Category: Top 5

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Only two days into a new month and we’ve got five more bass submissions. It took some work as April decided to come in “like a lion”, making for a tough bite but these guys can still get it done. Our Top 5 leader continues to boost his creel with a pair of impressive fish while another crafty veteran angler kicks off his 2023 season. Read on for the details.

Weight: 4-0
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 1
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait
Angler Comments: Terrible weather and managed five bass. Four smaller ones that I didn’t weigh and the last one of the day was 4-0. All on a lipless crank as per my usual spring arsenal.

Weight: 4-8
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 2
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait
Angler Comments: Today was just one bass in about three hours of fishing. He came on a lipless crankbait and weighed in at 4-8.
Top 5 Weight: 22-2 (5-1,4-8,4-5,4-4,4-0) culls 3-9 and 3-5

Weight: 1-15
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 2
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap (gold shad)

Weight: 2-12
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 2
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Jig (black/blue) with split double tail trailer (black/blue flake)

Weight: 2-13
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: April 2
Weather: Sunny/very windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap (gold shad)
Top 5 Weight: 7-8 (2-13,2-12,1-15)

Way to go guys and these five bass move us closer to the 1,000 bass milestone for the Top 5 project. At present, we stand at 982 bass. Who will be the angler to land the coveted Bass #1000? Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

And just like that, we have our first twenty-pound limit of 2023. None other than Jim Junk with another banner day.

Weight: 1-14
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 26
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 2-9
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 26
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 3-5
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 26
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 4-4
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 26
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait
Angler Comments: Made it out for a few hours this afternoon. Going to call it a 1,2,3,4 day. All on lipless crankbaits off flats or staging very close to flats. Good sign for things to come!
Top 5 Weight: 20-8 (5-1,4-5,4-4,3-9,3-5) culls 3-1

Way to go, Jim, and keep ‘em coming. Quite a start for the year as other than early open water, conditions for 2023 have been less than ideal. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Jim Junk is back with another impressive catch that leaves him one bass shy of having his initial Top 5 completed. Quite a start as we aren’t even to mid-March. Read on for the details on his latest submission.

Weight: 4-5
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 11
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait
Angler Comments: You could probably subtract twelve ounces and copy and paste the details from last week. Lipless crankbait on the second cast at the same spot and no other bites the rest of the time throwing various lures and presentations.
Top 5 Weight: 16-0 (5-1,4-5,3-9,3-1)

(NOTE: Our all-time Top 5 Bass total now stands at 973 as we push towards Bass #1000)

Well done, Jim, and here’s to that next submission being a four-pounder to push your initial Top 5 to the twenty-pound limit.

On a side note, the Top 5 Update will be moving to Fridays soon instead of the usual Monday post. This is to accommodate a new series that I hope to kick off this month. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Another pair of bass joined the Top 5 this past weekend with a real heavyweight from Fulton County and a first bass of the year from The Canal. Read on for the scoop.

Weight: 5-1
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: March 5
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless Crankbait
Structure: Flat
Angler Comments: This fish came on the second cast of the day throwing a lipless crankbait over a flat. Was really just starting to gauge the weed depth. Felt the lure pull off a weed and then she hit pretty hard. Landed and released with no issues.
Top 5 Weight: 11-11 (5-1,3-9,3-1)

Weight: 1-0 (13.5″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 5
Weather: Partly cloudy/very windy
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw)
Structure: Riprap
Angler Comments: Always exciting to get my first bass of the year and even better when it makes the grade to kick off my Top 5. Gotta start somewhere and sure happy to be on the board in 2023.
Top 5 Weight: 1-0 (1-0)

(NOTE: Our all-time Top 5 Bass total now stands at 972 as we push towards Bass #1000.)

Way to go, Jim, in adding our new Top Bass for 2023. And fun for me to land one over two weeks ahead of my first bass of 2022 (March 20). Hope to get my first 2023 fishing report out on the blog sometime this week and pondering another weekly blogging project, so stay tuned. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Year number ten of the Top 5 project is off and running with a pair of early season bass. Fittingly, Jim Junk, our two-time defending Top 5 Champ, kicks off 2023. Read on for the details.

