2025 Location Recap Intro

Posted on by Troy Jackson

2025 saw 359 largemouth bass landed on a batch of Illinois waters. In December, I covered the lure portion of the 2025 recaps and now it is time to cover the locations. Overall, these consisted of Lake Storey (north of Galesburg), numerous Knox County public strip pits, and many pools on the Hennepin Canal running through Henry and Bureau Counties. What follows in today’s post is a general overview of the numbers as an introduction to a five-part series of 2025 location recaps that are on the way.

First Bass of 2025 – March 14 on the Hennepin Canal

 

2025 Bass Stats
Largemouth Bass = 359
Outings = 40 (ranging from 0.50-hour to 8.00-hour trips)
Bodies of water = 34
Bass Fishing Hours = 155.50
Bass/hour = 2.31
First Bass of the Year: March 14 at 5:54pm on the Hennepin Canal
Last Bass of the Year: November 4 at 12:18pm on Lake Storey
Comments: Thirty-four bodies of water are a bit deceiving as a lot of my time is spent casting on the Hennepin Canal and Knox County strip mines. The Canal consists of a series of pools separated by locks, tubes, and inverted siphons. In 2025, I fished fourteen of these stretches via bicycle or boat. Similarly, the Knox County public strip mine ground included nineteen different bodies of water reached on foot, either fishing from the bank or dragging in a boat.

Top 5 Bass (Weight, Length, Location, Date, Lure)
4-14 (20.5″) Knox County public strip pit 4/19 Chatterbait
4-14 (20.5″) Lake Storey 10/12 Spinnerbait
3-13 (20″) Knox County public strip pit 5/16 Propbait
3-12 (20.5″) Lake Storey 9/19 Lipless Crankbait
3-6 (20″) Knox County public strip pit 7/23 Frog
Top 5 Total Weight: 20-11
Comments: My Top 5 bass goal each year is to hit the twenty-pound mark, and I made it in 2025 after falling short in 2024 (16-5 Top 5 Weight). In looking over this year’s list, I found it cool that my Top 5 bass were landed on five different types of lures and during five different months. Two of the Top 5 coming from Lake Storey (including a tie for 2025 Top Bass) was also rewarding as it can be a challenging fishing hole. The Hennepin Canal came up just short of contributing to the Top 5 creel as the Top Canal Bass weighed in at 3-4.

2025 Top 5 Bass

 

Access
Bank Bass (hiking and biking) = 143 bass
Little Boat Bass (over 40-year-old 8’ johnboat) = 130 bass
Big Boat Bass (1987 Bass Tracker Pro 17) = 86 bass
Comments: Hiking and biking produced the most fish, but I had to weed through a lot of fish to find a few good ones. I took my little boat to several strip pit lakes that I had not visited for quite a few years, and it paid off with good numbers and several quality fish. The Canal fishing was primarily from the little boat, but I struggled to find a consistent bite. I finished the year with a lot of hours on Lake Storey fishing out of Dad’s Bass Tracker and wound up with a solid batch of bass, including my Top Lake Storey Bass of all-time at 4-14.

Public vs. Private
Public Water = 359 bass
Private Water Bass = 0 bass
Comments: For the second straight year, all my catches were from public water. I do have access to quality private waters at Little John Conservation Club but opted to stick to where everybody can fish. My fishing log indicates that my last Little John bass came on September 30, 2023 with 1,060 bass being landed on public fisheries in the meantime.

Last Bass of 2025 – November 4 on Lake Storey

 

Stay tuned for an in-depth look at the numbers. Headed your way are a series of five location recaps covering the waters. These will appear in order of fewest to most bass caught and will consist of Knox County Public Strip Pits (Part I, II, and III), the Hennepin Canal, and Lake Storey. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 All-Time Stats

Posted on by Troy Jackson

2025 marked the twelfth year of the Top 5 project and saw seventy more bass added to the logbook. This brings the all-time total to just shy of 1,200 bass. And before we get the 2026 Top 5 kicked off, let’s look at the statistical breakdown and records from the last twelve years.

