record book. Here we go.

Group Totals = 776 bass
2014 = 154
2015 = 106
2016 = 136
2017 = 79
2018 = 116
2019 = 95
2020 = 90

Submissions by month (2014-2020)
169 April (43/33/31/11/12/14/25)
136 May (27/23/19/13/24/12/18)
105 June (34/14/15/1/10/14/17)
80 March (13/11/34/10/0/8/4)
77 July (18/11/8/11/8/11/10)
55 October (4/5/4/8/24/8/2)
53 September (6/4/6/6/16/9/6)
31 November (6/0/4/0/8/9/4)
29 February (2/2/7/13/5/0/0)
23 August (1/3/1/4/4/7/3)
10 December (0/0/7/1/0/2)
8 January (0/0/0/1/5/1/1)

Comments: Spring once again ruled the day in terms of submissions. While July saw a double digit haul, the rest of the months after June were rather lean. Several factors do come into play, including some anglers setting the bar so high during the early season that it is tough to boost their total as the year progresses.

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

Comments: Nothing new from 2020 in the above breakdown as it now takes nearly 28 pounds of combined weight from our anglers to crack the Top 10. That is a pretty tall order as we head into our eighth year.

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)

Comments: Nothing new here from 2020 either and again, it will take a significant batch of group catches to establish a new record. January has already passed up by but the dog day target of an August record could be a goal for this year. Doesn’t hurt to dream, I guess, especially when it is below zero as I put this post together.

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

Comments: It’s going to take quite a catch for an angler to unseat one of our current monthly Top Bass. Good luck on that quest as such a catch could likely be the bass of a lifetime for most of us.

Public vs. Private Water (2014-2020)
Public = 504 bass (92/52/95/42/92/68/63)
Public Top 5 Weight = 32-2, 31-7, 30-5, 27-7, 24-5, 25-4, 25-13(2020)
Private = 255 bass (53/48/39/37/24/27/27)
Private Top 5 Weight = 38-10, 30-0, 32-13, 33-14, 31-9, 24-3, 30-5(2020)
Undisclosed = 17 bass (9/6/2/0/0/0/0)

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 (2014-2020)
Boat = 438 bass (90/63/103/68/55/33/26)
Boat Top 5 Weight = 30-7, 31-7, 32-13, 33-14, 31-9, 25-4, 21-4 (2020)
Bank = 332 bass (64/43/27/11/61/62/64)
Bank Top 5 Weight = 40-14, 27-6, 27-12, 20-14, 24-2, 25-7, 30-6 (2020)
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)
200 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
84 Spinnerbaits (6-14 Chris Schwarz 3/25/20 tops 5-14 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18)
74 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
59 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
61 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18)
51 Chatterbaits (5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20 tops 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)
29 Creature Baits (6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17)
27 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson 4/25/17)
25 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)
7 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)
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)

Comments: The Grubs category joined the list and included a couple bass fooled by the interesting and unassuming Ned Rig (note: one was a seven-pounder). Chatterbaits contributed 18 bass for the second consecutive year as they climbed within reach of a Top 5 spot on the list. All told, a dozen different lure types contributed to our haul. The only bait beyond chatterbaits to hit double figures was the good old plastic worm with 35 bass. The Senko style worms continue to dominate in either wacky or Texas rigged presentations.

The 20-Pound Club * = 2020 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)
*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)

Comments: Two more entries joined the coveted 20-pound club in 2020. In fact, both Chris Schwarz and Jim Junk shattered the 20-pound mark with 30-5 and 25-13 weights, respectively. For both anglers, the weights establish new personal Top 5 bests and mark three consecutive years of topping the 20-pound mark. Well done by both anglers and looking forward to their 2021 contributions (stay tuned for the first 2021 Top 5 Update tomorrow).

Top 10 Top 5 Bass (* = 2020 entry)
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

Comments: It truly takes a trophy to crack this list and Chris Schwarz found one of them in 2020 with a seven-pounder. Congratulations on an outstanding fish and it makes it official that it takes a seven to crack the Top 10.

And just for fun…

All-Time Weights (40-pound minimum “career” mark)
(Note: not all anglers have participated each year)
140-3 Troy Jackson (20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9,14-4,18-12)
123-8 Mark Balbinot (33-14,32-13,31-9,25-4)
115-6 Jim Junk (11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8,24-14,25-13)
111-11 Jake Bresson (32-13,27-12,27-6,23-12)
94-1 Brent Jackson (18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2,13-7,13-3)
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)

Comments: With one of our anglers sitting out 2020, the guy who runs this project hops into first place in the All-Time Weight category. Of course, having participated for each of the seven years gives me a considerable advantage over those who have missed a few years. Looking forward, we should have another angler join the Century Club as my brother, Brent, is one good bass from the mark.

Year seven is in the books, year eight is off and running in 2021 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. Here’s hoping to push the submissions back over the 100 bass mark for the first time since 2018.

Tune in tomorrow to see the first two bass of 2021 as the Top 5 is back in action. Talk to you later. Troy