Congratulations to Mark Balbinot as he repeats as Top 5 Champion with a record breaking bass haul of 33-14. This eclipses the former top mark of 32-13 held jointly by Mark (2016) and Jake Bresson (2014). A dominant year for Mark that also saw his haul singlehandedly establish new highs for several catch categories.

2017 also marked our first foray into including other species and while the submissions were sparse, I feel it was still a fun addition. All told, 2017 ended with 79 bass, 9 northern pike, 5 muskie, 5 walleye and a green sunfish via the contributions of eight anglers with all the details below, starting with bass and followed by the other species.

3/26 Bruce Zikowski 4-9 Newton Lake Lipless Crankbait 

2017 Totals (* = new record)
*January = 1 bass (no previous entries)
*February = 13 bass (old record 7 in 2016)
March = 10 bass
April = 11 bass
May = 13 bass
June = 1 bass
July = 11 bass
*August = 4 bass (old record 3 in 2015)
*September = 6 bass (ties record 2014, 2016)
*October = 8 bass (old record 5 in 2015)
November = 0 bass
December = 1 bass

5/20 Jake Bresson 5-2 Northern IL creek Swim Jig

Top 5 Weight by Month (* = new record)
*January = 2-11 (2-11) no previous record
February = 21-5 (5-2,4-14,4-2,3-15,3-4)
March = 22-15 (6-2,4-11,4-9,4-3,3-6)
April = 25-0 (6-0,5-15,5-9,3-14,3-10)
May = 26-14 (6-15,5-8,5-4,5-2,4-1)
June = 6-3 (only submission)
July = 21-0 (5-0,4-12,4-7,3-8,3-5)
August = 18-9 (6-6,5-11,4-3,2-5) (only four submissions)
September = 14-10 (5-2,3-0,2-9,2-4,1-11)
*October = 26-11 (7-4,6-8,5-10,4-3,3-2) – old record 22-11 in 2015
November = no submissions
December = 6-13 (only submission)

5/27 Paul Kessler 3-4 Emiquon Preserve Crankbait

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 68 bass
Bank = 11 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight (* = new record)
*Boat = 33-14 (7-4,6-15,3-6-13,6-8,6-6) old record 32-13 in 2016
Bank = 20-14 (5-2,4-3,4-1,3-14,3-10)

9/17 Brent Jackson 2-9 Lake Storey Spinnerbait

Public vs. Private
Public = 42 bass
Private = 37 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 27-7 (6-0,5-15,5-4,5-2,5-2)
Private = 33-14 (7-4,6-15,6-13,6-8,6-6)

4/15 Randy Sampson Sr. 6-0 West Central IL strip mine Crankbait

The Baits (* = new record)
Crankbaits = 16 bass (Top Bass 6-0 Randy Sampson Sr.)
Jigs = 12 bass (Top Bass 7-4 Mark Balbinot)
Spinnerbaits = 9 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Paul Kessler)
Plastic Worms = 8 bass (Top Bass 5-11 Troy Jackson)
*Buzzbaits = 6 bass (Top Bass 5-9 Troy Jackson)
Old record 5-8 Terry Isbell 9/14/14
Jerkbaits = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-4 Jake Bresson)
Swim Jigs = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-2 Jake Bresson)
*Creature Bait = 4 bass (Top Bass 6-15 Mark Balbinot)
Old record 6-1 Jeff Marshall 5/23/14
Lipless Crankbaits = 3 bass (Top Bass 4-3 Bruce Zilkowski)
*Inline Spinners = 2 bass (Top Bass 5-2 Jake Bresson)
No previous record
Swimbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 4-12 Randy Sampson Sr.)
Underspins = 2 bass (Top Bass 5-2 Mark Balbinot)
*Propbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-7 Troy Jackson)
No previous record
*Stickbait = 1 bass (Top Bass 6-6 Mark Balbinot)
Old Record 5-8 Randy Sampson Sr. 5/7/16
Topwater Frog = 1 bass (Top Bass 6-3 Mark Balbinot)
Tube = 1 bass (Top Bass 4-1 Jake Bresson)
Ultralight = 1 bass (Top Bass 3-1 Paul Kessler)

5/13 Mark Balbinot 6-15 Fulton County, IL strip mine Creature Bait

Monthly Top Bass (* = new record)
January
*2-11 Mark Balbinot (no previous record)
February
5-2 Mark Balbinot
March
6-2 Troy Jackson
April
6-0 Randy Sampson Sr.
May
6-15 Mark Balbinot
June
6-3 Mark Balbinot
July
5-0 Troy Jackson
August
6-6 Mark Balbinot
September
5-2 Jake Bresson
October
*7-4 Mark Balbinot (old record Mike Mooney 6-0 10/1/16)
November
No submissions
December
6-13 Mark Balbinot

7/9 Terry Jackson 3-5 Knox County, IL strip mine Plastic Worm

Top 10 Bass (* = new Top 10 all-time)
*7-4 Mark Balbinot 10/29 (#6 all-time)
*6-15 Mark Balbinot 5/13 (#8 all-time)
*6-13 Mark Balbinot 12/10 (#9 all-time tie)
6-8 Mark Balbinot 10/29
6-6 Mark Balbinot 8/27
6-3 Mark Balbinot 6/18
6-2 Troy Jackson 3/4
6-0 Randy Sampson Sr. 4/15
5-15 Mark Balbinot 4/14
5-11 Troy Jackson 8/21

3/4 Troy Jackson 6-2 Knox County, IL strip mine Jig

Angler Weights (* = new Top 5 record, old mark 32-13)
*33-14 Mark Balbinot (7-4,6-15,6-13,6-8,6-6)
26-13 Troy Jackson (6-2,5-11,5-9,5-0,4-7)
23-12 Jake Bresson (5-4,5-2,5-2,4-3,4-1)
23-11 Randy Sampson Sr. (6-0,4-14,4-12,4-11,3-6)
18-0 Bruce Zilkowski (4-9,4-3,3-15,3-0,2-5)
16-6 Paul Kessler (4-3,3-4,3-2,3-1,2-12)
10-2 Brent Jackson (3-2,2-9,1-11,1-6,1-6)
5-6 Terry Jackson (3-5,1-3,0-14)

5/27 Jayce Jackson 0-13 Henry County, IL pond Waxworm

Bonus Species – Green Sunfish
0-13 Jayce Jackson

Late May Jake Bresson 47.0″ Canada Jerkbait 

Bonus Species – Muskie
Total = 131” Jake Bresson (47”,31”,29”24”) on Rapala X-Rap
Total = 29” Troy Jackson on Mann’s Baby 1- crankbait

3/24 Jake Bresson 33.5″ Northern IL creek Tube

Bonus Species – Northern Pike
Total = 167.25” Jake Bresson (37.0”,35.25”,33.5”,32.0”,29.5”)

Late May Jake Bresson 26.0″ Canada Jig & Minnow

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

I’m up for another run if anyone out there wishes to play along again for a fifth year. And coming next week, a look at the grand totals and the Top 5 bass record book covering 475 bass submitted from 2014-2017. Talk to you later. Troy