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R&B Report
John Gipson (Battle Ground, Ind.) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor, Mich.) won the R&B South Division Tournament on Lake Freeman recently.
Gipson and Noe caught 12.79 pounds by sight fishing spawning fish on the main lake and working spinnerbaits around stumps to trigger bedding bass that they couldn't see.
John and Danielle Sabatini (Galveston, Ind.) took second place with 7.29 pounds that included the Lochness Lures Big Bass prize with a 4.79-pound largemouth. The big bass came on a worm fished in 5 feet of water.
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Former Rolling Prairie resident Mitch Hayes has been inducted into the Indiana Bass Federation (IBF) Hall of Fame.
Doug Bradley of the Peru Bassmasters also was inducted.
Hayes, now residing in Rochester, was recognized for his dedication to bass fishing. He was an IBF member from 1982 to 2013, first with the Kankakee Valley Bass Masters and then with the Fulton County Bass Masters.
He was elected Zone 1 Director in 1986 and served until 2000, the first of three stints as zone director. He also served the organization as secretary. Hayes worked with Indiana University students to help create the first IBF website in 1995 and was the site coordinator from 2004-2010.
He was Editor for Indiana Bass News in 2012 and a tournament director for multiple Top 8's in Zone 1. He also was the tournament directory for the state finals at Wawasee.
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Casting Couples Report
Rick and Jennifer Kedik (Niles) had a limit of five bass, including one smallmouth, within the first two hours to win the Casting Couples opener ($270) at Pine and Stone lakes in LaPorte, Ind.
Seventeen teams completed with five limits reported and every team weighed in a keeper bass.
The Kediks upgraded all day long to finish with 10.32 pounds. The key to their success was using a Native Pride swing jig with a Trokar hook topped with an Erie Darter.