Weight: 3-9
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: February 19
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait

Weight: 3-1
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: February 19
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Lipless crankbait
Angler Comments: Made it out to Banner for a couple hours this afternoon and managed these two healthy Fulton County bass.
Top 5 Weight: 6-10 (3-9,3-1)

Well done, Jim, and here’s to another productive year of Top 5 fishing. It is worth noting that Jim’s catches bring our all-time Top 5 total to 970 bass, leaving only thirty to go to hit the 1,000 bass mark. Good luck to all and talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 All-Time Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

2022 represented year number nine of the Top 5 project. It also marked the fifth year of reaching triple digits in bass submissions and was the first time that we hit the century mark since 2018. In addition to the yearly stats that were posted earlier this month, I also like to provide an annual update of the all-time stats. So, here we go.

(Note: the all-time stats for this post only include bass submissions, not additional species).

Group Totals = 968 bass
2014 = 154
2015 = 106
2016 = 136
2017 = 79
2018 = 116
2019 = 95
2020 = 90
2021 = 92
2022 = 100

Submissions by month (2014-2022)
218 April (43/33/31/11/12/14/25/14/35)
156 May (27/23/19/13/24/12/18/13/7)
131 June (34/14/15/1/10/14/17/10/16)
114 March (13/11/34/10/0/8/4/19/15)
91 July (18/11/8/11/8/11/10/12/2)
68 September (6/4/6/6/16/9/6/10/5)
64 October (4/5/4/8/24/8/2/3/6)
38 August (1/3/1/4/4/7/3/4/11)
36 November (6/0/4/0/8/9/4/2/3)
31 February (2/2/7/13/5/0/0/2/0)
13 December (0/0/7/1/0/2/3/0)
8 January (0/0/0/1/5/1/1/0/0)

Top 10 Top 5 Monthly Weights (group total) – * = new entry
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 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 (2014-2022)
Public = 689 bass (92/52/95/42/92/68/63/87/98)
Public Top 5 Weight
32-2,31-7,30-5,27-7,24-5,25-4,25-13,26-4,28-10 (2022)
Private = 262 bass (53/48/39/37/24/27/27/5/2)
Private Top 5 Weight
8-10,30-0,32-13,33-14,31-9,24-3,30-5,13-3,2-7 (2022)
Undisclosed = 17 bass (9/6/2/0/0/0/0/0/0)

Boat vs. Bank (2014-2022)
Boat = 466 bass (90/63/103/68/55/33/26/28/55)
Boat Top 5 Weight
30-7,31-7,32-13,33-14,31-9,25-4,21-4,18-6,17-9 (2022)
Bank = 396 bass (64/43/27/11/61/62/64/64/45)
Bank Top 5 Weight
40-14,27-6,27-12,20-14,24-2,25-7,30-6,26-4,28-10 (2022)
Undisclosed = 6 bass

The Baits (44 undisclosed)
268 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
109 Spinnerbaits (6-14 Chris Schwarz 3/25/20)
96 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18)
86 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
72 Chatterbaits (5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20)
65 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
33 Jerkbaits (5-10 Ty Hartlipp 6/5/14)
32 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson 4/25/17)
31 Swimbaits (8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14)
30 Creature Baits (6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17)
29 Swim Jigs (6-13 Jake Bresson 4/9/15)
14 Underspins (Top Bass 7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16)
12 Topwater Frogs (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 Propbaits (6-2 Jake Bresson 5/1/15)
6 Stickbaits (6-6 Mark Balbinot 8/27/17)
5 Ultralights (3-1 Paul Kessler 10/12/17)
5 Grubs (Top Bass 7-0 Chris Schwarz 11/28/20)
2 Inline Spinners (5-2 Jake Bresson 9/17/17)
2 Poppers (3-1 Troy Jackson 9/25/01)
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 * = 2022 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 (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 (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)

And just for fun…

All-Time Weights (30-pound minimum “career” mark)
(Note: not all anglers have participated each year)
178-12 Troy Jackson (20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9,14-4,18-12,20-0,18-9)
169-3 Jim Junk (11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8,24-14,25-13,26-0,27-13)
123-8 Mark Balbinot (33-14,32-13,31-9,25-4)
131-5 Brent Jackson (18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2,13-7,13-3,18-11,18-9)
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)

I dig my stats and plenty more to come as I recap the past year on the water in a series of posts to come. Talk to you later. Troy

2022 Top 5 Final Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Congratulations to our 2022 Top 5 Champ, Jim Junk. The victory makes it back-to-back titles for Jim with an impressive weight of 27-13, exceeding his 2021 winning mark of 26-0. Read on for all the numbers from our ninth year of the Top 5 challenge as eight anglers added one hundred bass and four trout to the ledger.