Group Totals (1195 bass)
2014 = 154
2015 = 106
2016 = 136
2017 = 79
2018 = 116
2019 = 95
2020 = 90
2021 = 92
2022 = 100
2023 = 88
2024 = 69
2025 = 70

Submissions by month
282 April
209 May
157 June
146 March
119 July
79 September
69 October
41 August
38 November
33 February
14 December
8 January

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
Public = 910 bass
Top Public Top 5 Weight Record and 2025 Weight
32-2 (2014)
25-1 (2025)
Private = 268 bass
Private Top 5 Weight Record and 2025 Weight
33-14 (2017)
6-11 (2025)
Undisclosed = 17 bass

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 641 bass
Boat Top 5 Weight Record and 2025 Weight
33-14 (2017)
18-14 (2025)
Bank = 548 bass
Bank Top 5 Weight Record and 2025 Weight
40-14 (2014)
25-0 (2025)
Undisclosed = 6 bass

The Baits (44 undisclosed)
316 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
132 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18) – moved up
125 Spinnerbaits (6-14 Chris Schwarz 3/25/20)
98 Chatterbaits (5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20)
87 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
67 Jerkbaits (5-10 Ty Hartlipp 6/5/14)
66 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
36 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson 4/25/17)
36 Swimbaits (8-10 Gary Le 5/4/14)
33 Topwater Frogs (6-11 Ty Hartlipp 6/11/14)
30 Creature Baits (6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13/17) -moved u
29 Swim Jigs (6-13 Jake Bresson 4/9/15)
18 Propbaits (6-2 Jake Bresson 5/1/15)
18 Underspins (Top Bass 7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16)
15 Poppers (3-1 Troy Jackson 9/25/01)
12 Tubes (Top Bass 5-0 Jake Bresson 4/28/15)
11 Grubs (Top Bass 7-0 Chris Schwarz 11/28/20)
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)
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 * = 2025 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 2020 (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)
*24-9 Jim Junk 2025 (5-7,4-15,4-15,4-13,4-7)
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)
*20-11 Troy Jackson 2025 (4-14,4-14,3-13,3-12,3-6)
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 (60-pound minimum “career” mark)
(Note: not all anglers have participated each year)
237-6 Troy Jackson
(20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9,14-4,18-12,20-0,18-9,21-10,16-5,20-11)
236-10 Jim Junk
(11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8,24-14,25-13,26-0,27-13,25-9,17-5,24-9)
184-7 Brent Jackson
(18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2,13-7,13-3,18-11,18-9,19-3,17-14,16-1)
123-8 Mark Balbinot
(33-14,32-13,31-9,25-4)
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)
66-0 John Kirkemo
(10-8,6-14,8-0,11-14,7-2,10-9,11-1)

Okay, now that we are caught up on the stats through 2025, feel free to send in those 2026 fish as we are all set to kick off year number thirteen. But that doesn’t mean that the 2025 recaps are wrapped up quite yet. I’ve been slacking on blogging and still have a batch of stats and some video to post from last year. My water is locked up but open water should be back in less than five weeks, so I’d better get on the ball before the catching starts for 2026. Talk to you later. Troy

2025 Top 5 Results

Posted on by Troy Jackson

2025 Top 5 Champ Jim Junk with a a strip mine largemouth bass

Jim Junk returns to the top of the Top 5 after a runner-up finish the previous year. This marks Jim’s fourth title in the last five years as he racks up another batch of impressive catches from his public strip pit stomping grounds. Five anglers posted a total of 70 bass along with a couple additions of other species during a productive year on the water. Read on for all the stats from our twelfth year of the Top 5 project.

