By Matt Summerlot, Guest Columnist
Lake Maxinkuckee, “Lake Max” as the locals call it, has always been a special place for Hunter and me.
It’s where we first started fishing together as a team. Back in July of 2020, we fished a Wednesday night open out there. Hunter was just 7 years old. We were in an old Tracker TX17, fishing the channels, and stumbled into a frog bite that landed us five keepers. I still remember him pulling fish out of the livewell at weigh-in, proud as could be. We finished 4th that night, just out of the money, but it sparked something that’s grown into what we’re doing today. Fast forward a few years, and we found ourselves back on Lake Maxinkuckee, sitting 2nd in points in the Michiana Fishing League and looking to keep the momentum going.
We were able to get out Thursday evening for a short pre-fish and quickly realized things weren’t lining up with what we expected. Main lake temps were already around 62 degrees with the typical clear water Max is known for, drastically different from what I had expected. For being a larger body of water than the previous two lakes and not having that many warm days and a lot of rain, I expected the temperature to be closer to 56-58 degrees.
After checking a few grass edges and marking some fish, we made a move down towards the southern end of the lake and the finger channels. The water was darker, had less visibility, and more importantly, was warmer, sitting around 65–66 degrees and climbing the further back we went. On the very first transition into the channel, we caught three largemouth for roughly eight pounds in just a handful of casts, all on a black and blue chatterbait. That was enough to tell us we needed to focus on that area on Sunday, so we backed out and saved it. On the way out, we noticed a few smaller males up shallow making beds, so we put those fish in the back of our mind and continued back to the ramp.
Tournament morning didn’t exactly go as planned. What was supposed to be a mild day turned into 16–20 mph winds and upper 50s, and Lake Max showed its teeth right away. Anyone who has ever launched at Lake Max knows the ramp situation is not great. With an east wind and the waves crashing into the launch, things were a bit hectic. We drew boat #4, which we were excited about. Knowing a lot of teams would run to the channels, the early number should work in our favor, but we were a little cautious crossing the lake and got passed on the run, forcing us into a backup plan.
We always have some jitters first thing in the morning, and watching a good fish get caught off what was originally our starting area didn’t help, but Hunter settled us down quickly with a 1 pound, 7 ounce largemouth on a Pop-R off the outside edge of some pads. Getting that first fish early made a big difference.
From there, we worked behind a few boats and slipped into a back channel that normally doesn’t even have enough water to get into. Thanks to all the rain this spring, the water was 1–2 feet higher than normal, giving us just enough room to ease back in. That area ended up producing all our fish. We caught 15–20 bass throughout the day, most in that 1.5 to 1.75 lb. range, and were able to cull a few times. The chatterbait pattern held strong, with a black and blue chatterbait doing most of the work again. We also had a few bonus bites, including a surprise walleye on a square bill crankbait and a couple of short fish on a rattling Ned rig, but we never found the bigger bite we needed.
We finished the day with 8.48 lbs., good for 11th place. For a lake we have a lot of history with, it was a good day. Any time you can spend it on the water with your son, catch a pile of fish, and feel those competitive juices flowing, it’s time well spent. We’re still in a strong position in the standings and looking ahead to the next event on May 17. We knew the early portion of the season would be about managing points, as pre-spawn fishing isn’t typically our strongest, and we’ve done that so far.
Now we’re heading into the post-spawn period where we’re much more comfortable, and if things line up, the rest of the season could set up really well for us.