Jim Junk 6-0 April 15

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 27-13 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1,4-7)
Brent Jackson 18-9 (5-4,3-9,3-8,3-3,3-1)
Troy Jackson 16-10 (3-10,3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2)
John Kirkemo: 15-11 (4-2,3-5,2-14,2-11,2-11)
Jayce Jackson 7-1 (2-3,1-11,1-4,1-3,0-12)
Helena Jackson 1-3 (1-3)
Zac Jackson 1-0 (1-0)
Carly Jackson 0-14 (0-14)
Comments: Jim’s winning limit comes in as the eighth heaviest weight in the history of the Top 5. And it marked the only twenty-pound stringer of 2022.

Brent Jackson 5-4 April 24

2022 Monthly Totals
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 15 bass
April = 35 bass
May = 7 bass
June = 16 bass
July = 2 bass
August = 11 bass
September = 5 bass
October = 6 bass
November = 3 bass
December = no submissions

John Kirkemo May 3

Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 14-2 (3-3,2-15,2-14,2-12,2-6)
April = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
May = 11-9 (2-12,2-11,2-5,2-0,1-13)
June = 16-7 (4-2,3-5,3-3,2-15,2-14)
July = 4-11 (3-1,1-10)
August = 15-1 (3-5,3-4,2-15,2-13,2-12)
September = 10-14 (3-10,3-8,1-11,1-5,0-12)
October = 11-12 (2-14,2-10,2-4,2-3,1-13)
November = 11-7 (4-6,4-0,3-1)
December = no submissions
Comments: Thanks largely to Jim’s April contributions (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1), the 2022 total for April marks the fifth largest monthly total in Top 5 history. Brent contributed the other Top 5 April bass (5-4) for a total of 28-10. This total fell just shy of the all-time April record of 29-2 from 2014.

Jayce Jackson September 17

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 55 bass
Bank = 45 bass
Comments: For the first tine since 2017, bass landed from a boat exceeded bass landed from the bank. The addition of a kayak for Brent and my decision to launch a boat on the Hennepin Canal got a couple more of us off the bank much more often.

Carly Jackson June 18

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 17-9 (4-2,3-8,3-5,3-5,3-5)
Bank = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
Comments: Even with the additional boating, nineteen of our Top 20 bass still came from the bank.

Helena Jackson June 18

Public vs. Private
Public = 98 bass
Private = 2 bass
Comments: Once again, public waters dominated our haul with the lone exceptions coming on a private water outing in mid-September. The two private water bass were landed by Jayce on The Rock to complete his Top 5 for the year.

Zac Jackson June 18

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
Private = 2-7 (1-11,0-12)
Comments: Banner Marsh (Jim – four bass) and a public Knox County strip pit (Brent – one bass), contributed to our public Top 5 while Jayce’s pair or bass from The Rock were our lone private water submissions.

The Baits
Plastic Worm = 27 bass (Top Bass 5-12 Jim Junk)
Chatterbait = 16 bass (Top Bass 6-9 Jim Junk) tops 5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20
Spinnerbait = 16 bass (Top Bass 5-4 Brent Jackson)
Lipless Crankbait = 15 bass (Top Bass 4-6 Jim Junk)
Jerkbait = 6 bass (Top Bass 2-5 John Kirkemo)
Crankbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 2-12 Troy Jackson)
Jig = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Brent Jackson)
Buzzbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-5 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 2-3 Jayce Jackson)
Grub = 1 bass (Top Bass 0-13 Troy Jackson)
Popper = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-1 Brent Jackson) no prior entry
Swimbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Jim Junk)
Underspin = 1 bass (3-12 Jim Junk)
Comments: For the fifth straight year, the good, old plastic worm led the way and in our case the lure was exclusively a wacky rigged Senko type worm. However, chatterbaits were the big bass leader in landing five or our Top 10 bass.

Troy Jackson September 4

Monthly Top Bass
January
No submissions
February
No submissions
March
3-3 Jim Junk
April
6-9 Jim Junk
May
2-12 Troy Jackson
June
4-2 John Kirkemo
July
3-1 Brent Jackson
August
3-5 Troy Jackson
September
3-10 Troy Jackson
October
2-14 Brent Jackson
November
4-6 Jim Junk
December
No submissions
Comments: Half of our eight anglers managed to post a monthly Top Bass during the nine months that we had submissions.