Bass Totals (largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted)

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 24-9 (5-7,4-15,4-15,4-13,4-7)
Troy Jackson 20-11 (4-14,4-14,3-13,3-12,3-6)
Brent Jackson 16-1 (4-10,3-8,3-1,2-8,2-6)
John Kirkemo 11-1 (2-8,2-8,2-4,1-15,1-14)
Carly Jackson 1-2 (1-2)

2025 Totals
March = 10 bass
April = 16 bass
May = 22 bass
June = 5 bass
July = 11 bass
August = 0 bass
September = 4 bass
October = 1 bass
November = 0 bass
December = 1 bass

Brent Jackson with a strip mine smallmouth

Top 5 Weight by Month (as a group)
March = 11-3 (2-15,2-8,1-15,1-15,1-14)
April = 18-9 (4-14,4-10,3-13,2-14,2-6)
May = 22-9 (5-7,4-15,4-7,3-15,3-13)
June = 16-3 (4-0,3-9,3-4,2-11,2-11)
July = 19-15 (4-15,4-13,3-8,3-6,3-5)
August = no submissions
September = 11-7 (3-12,3-6,2-8,1-13)
October = 4-14 (4-14)
November = no submissions
December = 1-15 (1-15)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 36 bass
Bank = 34 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 18-14 (4-14,3-12,3-8,3-6,3-6)
Bank = 25-0 (5-7,4-15,4-15,4-14,4-13)

John Kirkemo with a South Carolina spotted bass

Public vs. Private
Public = 68 bass
Private = 2 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 25-1 (5-7,4-15,4-15,4-14,4-14)
Private = 6-11 (3-13,2-14)

The Baits
Plastic Worm = 16 bass (Top Bass 4-15 Jim Junk)
Jerkbait = 12 bass (Top Bass 2-8 John Kirkemo)
Frog = 11 bass (Top Bass 3-6 Troy Jackson)
Chatterbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 4-14 Troy Jackson)
Lipless Crankbait = 8 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Brent Jackson)
Underspin = 4 bass (Top Bass 5-7 Jim Junk)
Spinnerbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 4-14 Troy Jackson)
Swimbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 4-13 Jim Junk)
Popper = 2 bass (Top Bass 2-4 Brent Jackson)
Grub = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-2 Troy Jackson)
Propbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-13 Troy Jackson)

Carly Jackson with a Hennepin Canal largemouth bass

Monthly Top Bass
March
2-15 Jim Junk
April
4-14 Troy Jackson
May
5-7 Jim Junk
June
4-0 Jim Junk
July
4-15 Jim Junk
August
No Submissions
September
3-12 Troy Jackson
October
4-14 Troy Jackson
November
No submissions
December
1-15 John Kirkemo

Troy Jackson with a Lake Storey largemouth bass

2025 Top 10 Bass
5-7 Jim Junk 5/17
4-15 Jim Junk 5/25
4-15 Jim Junk 7/19
4-14 Troy Jackson 4/19
4-14 Troy Jackson 10/12
4-13 Jim Junk 7/10
4-10 Brent Jackson 4/6
4-7 Jim Junk 5/30
4-0 Jim Junk 6/7
3-15 Jim Junk 5/2

Other Species

Channel Catfish
Brent Jackson 3-4 (3-4)

Walleye
Brent Jackson 1-6 (1-6)

Stay tuned for a follow-up post that tracks the all-time stats covering the twelve years that we have pursued a Top 5. Talk to you later. Troy

Top 5 Update

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Thanks to our South Carolina angler, we get at least one more Top 5 Update as we hit the final days of 2025. Read on for the scoop on our seventieth bass entry of the year as John Kirkemo posts another fine spotted bass.

