Teddy Bradley (Mishawaka) and Tom Bell (Mishawaka)Its safe to say that Lake Maxinkuckee at Culver, Ind. was red hot last weekend.
There were 51 limits and more than 260 bass taken to the scales during the R&B circuit tournament there.
A 12.41-pound limit of smallmouth caught by Teddy Bradley (Mishawaka) and Tom Bell (Mishawaka) beat 57 teams to claim $847. The team caught 30 keeper bass by fishing "history." They simply targeted waypoints on their GPS units from bedding smallmouth from previous years. They found 20% of those waypoints held bedding fish again. When found, they threw Erie Darters and drop shot rigs to coax them into biting.
The return of Dave Miller was an inspiration to all in attendance. In his first tournament since being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia last fall, Miller (Bremen), along with partner Craig Chupp (Goshen), put together a 12.18 limit against the toughest field in Michiana. This limit included the second biggest bass of the tournament, a 2.98-pound fish.
Miller exclaimed, "I am just grateful for every opportunity to fish now." All of their fish came from a drop-shot rig armed with Zoom Finesse Worms rigged wacky style. The high finish awarded them $544, while the big fish earned them another $114.
With an 11.83 pound limit, Gary Price (Goshen) and Jim Meadows (Cassopolis) won $383. Their pattern included throwing a Strike King 1.5 crankbait in water between 3-8 feet deep until they came across a bedding fish. They caught 10 keepers on the crankbait and plucked another 10 off of beds.
Kyle Seljan and Tim Rasala won the Money Mouth Big Bass prize ($314) with a 3.14-pound largemouth to win $456.
The next tournament will be held June 20 out of Portage, Indiana where the weigh in will be held at Bass Pro Shops. More information can be found at www.randbbasscircuit.com.