Jim Junk makes it three years in a row as Top 5 Champ, claiming the 2023 title with a weight of 25-9. Jim established an early lead in racking up a twenty-pound limit by late March and maintained that lead wire to wire. Overall, this year, eleven anglers pitched in to submit eighty-eight bass and a channel catfish. Read on for the final stats from our tenth year of the Top 5 project.

Bass Stats
2023 Totals (no submissions for Jan, Nov, Dec)
February = 2 bass
March = 7 bass
April = 32 bass
May = 20 bass
June = 9 bass
July = 10 bass
August = 2 bass
September = 3 bass
October = 3 bass

Top 5 Weight by Month
February = 6-10 (3-9,3-1)
March = 19-8 (5-1,4-5,4-4,3-5,2-9)
April = 24-0 (5-5,5-3,4-12,4-8,4-4)
May = 24-11 (5-9,5-6,4-14,4-10,4-4)
June = 11-6 (3-2,2-13,2-4,2-0,1-3)
July = 16-10 (4-1,3-5,3-3,3-1,3-0)
August = 7-5 (3-11,3-10)
September = 10-6 (4-4,3-2,3-0)
October = 11-3 (4-7,3-10,3-2)

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 35 bass
Bank = 53 bass

Boat vs. Bank Weight
Boat = 21-14 (5-6,4-7,4-4,4-2,3-11)
Bank = 26-0 (5-9,5-5,5-3,5-1,4-14)

Public vs. Private
Public = 85 bass
Private = 3 bass

Public vs. Private Top 5 Weight
Public = 26-8 (5-9,5-6,5-5,5-3,5-1)
Private = 8-4 (3-9,2-11,2-0)

The Baits
Lipless Crankbait = 24 bass (Top Bass 5-6 Natalee Townsend)
Plastic Worm = 23 bass (Top Bass 3-9 Troy Jackson)
Spinnerbait = 9 bass (Top Bass 4-7 Brent Jackson)
Chatterbait = 7 bass (Top Bass 5-9 Jim Junk)
Popper = 6 bass (Top Bass 3-11 Brent Jackson)
Grub = 5 bass (Top Bass 5-3 Troy Jackson)
Jerkbait = 4 bass (Top Bass 2-13 Brent Jackson)
Propbait = 3 bass (Top Bass 4-10 Troy Jackson)
Buzzbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 3-8 Brent Jackson)
Frog = 2 bass (Top Bass 4-1 Troy Jackson)
Swimbait = 2 bass (Top Bass 4-4 Jim Junk)
Jig = 1 bass (Top Bass 2-13 Brent Jackson)

Monthly Top Bass
February
3-9 Jim Junk
March
5-1 Jim Junk
April
5-5 Jim Junk
May
5-9 Jim Junk
June
3-2 Troy Jackson
July
4-1 Troy Jackson
August
3-11 Brent Jackson
September
4-4 Troy Jackson
October
4-7 Brent Jackson

2023 Top 10 Bass
5-9 Jim Junk 5/2
5-6 Natalee Townsend 5/26
5-5 Jim Junk 4/23
5-3 Troy Jackson 4/7
5-1 Jim Junk 3/5
4-14 Jim Junk 5/5
4-12 Jim Junk 4/9
4-10 Troy Jackson 5/6
4-8 Jim Junk 4/1
4-7 Brent Jackson 10/22

Angler Weights
Jim Junk 25-9 (5-9,5-5,5-1,4-14,4-12)
Troy Jackson 21-10 (5-3,4-10,4-2,4-1,3-10)
Brent Jackson 19-3 (4-7,4-4,3-11,3-8,3-5)
Natalee Townsend 7-9 (5-6,2-3)
John Kirkemo 7-2 (2-4,1-15,1-3,0-14,0-14)
Carly Jackson 3-10 (2-13,0-13)
Landon Hannam 3-8 (3-8)
Terry Jackson 2-11 (2-11)
Jayce Jackson 1-3 (1-3)
Julia Jackson 0-14 (0-14)
Zac Jackson 0-11 (0-11)

Other Species – Channel Catfish
2-3 John Kirkemo July 6 – Lake Storey

Well done, Jim, and thanks to all for participating for another year. And with the New Year upon us, let’s do it all again for an eleventh year. Send your 2024 catches my way at troy@troyjacksonoutdoors.com and stay tuned for a look at the all-time Top 5 stats covering 2014-2023. Talk to you later. Troy