Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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By Louie Stout
A popular Michiana tournament circuit may not permit the use of forward facing sonar (FFS) electronics this season.
Scott Crocker, tournament director for the Southwest Michigan Anglers Club (SMAC), said he has received a lot of feedback from anglers who are requesting FFS not be allowed during SMAC competitive events this summer.
“I’m giving it serious consideration,” said Crocker. “Some of our regulars said they’re tired of getting their butts beat by guys with expensive electronics. I understand that. I fish with Terry Smith and his graphs are 20 years old and don’t even have GPS!”
Crocker noted that some national tournament groups are considering a similar move.
Bassmaster formed a committee to study the impact of FFS during its Elite events this year before deciding upon whether some restrictions are required for 2025. A few larger regional events have banned them.
“The circuits with co-anglers are having trouble getting non-boaters to fish with guys using FFS because the co-anglers are stuck in the back of the boat and have very little chance of catching fish,” he said. “I don’t want to lose our anglers because of it.”
Crocker advised anyone who wants to call him to complain should make sure he’s got all the facts, because - you’ve been played!
Happy April fool’s Day from Michiana Outdoors News and SMAC!
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By Al McGuckin
Matt Arey
If Matt Arey’s boat number at this year’s Bassmaster Classic is any indication of good things to come, then #22 might just lead to first place. Arey is the ultimate ‘girl dad’ and his two young daughters love Taylor Swift’s hit song “22”.
Arey admits his soul’s still not over dancing as a bridesmaid following his second-place finish to buddy, Hank Cherry at the Bassmaster Classic in Fort Worth three years ago. But the North Carolina angler’s track record of Top 5 finishes on Grand Lake are astonishing enough to make him a strong favorite to finally touch the first-place trophy that’s eluded him thus far.
In FLW Costa series events on Grand Lake, he bagged a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finish between 2015 and 2017, but much like the Bassmaster Classic, never quite secured a victory.
“Those three finishes were a mix of mostly bed fishing, but also moving slow with a jig in the pre-spawn. I just feel at home in Ozark area lakes because you can visually read the shoreline transitions without depending on forward-facing sonar. Grand Lake, much like Beaver Lake, is a pattern-oriented lake, and I like that. Emily and I built our home using my winnings on Beaver Lake,” smiles the Team Toyota angler.
Arey’s track-record as a pro is tough to rival, 15-straight end of the year championships, including five straight Classics since joining the Elite Series, but still a win has escaped him like a blackjack oak leaf being blown by the March winds that come sweeping down the Oklahoma plains.
“I’ve had some very, very, special weeks on Grand Lake, but not quite special enough,” laments Arey hours before the start of the 54th Bassmaster Classic.
A consummate professional and fantastic family man, it’s hard not to root for Arey to finally put his hands-on pro bass fishing’s most coveted trophy. If he does, count on Taylor Swift’s song “22” to be a part of the music played at the Champion’s Toast party Sunday night in Tulsa.
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By Louie Stout
Rex Remington of Freeland, Ind. with new Indiana record smallmouth bass
It’s official. Indiana has a new smallmouth bass record.
Rex Remington of Freeland, Ind. caught the 8.23-pound smallmouth from Lake Monroe on March 5. The fish measured 23 inches and had a 17½-inch girth.
No one was more surprised than the 60-year-old angler who lives 30 minutes from the lake. He thought the big fish he hooked was a largemouth until he got it into the bottom of his 2004 Skeeter bass boat.
Remington was fishing a Berkley Stunna jerkbait on a rocky bank near a channel swing around 11 a.m. when the bass hit. His boat was sitting in about 10 feet of water and he was casting at a 45-degree angle.
“I caught a small largemouth, lost one and caught one about 4 pounds there,” says Remington, who has fished Monroe for 30 years. “So I knew I was in a good area.”
With the water temperature hovering at 45 degrees, he was working the jerkbait slowly; two twitches and a long pause.
When he tried twitching again, the bait didn’t move. He jerked his St. Croix rod and the battle was on. He fished with an “old” Quantum reel and 12-pound Seaguar InvizX line.
“I knew it was a big fish but had no idea it was a smallmouth,” recalls Remington, who has a few caught nice smallmouth from the lake. “He bulldogged pretty good and ran my drag, but I eventually got the fish into the net.”