Weight: 1-15
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: December 26 (time on the water 12:50pm-3:15pm)
Weather: Mostly cloudy, calm wind, air temp low 60s
Water Temp: 58F
Location: Lake Keowee along the Port Santorini subdivision in Seneca, SC
Lure: Black and silver 3.5” shallow running Rapala
Angler Comments: Spotted bass were feeding on the surface in open water, but it still took me two hours of trolling before I finally hooked and landed this one. I had no other hits.
Top 5 Weight: 11-1 (2-8,2-8,2-4,1-15,1-14) culls 1-13

Way to go John, and kudos for sticking it out and finding a quality bite. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year and stay tuned as the final results of the 2025 Top 5 project will be posted in early January followed by some further 2025 recaps. Talk to you later. Troy

12th Day of 2025 Lures – Frogs

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Topwater Frogs
90 bass vs. 79 bass in 2024
Spro Flappin’ Frog 65 (nasty shad, redear, leopard)
Top Bass: 3-6 Knox County public strip pit – July 23
Top 5 Weight: 15-9 (3-6,3-5,3-1,3-1,2-12)

Comments
2025 marks the first time that topwater frogs have claimed the Top Lure spot. And their 2025 Top 5 Weight of 15-9 fell just short of spinnerbaits which topped the list at 16-3. Frogs have been coming on strong with increased productivity since only landing one bass in 2022 but claiming the Top Lure title is still a bit surprising. This year, the frog was equally effective on The Canal and the strip mines. I did not use it on Lake Storey as vegetation was sparse prior to the fall drawdown and a non-factor after the water dropped.

July 23 – Top Frog Bass at 3-6 (20″) from a Knox County public strip

History
Within a 2023 blog entry, I declared that “I am the self-proclaimed ‘worst frog angler on The Canal’.” Most of The Canal is custom made for frogs as it is quite shallow and features an abundance of surface vegetation as the weather warms. However, I just couldn’t get much of a bite dialed in with my frog offerings. Enter the Spro Flappin Frog which was a game changer. The paddle feet on these lures were just what I was looking for as they generated more commotion than the rubber strand legs on the frogs I had previously been casting. Not only were the Spro models a hit on The Canal but the strip mine bass took a liking to them as well. Definitely the best frogs I have ever found.

Video
Today’s catch video features my Top Frog Bass of 2025 which was landed on my birthday. It represented the second heaviest “birthday bass” of all-time, falling two ounces shy of a 3-8 caught on July 23, 2017. This topwater strike had the added excitement of the bass visibly getting a bead on the frog from a distance. I have also included a slow-motion replay of the pursuit and strike to the end of the clip. As a long-time angler, it is cool to consider what instinctively takes place in the mind and translates to the retrieve in a matter of roughly two seconds. Seeing the initial wake of a fish in pursuit (at 1.04 seconds of the clip), I then made a slight pause in the retrieve as the frog was nearing a patch of weeds (at 1.51 seconds of the clip). My thought being that the weeds could adversely affect the accuracy of an impending strike. Another pair of quick twitches after the pause and it was game over for the frog (hookset at 3.09 seconds). Now, that fish was “hot” and probably would have gotten the lure even in the patch of weeds, but my brain said don’t take that chance and let the fish get a clean shot. Then again, I realized long ago that if a bass wants that frog, you can’t reel it fast enough for it to “get away.”

 

Last Cast
I found it fun that frogs took the Top Lure title in 2025 as the calendar window and prime conditions for frog fishing are more limited than many of the other lure types that have been covered over the last eleven days. My 2025 “frog season” started with frog bass number one on May 10 and ended with frog bass number ninety on September 21. Pretty much the normal window if I were to give a general estimate. While I will be tossing lipless cranks, chatterbaits, and grubs to start 2026, you can bet once the water warms and the weeds take hold, those frogs will be getting another workout.

