Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Friday, October 10, 2025
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By Louie Stout
Cody Steckel
You probably don’t know Cody and Mike Steckel but you will want to meet them someday. They are a couple of Nevada anglers who visit Michiana each summer.
Cody is a Bassmaster Open angler and Mike is his dad, who fishes the Open as a co-angler. They fish major western circuits, so when they’re here visiting family in southwest Michigan, they try to find time to fish a tournament or two.
For example, they fished Arjay’s events on Diamond and Templene a couple years ago and finished in the money both times. They also have won big bass and finished third in a SMAC tourney on Millpond.
IKA Rigs
And, they do it largely with western tactics, like Neko rigs, Slim Senkos rigged wacky on drop-shot rigs and a lure rarely mentioned around here – the Yamamoto Ika.
“A lot of guys in this area throw Chatterbaits or some kind of frogs, so we try to show the fish something different,” says Cody.
The Steckels have been fishing the IKA for about five or six years. It’s one of their favorite lures on grass lakes.
The bait is similar to what you might call a solid tube bait with a skirted end. When rigged weightless, the bait glides as it falls. As goofy as it may look, it’s got good action and fish seem to love it.
Texas-rigged IKA
They rig it Texas style with a 4/0 EWG Gamakatsu. The hook goes in through the skirted end and the eye of the hook is completely embedded.
“When Texas rigging and pushing the hook through the body of the bait, don’t put the hook in the center of the bait,” explains Cody. “The hook-up ratio is low when you do that. If you go to 1/3 of the side, the bait will fold and get a better hook-up. I skin hook the barb in the top of the bait to keep it weedless.”
IKA with Open Hook
When fishing open water and away from potential snags, he also will rig it with screw lock (like a hitchhiker) and an exposed circle hook with a weed guard. It will give it free motion and limit line twist.
He fishes the Ika on 20-pound PowerPro Super Slick braid with a 10 to 12 pound fluorocarbon leader. He likes throwing it in pads or over weed beds, twitching it so the bait rises and falls.
“The bites are a little ‘tick’ or the line starts swimming off,” he says. “It’s amazing how many bites you can get on that thing.”
When he’s fishing eight feet or less he doesn’t add a weight to the rig. It’s heavy enough to cast without weight. Anything deeper than eight, he will put a 1/32-ounce nail weight in the non-skirted end.
Like most Yamamoto Baits, it tears up easily and you’ll catch a variety of species with it. But it is as fish catcher than can make a difference when the bite is tough or you want to show the fish something different.
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Seaguar Report
Denny Brauer
Bass fishing legend Denny Brauer had a remarkable Hall of Fame career, winning the Bassmaster Classic and 16 other Bassmaster Events.
Much of that success came by fishing shallow water, often with a jig. He's capable of fishing with any bass lure, but the jig is what he's known for, and he likely has more knowledge of fishing them than anyone. Now retired from professional bass fishing, Brauer spends most of his time on Lake Amistad in Texas, and a jig is a significant part of his fishing.
Brauer's approach to jigs is relatively simple, based on the fundamentals of choosing the correct gear and jig. These ten tips from the "Jedi of Jigs" will help you catch more fish with one of the most popular lures in bass fishing.
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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!