Jim Junk 6-9 April 4

2022 Top 10 Bass
6-9 Jim Junk 4/4/22
6-0 Jim Junk 4/15/22
5-12 Jim Junk 4/21/22
5-4 Brent Jackson 4/24/22
5-1 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-7 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-6 Jim Junk 4/19/22
4-6 Jim Junk 11/5/22
4-3 Jim Junk 4/21/22
4-2 John Kirkemo 6/13/22
Comments: A stellar year by our winner as Jim posts eight of our Top 10 bass of 2022. And a solid showing from our crew as it took a bass over four pounds to crack the Top 10.

Bonus Species

Other Species – Trout
John Kirkemo ~48” (12”, 12”, 12”,<12”)
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. Thanks, John, for some variety from the streams of Iowa and a southern Illinois fishing hole.

And many thanks to those who took the time to share fish and fish stories. We had a good mix of young and not as young anglers, as well as guys and gals. I appreciate all and hope that you will consider joining up again in 2023. It’s always a treat to see a new fish story in the Inbox, in a text, or in person. Here’s to celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the Top 5. Stay tuned for a look at the Top 5 record book covering 2014 through 2022. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Our Top 5 leader is back with a trio of quality strip mine bass, and I found a couple good bites on the Hennepin Canal. While none of our catches boosted our totals, it sure is good to have a handful of November bass for another Top 5 Update.

Weight: 4-6
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: November 5
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Structure: Submerged weeds on flats

Weight: 4-0
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: November 5
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Structure: Submerged weeds on flats

Weight: 3-1
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: November 5
Location: Banner Marsh
Lure: Chatterbait
Structure: Submerged weeds on flats
Angler Comments: Glad to get some hungry November bass.
Top 5 Weight: 27-13 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1,4-7)

Weight: 2-8
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: November 6
Weather: Sunny/windy, 60F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Special K Spinnerbait (chartreuse) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (watermelon seed)
Structure: Open water/drop

Weight: 2-3
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: November 6
Weather: Sunny/windy, 60F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Special K Spinnerbait (chartreuse) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (watermelon seed)
Structure: Dropoff
Angler Comments: It is getting to be that time of the year when I wonder if it is my last time on the water. Good to get a quality bite among those bonus November bass.
Top 5 Weight: 16-10 (3-10,3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2)

Sure can’t beat the warm weather this late in the year and happy to have it relate to some good bites. Looks like the weather isn’t going to be so friendly as we head into next weekend so get out there if you can during the week. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Stat Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Hard to believe only two months remain in 2022. As we hit November that means it is time for another Top 5 Stat Update. October saw half a dozen bass added to our submissions bringing the total to ninety-seven. In addition, a couple more trout made the list for the lone other species in our project.

2022 Totals
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 15 bass
April = 35 bass
May = 7 bass
June = 16 bass
July = 2 bass
August = 11 bass
September = 5 bass
October = 6 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
January = no submissions
February = no submissions
March = 14-2 (3-3,2-15,2-14,2-12,2-6)
April = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
May = 11-9 (2-12,2-11,2-5,2-0,1-13)
June = 16-7 (4-2,3-5,3-3,2-15,2-14)
July = 4-11 (3-1,1-10)
August = 15-1 (3-5,3-4,2-15,2-13,2-12)
September = 10-14 (3-10,3-8,1-11,1-5,0-12)
October = 11-12 (2-14,2-10,2-4,2-3,1-13)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 56 bass
Bank = 41 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 17-9 (4-2,3-8,3-5,3-5,3-5)
Bank = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)

Public vs. Private
Public = 95 bass
Private = 2 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 28-10 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-4,5-1)
Private = 2=7 (1-11,0-12)

The Baits (* = new 2022 record)
Plastic Worm = 27 bass (Top Bass 5-12 Jim Junk)
Spinnerbait = 16 bass (Top Bass 5-4 Brent Jackson)
Lipless Crankbait = 15 bass (Top Bass 4-6 Jim Junk)
Chatterbait = 13 bass (Top Bass 6-9 Jim Junk) tops 5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20
Jerkbait = 6 bass (Top Bass 2-5 John Kirkemo)
Crankbait = 5 bass (Top Bass 2-12 Troy Jackson)
Jig = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Brent Jackson)
Buzzbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 3-5 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 2-3 Jayce Jackson)
Grub = 1 bass (Top Bass 0-13 Troy Jackson)
Popper = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-1 Brent Jackson) no prior entry
Swimbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Jim Junk)
Underspin = 1 bass (3-12 Jim Junk)