And that’s a wrap on the 12 Days of 2025 Lures. It’s been fun researching and reminiscing on another successful year on the water. I have enjoyed the expanded version of the lure recaps via the “12 Days” as it has allowed me to evaluate beyond a brief paragraph for comments. In addition, it provided an opportunity to share some of the video amassed during one hundred and fifty-five hours on the water. More recaps to come as I put together a series of posts breaking down the locations that produced in 2025. Talk to you later. Troy

11th Day of 2025 Lures – Spinnerbaits

Posted on by Troy Jackson

 

Spinnerbaits
72 bass vs. 87 bass in 2024
War Eagle (white/chartreuse), Stanley Vibra Shaft (blue glimmer)
Top Bass: 4-14 Lake Storey – October 12
Top 5 Weight: 16-3 (4-14,3-6,3-4,2-6,2-5)

Comments
It’s hard to believe that it is going on forty years since I landed my first bass on a spinnerbait. And how rewarding that 2025 saw me catch the largest spinnerbait bass of my fishing “career” on a lake that I’ve been fishing since I was a kid in the 1970s. That lake, Lake Storey, really came through in terms of spinnerbait success as those bass were right where they were supposed to be. My entire 2025 Top 5 Spinnerbait bass came from Lake Storey and tipped the scales at an impressive weight of 16-3. In contrast, the bass on The Canal have turned up their noses to my spinnerbait offerings that last couple years so I have had to shift gears on that water (more on that tomorrow).

October 12 – Top Spinnerbait Bass at 4-14 (20.5″) from Lake Storey

History
I caught my first ever spinnerbait bass in the mid-1980s and have been casting them consistently ever since. I’ve got a rough draft of a series of posts that detail that history but have yet to get it written. One “chapter” of that series would be a spinnerbait that I called the “Blue Glimmer” which was a top lure in the 1990s-2000s. It is long out of production, but I broke one out again in 2025. Risky business on Lake Storey as it has a population of toothy muskies. The Blue Glimmer caught eight bass in a couple of hours, just like old times, before it broke off on a hookset (muskie?). I refrained from any bad words, wiped my eyes, tied on a War Eagle model, and kept on casting (and catching).

Video
For today’s post, you get two clips. I do not have catch video of the 2025 Top Spinnerbait Bass as my GoPro was not running due to operator error. I do have the celebration and release footage, however. Perhaps that is for the best as the Top Bass came from a “secret” spot. I do have footage of my Blue Glimmer catches and have also included a clip of the final catch as well as the demise of the bait.

 

 

Last Cast
I rely heavily on a spinnerbait, and my current favorite is a War Eagle model that features an orange blade which I like in the stained waters of The Canal and Lake Storey. I don’t employ it much on most of my strip mine waters as other baits set up better in the clearer, and sometimes deeper, waters. I thought that I had at least one more Blue Glimmer stashed away but I have not been able to track it down. Perhaps it will turn up and make another appearance one of these days. If not, it was a great run, and the War Eagle is an effective replacement as it only comes up short in terms of sentimentality.

Final lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy

10th Day of 2025 Lures – Lipless Cranks

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Lipless Crankbait
66 bass vs. 81 bass in 2024
Strike King Red Eye Shad (sexy shad or red craw)
Top Bass: 3-12 Lake Storey – September 29
Top 5 Weight: 12-5 (3-12,2-4,2-3,2-3,1-15)

Comments
Coming in at number three on the 2025 lure list are lipless crankbaits and they also occupy the third spot on the heaviest Top 5 bags of the year with a weight of 12-5. Lipless cranks are a favorite to employ on broad structures such as retrieving across flats, along the edges and over the tops of points, or parallel to extended stretches of uniform “nothing banks” (level depth stretches that don’t have a concentration of other cover). In each of these areas, the lipless crank lets me cover water fast as I am targeting active fish. These are reaction bites from the bass as opposed to tossing other lures such as worms or jigs that tempt the bass with a typically slower approach on specific pieces of cover (stumps, logs, rockpiles).

September 29 – Top Lipless Crankbait Bass at 3-12 (20.5″) from Lake Storey

History
Part of the fun in this year’s restructured recaps is recalling and researching the history of these lures. Prior to the 2000s, I rarely threw lipless crankbaits and I was missing out. Once I got on board, the lure paid great dividends. Should 2026 produce similar results to 2025, I will log lipless crankbait bass number 1,000.

