Two more bass from South Carolina keep the update streak alive. These fish also fill the limit for one of our anglers and allows him to cull along the way.

Fish: Spotted Bass
Weight: 1-1
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: April 30
Weather: Bright sun with blue skies. Light wind.
Water temperature: 74 degrees
Location: Lake Keowee near Cane Creek Landing, West Union, SC
Lure: Silver and black 3 ½ inch shallow running Rapala
Comments: Fish caught while casting toward shore near tree branches hanging over the water.

Fish: Spotted Bass
Weight: 1 lbs. 3 oz.
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: May 4
Weather: Bright sun with passing clouds
Water Temperature: 73 – 74 degrees
Location: Lake Keowee, Seneca, SC along the South Cove County Park shoreline
Lure: Black and silver 3 ½ inch shallow running Rapala
Comments: Fished from 9 am to noon. Trolled the Rapala in about 10 feet of water. Also lost a bigger bass in the same spot using the same trolled Rapala as this fish. Caught an 11.5-inch bass earlier casting to shoreline structure.
Top 5 Weight: 8-7 (2-8,1-14,1-10,1-4,1-3) culls 1-1

Thanks, John, and keep on boosting that weight. And I have to say that those spotted bass are attractive as they certainly have a different look compared to their largemouth cousins. Good luck to all and talk to you later. Troy

Two more fish this week give a pair of anglers a significant boost. Jim Junk gets one bass closer to completing his Top 5 and I was able to fool what is currently our Top Bass of 2025. Read on for the details on the catches.

Weight: 2-14
Angler: Jim Junk
Date: April 16
Location: Peoria County Pond
Lure: Dark Sleeper
Angler Comments: Went out Wednesday after work. Four bass total, three short ones and this 2-14. All came on a Dark Sleeper in just under two hours of fishing.
Top 5 Weight: 9-10 (3-13,2-15,2-14)

Weight: 4-14 (20.5”)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: April 19
Weather: Partly cloudy/windy
Location: Knox County public strip pit
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (sexy shad) with Strike King Rage Swimmer trailer (sexy shad)
Structure: Flat/trough
Angler Comments: A chatterbait comes through in a trough that sits between an expansive point and a lengthy flat. Throw in a direct hit from the wind and you have a textbook spot that produced a big bite.
Top 5 Weight: 11-15 (4-14,1-15,1-15,1-11,1-8) culls 1-8

Good luck if you get out there and stay tuned for the full report from my latest outing. Talk to you later. Troy

I have had this report completed for nearly a week but work, life, and lethargy have combined to delay the submission. So, better late then never, here is the latest fishing report.

Stats
Date: March 30
Location: Hennepin Canal
Time: 12:30pm-2:45pm
Totals: 4 bass
Weather: Overcast/very windy/light rain, 59-55F
Water temperature: Not available
Lures: War Eagle Spinnerbait (white/chartreuse) with twin tail trailer – 4 bass
Top Bass: 1-8 Spinnerbait
Top 2 Weight (only two at 12” or better): 2-12 (1-8,1-4)

Starting lineup

Tune of the Trip
Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones (1969)

1:39pm – First bass at 1-4 (14″) on a spinnerbait

Notes and Nonsense

Weather – Initially, I had no plans to get on the water on this cool Sunday, but free time opened up and as the old saying goes “the best time to go fishing, is any time you can.” With the temperature reading just shy of sixty degrees, it sounded like it wasn’t too bad out there, but wind and lack of sun made things chilly. As the afternoon progressed, the “feels like” reading had dipped to forty-two degrees. Now, I can fish all day but on this afternoon I will admit that I wasn’t too disappointed in having a projected quitting time. And this time, I stuck to it.

Winning Lure

Lone Lure – On three out of the four trips this year when I have landed bass, success has come courtesy of a single lure per outing. In the case of this trip, it was a War Eagle spinnerbait that got the job done. Similarly, all catches on March 14 fell to a chatterbait, and on March 27, a lipless crankbait was a winner. Granted I am not knocking them dead with between two and four bass per outing, but it seems the bass are picky early in the season even though I present them with multiple offerings each time I hit the water.

Fellow Fisherman Report – The cooler than expected weather did not keep a couple other anglers off the water. I spoke with a kayaker mid-trip who was struggling for a bite. At that point, we both only had “one that got away.” A bank angler that I chatted with prior to my launch had fared better, reporting four bass in the general area of the lock. That turned out to be my total even though I fished a mile of water compared to his limited access. While I prefer having free reign of the entire stretch, there is something to be said about working over a small area more thoroughly when that is all you have available.

2:18pm – Top Bass at 1-8 (14″) on a spinnerbait

To the Rescue – As I began rowing upstream after my launch, I spotted the bank angler mentioned above with a bend in his pole. I had witnessed one of his earlier catches but in this case, he was snagged. I hollered at him to hold on, not break it off, and I would see what I could do from a boat. Luck was on our side as his crankbait was snagged on a submerged branch within reach for me. He thanked me for the assistance, and I told him that as an old bank angler myself, I was happy to help save a few bucks and maybe a lucky lure.

Four bass fell short of my expectations but considering it took me an hour to get the first one in the boat, I was happy with a solid finish. It’s been a slow start to the year and circumstances are keeping me off the water for another week. Luckily, I have a pair of secondhand reports from my brother, Brent, and some Trip Tunes to fall back on until I get back to casting. Talk to you later. Troy

Bass fishing is back in business as a pair of anglers add five bass to our 2025 Top 5 project.