Monthly Top Bass
January
No submissions
February
No submissions
March
3-3 Jim Junk
April
6-9 Jim Junk
May
2-12 Troy Jackson
June
4-2 John Kirkemo
July
3-1 Brent Jackson
August
3-5 Troy Jackson
September
3-10 Troy Jackson
October
2-14 Brent Jackson

2022 Top 10 Bass
6-9 Jim Junk 4/4/22
6-0 Jim Junk 4/15/22
5-12 Jim Junk 4/21/22
5-4 Brent Jackson 4/24/22
5-1 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-7 Jim Junk 4/4/22
4-6 Jim Junk 4/19/22
4-3 Jim Junk 4/21/22
4-2 John Kirkemo 6/13/22
3-15 Jim Junk 4/19/22
3-12 Jim Junk 4/13/22

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 27-13 (6-9,6-0,5-12,5-1,4-7)
Brent Jackson 18-9 (5-4,3-9,3-8,3-3,3-1)
Troy Jackson 16-10 (3-10,3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2)
John Kirkemo: 15-11 (4-2,3-5,2-14,2-11,2-11)
Jayce Jackson 7-1 (2-3,1-11,1-4,1-3,0-12)
Helena Jackson 1-3 (1-3)
Zac Jackson 1-0 (1-0)
Carly Jackson 0-14 (0-14)

Other Species – Trout

John Kirkemo ~48” (12”, 12”, 12”,<12”)

Pleasant weather this week and only sixty-one more days to add a catch, so here’s hoping we can add a few more fish. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Did somebody say, “Don’t put your poles away just yet?” Well, several of us took that advice and hit the water with October drawing to a close. Three anglers, three waters, and six submissions make for a quality late season update this week.

Length: 12”
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: October 26
Weather: Partly cloudy, gusty northwest wind, air temp 60s
Water Temp: Unknown
Location: Devils Kitchen Lake, Makanda, IL
Lure: Four-inch floating Rapala (black/silver)
Structure: Open water

Length: Less than12”
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: October 26
Weather: Partly cloudy, gusty northwest wind, air temp 60s
Water Temp: Unknown
Location: Devils Kitchen Lake, Makanda, IL
Lure: Seps Colorado Pro Flasher with a No. 2 Roy Self brass colored spoon with mirrored red head
Structure: Open water
Angler Comments: These are hatchery raised fish recently released during the fall trout season. Fish were active on the surface often jumping several feet in the air. The twelve-inch trout was taken casting the Rapala in open water. The smaller trout was caught trolling the Roy Self spoon
Top 5 Length: ~48” (12”,12”,12”, <12”)

Weight: 1-10
Angler: Brent Jackson
Date: October 29
Weather: Sunny/breezy
Location: Lake Storey
Lure: Spinnerbait
Top 5 Weight: 18-9 (5-4,3-9,3-8,3-3,3-1)

Weight: 1-13
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: October 30
Weather: Overcast skies, light breeze from the east, air temps 50s
Water Temp: 55F
Location: Lake Storey, Galesburg, IL
Lure: Spinnerbait
Structure: About five yards off the dam
Angler Comments: The fish hit the lure near the boat in deep water. Only one other smaller bass caught in 3.5 hours of fishing.
Top 5 Weight: 15-11 (4-2,3-5,2-14,2-11,2-11)

Weight: 2-3 (18”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: October 30
Weather: Overcast/breezy, 60F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (bleeding shad) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer pepper green)
Structure: Log
Angler Comments: No wonder this one hit my lure as it looked like it was starving. Long but scrawny, it should have been pushing three pounds. It wasn’t, but still a good fish.

Weight: 2-4 (17.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: October 30
Weather: Overcast/breezy, 60F
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Booyah Blade Spinnerbait (bleeding shad) with Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer (root beer pepper green)
Structure: Logs
Angler Comments: This one hit right next to the boat with about two feet of line out. I had to disengage the spool to make landing the bass more manageable.
Top 5 Weight: 16-10 (3-10,3-5,3-5,3-4,3-2)

It’s always cool to see a species beyond our bass make an appearance. And while our bass did not give us a boost, we are getting to that “icing on the cake” period headed into the last two months of the year. I don’t know about anybody else, but I have my sights on my annual goal of a November bass (or more) before I call it quits. Stay tuned and talk to you later. Troy