Video
When a combination of structural and cover elements is blended on a spot, such an area needs ample time and casts. In the case of my 2025 Top Lipless Crankbait bass, I was working a secondary point with a flat covered in scattered rock debris around an extensive rockpile. If that doesn’t scream “cast here”, you need to re-enroll in Bass Fishing 101. The edited catch clip below features the cast that caught the bass, but the entire clip shows that this was the fifth cast to the area. Each cast was incrementally further from the shallows covering a slightly different parallel path back to the boat. Experience told me that there were fish around the structure and I was committed to working it over to find a bite.

 

Last Cast
I like to fish fast so lipless crankbaits are right up my alley. And each of the main waters that I fish have many spots that set up well for these baits. The shallow waters of The Canal are a good fit on the stretches that don’t get too choked with vegetation. A fair amount of my strip mine haunts are not prototype v-cut pits meaning that they feature a great many flats and shoreline ledges. And Lake Storey has a solid collection of expansive flats and gently tapering points. Suffice to say, lipless cranks will continue to cover some water (and catch some bass) in 2026.

Another lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy

9th Day of 2025 Lures – Plastic Worms

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Plastic Worms
40 bass vs. 88 bass in 2024
5” Yamasenko wacky rig (various colors), Yum 7” Power Bait Power Worm (blue fleck/firetail), Shaky Head Owner 3/8 oz. jighead with 7” Berkley Power Worm (tequila sunrise)
Top Bass: 3-4 Hennepin Canal – June 7
Top 5 Weight: 9-10 (3-4,1-14,1-10,1-8,1-6)

Comments
This year, I implemented a new type of worm presentation called a Shaky Head. The setup pairs a standup jighead with a worm that is rigged in a weedless fashion. I thought that it would work well on the deep weed edges and drop-offs of the strip mines and it was indeed a winner. In addition, my favorite plastic worm offering, a Senko wacky rig, continued to produce. Finally, I broke out an old original setup, the Texas rig, to fool a lone bass. Plastic worms have been around for a long time for a reason. They work.

June 7 – Top Plastic Worm at 3-4 (19″) from the Hennepin Canal

History
A Texas rigged worm was the only presentation I used when I caught the bass fishing bug in the 1980s. In 2005, I landed my first bass on a Senko wacky rig, and it revolutionized my worm fishing. The Shaky Head presentation joined the ranks in 2025 as I stepped out of the comfort zone after twenty years of relying almost exclusively on the Senko wacky rig. For 2025, only one of my forty bass came on the old Texas rig. The remaining catches were nearly evenly split between the favored Senko wacky rig (nineteen bass) and the new Shaky Head offering (twenty bass). Worms are winners and their application continues to evolve as noted by these various presentations.

Video
On June 7, I went in search of seven bites on a stretch of the Hennepin Canal to push my all-time total on the section to one hundred bass. After two hours and roughly a mile of water, I had six small bass in the log. Bass number seven of the trip was something special as it not only achieved my goal, but it also tipped the scales at 3-4 making it the largest bass I had ever landed on that pool of The Canal. With my mission accomplished, I put the rod down, rowed twenty minutes back to my truck, and headed home. Couldn’t have made up a better fish story if I tried.

 

Last Cast
The effectiveness of the Senko wacky rig means that my use of plastic worms is not going away. While I don’t use the wacky rig a whole lot on the dingier waters of The Canal, as long as I am willing and able to invest time hiking on the strip mines, the presentation will put plenty of bass in the fishing log. With the confidence that I gained in the shaky head setup, I suspect that it will get additional use as well. And perhaps it is time to give the classic Texas rig a few more casts.