Fish: Spotted Bass
Weight: 1 lbs. 14 oz.
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: March 18, 2025
Weather: Bright sun with blue skies.
Air temperature: Low 70s. Light wind.
Water temperature: 60 degrees
Location: Lake Keowee at Seneca, SC
Lure: Silver and black 3 ½ inch shallow running Rapala
Angler Comments: Trolled the lure for about an hour before catching a small spotted bass which I didn’t bother to measure. Attached the lure to the downrigger and lowered it to 22 feet in 50 feet of water. Within a few minutes I hooked and landed the fish.

Fish: Spotted Bass
Weight: 2 lbs. 8 oz.
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: March 18, 2025
Weather: Bright sun with blue skies.
Air temperature: Low 70s. Light wind.
Water temperature: 63 degrees
Location: Lake Keowee at Seneca, SC
Lure: Silver and black 3 ½ inch shallow running Rapala
Angler Comments: Stopped using the downrigger and ventured up a narrow arm and came to a place where bait fish were being chased on the surface. (The water temperature was 63 degrees. In the open areas of the lake the water temperature was 60 – 61 degrees.) I stopped the boat just short of three big, submerged logs. I made a few casts and finally a bass took the lure. The fish was on the other side of the logs, so I had to horse the fish over each log. It was just luck the line didn’t snag on the logs, or the fish didn’t throw the hook. The water was clear, so I saw it all happen.

Fish: Spotted Bass
Weight: 1 lbs. 4 oz.
Angler: John Kirkemo
Date: March 18, 2025
Weather: Bright sun with blue skies.
Air temperature: Low 70s. Light wind.
Water temperature: 61 degrees
Location: Lake Keowee at Seneca, SC
Lure: Silver and black 3 ½ inch shallow running Rapala
Angler Comments: I trolled the Rapala on my way to the boat ramp and hooked this fish in open water.
Top 5 Weight: 5-10 (2-8,1-14,1-4)

Weight: 0-15 (12.5″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 22
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 50F
Water Temp: Not available
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Z-Man Chatterbait (white) with Yamamoto Zako trailer (Tennessee shad)
Structure: Submerged log
Angler Comments: A reliable batch of sunken logs comes through again with a keeper.

Weight: 1-15 (16″)
Angler: Troy Jackson
Date: March 22
Weather: Partly cloudy/breezy, 50F
Water Temp: Not available
Location: Hennepin Canal
Lure: Strike King Red Eye Shad (red craw)
Structure: Drop
Angler Comments: A spot where I regularly break out the lipless crank comes through on the bait again with what is currently my Top Bass of the year.
Top 5 Weight: 6-1 (1-15,1-11,1-8,0-15)

Exciting to have another batch of submissions for a solid start. Here’s to many more so send them my way when you catch ‘em. The email address is troy@troyjacksonoutdoors.com and requires a picture of the fish along with the weight (minimum 12″ length and weight to nearest ounce) and whatever other information you are willing to provide. For me, the more information the better but if you don’t wish to divulge your stomping grounds, I understand. The concept of the Top 5 is to track your five biggest bass of the year boosting your weight as you land larger bass that boot smaller bass out of your creel

Good luck out there and talk to you later. Troy

Eleven years of the Top 5 project have seen over eleven hundred bass submitted by a varying cast of anglers. Being a fan of statistics, here is the latest look at the all-time numbers.

Group Totals = 1125 bass
2014 = 154
2015 = 106
2016 = 136
2017 = 79
2018 = 116
2019 = 95
2020 = 90
2021 = 92
2022 = 100
2023 = 88
2024 = 69

Submissions by month
266 April
187 May
152 June
136 March
108 July
75 September
68 October
41 August
38 November
33 February
13 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 = 842 bass
Public Top 5 Weight Record 32-2 (2014) vs. 19-9 (2024)
Private = 266 bass
Private Top 5 Weight Record 33-14 (2017) vs. 1-3 (2024)
Undisclosed = 17 bass

Boat vs. Bank
Boat = 605 bass
Boat Top 5 Weight Record 33-14 (2017) vs. 17-12 (2024)
Bank = 514 bass
Bank Top 5 Weight 40-14 (2014) vs. 18-14 (2024)
Undisclosed = 6 bass

The Baits (44 undisclosed)
300 Plastic Worms (Top Bass 6-8 Mark Balbinot 11/20/16)
124 Lipless Crankbaits (6-3 Mark Balbinot 10/20/18)
122 Spinnerbaits (6-14 Chris Schwarz 3/25/20)
89 Chatterbaits (5-15 Jim Junk 6/22/20)
87 Crankbaits (8-0 Kamryn Kaesebier 4/13/14)
66 Jigs (9-4 Jake Bresson 5/23/14)
55 Jerkbaits (5-10 Ty Hartlipp 6/5/14)
36 Buzzbaits (5-9 Troy Jackson 4/25/17)
33 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)
22 Topwater Frogs (6-11 Ty Hartlipp 6/11/14)
17 Propbaits (6-2 Jake Bresson 5/1/15)
14 Underspins (Top Bass 7-7 Mark Balbinot 12/11/16)
13 Poppers (3-1 Troy Jackson 9/25/01)
12 Tubes (Top Bass 5-0 Jake Bresson 4/28/15)
10 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
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)
*25-9 Jim Junk (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)
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)
20-9 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)
216-11 Troy Jackson
(20-14,22-12,21-3,26-13,15-9,14-4,18-12,20-0,18-9,21-10,16-5)
212-1 Jim Junk
(11-7,16-5,13-7,23-8,24-14,25-13,26-0,27-13,25-9,17-5)
168-6 Brent Jackson
(18-7,6-10,13-2,10-2,19-2,13-7,13-3,18-11,18-9,19-3,17-14)
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)
45-11 Mike Mooney
(22-13,4-9,18-5)
54-15 John Kirkemo
(10-8,6-14,8-0,11-14,7-210-9)

A lot to digest there and eager to see how year number twelve of the Top 5 project will shake out in 2025. Talk to you later. Troy