Tackle Shack Report
Richard Chupp Jr. and Sherry Wise caught 11.08 pounds on Ned Rigs on the St. Joseph River to win the Tackle Shack Open last weekend at 6 Span Bridge.
The couple fished next to wood in the main river channel and had the best action between 11:45 and 12:45. The fish shut off so they decided to give the spot a rest for 40 minutes. When they returned, they caught their two biggest fish that helped earn them the $475 first-place prize.
SWBBC Report
Bill Mathews and Kris Iodice offered a repeat performance in the Southwest Michigan Big Bass Challenge on the St. Joseph River.
The anglers, who won there last week with an impressive bag, backed it up with 18.94 pounds Saturday to win $250.
Tackle Shack Report
Justin and Hunter Brinkman made an adjustment after the first hour of the Tackle Shack Open at Duke’s Bridge (Waldron Chain) Saturday and it paid off handsomely.
The Brinkmans fished 14-16 feet deep the first hour without a bite, then moved to a 7-foot windblown corner of Jones Lake and proceeded to catch 14.70 pounds on 1/4-ounce custom traps. It earned them $725.
Joe Sears and Eben Lambert were second ($350) with 13.60 pounds caught on MegaBass jerkbaits in 3 to 7 feet of water.
By Al McGuckin
Bass fishing’s funniest man, Gerald Swindle is neighboring with a 19-year-old thoroughbred named Mistic that shows strong resemblance to Rainbow Brite’s talking horse, Starlite, during this week’s Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest on Lake Fork.
But the 2-time Bassmaster Angler of the year sits 16 points outside of making the 2021 Classic – so this is no time for horsing around.
Swindle has had a phenomenal career. He’s made 18 Bassmaster Classics, notched (55) Top 10s, and won over $2 Million dollars in prize money, but he’ll be the first to tell you 2020 hasn’t been up to his standards.
“I’ve had days this year when I felt like I fished well enough to win an AOY title, and other days when I fished my guts out and just didn’t catch ‘em the way I thought I would,” he reflects. “I’m not stressed right now, but I know I need a Top 20 this week to qualify for the Classic.”
By Al McGuckin
If you need two guys to accompany you on a five-mile jog, help you move furniture, catch you a fat largemouth, or simply share a laugh and a cold beer, you’d be wise to get ahold of Bassmaster Elite Series roommates Caleb Sumrall and Lee Livesay.
Just don’t play checkers with them.
“I still have a scar by my eyebrow from when I kicked Sumrall’s butt in checkers at Guntersville last month,” grinned Livesay over coffee at Lake Fork’s iconic Minnow Bucket.
Sure enough, the scar is still visible, but neither would confess exactly how the surface wound got there, only that checkers and laughter were involved.