Another lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy

8th Day of 2025 Lures – Chatterbaits

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Chatterbait
22 bass vs. 59 bass in 2024
Z Man Chatterbait (sexy shad or white) with various swimbait trailers
Top Bass: 4-14 Knox County public strip pit – April 19
Top 5 Weight: 11-1 (4-14,1-11,1-8,1-8,1-8)

Comments
As we enter the Top 5 lures of 2025 with today’s post, we are on to the heavy hitters from the tacklebag. Both in terms of numbers and weights. Of the five remaining lure types (including today’s post), the chatterbait came in with the fourth heaviest Top 5 bag of bass for the year with a weight of 11-1. For 2025, the chatterbait was equally at home on The Canal and the strip mines with eleven bass on each type of water.

April 19 – Top Chatterbait Bass at 4-14 (20.5″) from a Knox County public strip pit

History
I landed my first bass on a chatterbait back in 2007 and I was hit or miss on casting one for many years afterwards. In 2020, I made a commitment to invest more time with the lure and in the interim have caught two hundred chatterbait bass. The 2025 totals were down from previous years as I am a spinnerbait guy at heart and trended in that direction, particularly during my late season Lake Storey trips.

Video
The clip below features my biggest bass of the year (tied at 4-14). It is also the largest chatterbait bass that I have ever caught, smashing a 2-15 from Lake Storey in 2024. It came on a cast immediately after I had landed a short bass in the same area. My primary GoPro battery gave out shortly after landing this one but the entire cast, catch, and grab are on video. The customary weight guess and the release with all the data are also added to the end of the catch clip.

 

Last Cast
I have an affinity for tossing a chatterbait along shoreline ledges/drops and across extended flats/points. Much of my use of the chatterbait is predicated on where I am fishing regarding these types of structure. Another factor is if the bass turn up their noses to my spinnerbaits, I often resort to the chatterbait for a different look. Tough to predict what lies in store for 2026 as I will rely on feedback from the bass and my gut instinct as my days on the water develop.

Another lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy

7th Day of 2025 Lures – Buzzbaits

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Buzzbaits
20 bass vs. 77 bass in 2024
Booyah Buzzbait (snow white shad or black)
Top Bass: 2-6 Hennepin Canal – October 5
Top 5 Weight: 9-10 (2-6,2-2,1-14,1-10,1-10)

Comments
Like the situation with the Whopper Plopper (see Propbait post), diminished hours on The Canal led to diminished buzzbait catches. The public strip mines produced a handful on buzzbaits, and I even landed a buzzbait bass on Lake Storey which is a rarity for me. However, the shallow, weedy waters of The Canal are where buzzbaits shine and there just weren’t as many occasions to break out the lure in 2025.

History
Buzzbaits are a blast and can be big bass producers. They trail only jigs for the all-time Top 5 Weight breakdown by lure with a five bass limit weighing 25-15. While none of my 2025 catches came close to displacing any of those five fish, every cast with a buzzbait has the potential for a quality bite.

October 5 – Top Buzzbait Bass at 2-6 (17.5″) on the Hennepin Canal

Video
This bass on The Canal hit the bait between scattered patches of surface weeds in an open water area above abundant subsurface vegetation. Typical Canal conditions on the section of the main line west of Lock 24 and an ideal setup for casting a buzzbait (or a topwater frog). For this clip, I also added slow motion view of the strike which was quite an explosion. If you listen closely in the regular speed clip of the catch, you can hear the splash as well. Along with the potential for big bites, such strikes make topwater fishing exciting, and addictive.

 

Last Cast
Buzzbait production for 2026 will likely be related to the time that I spend on The Canal. I do have several strip pits that feature shallow water flats and ledges that set up well for buzzbait fishing. However, they can be a challenge during the warm weather conditions when the buzzbait bite is in full swing. Terrestrial vegetation on the strip mines makes for a tough hike to get to the water and shoreline aquatic vegetation can get so expansive that it is difficult to get the bait in front of the bass.

Next lure on the way tomorrow so talk to you later. Troy