R&B Circuit Report

John Gipson (Battle Creek) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor) First Place

John Gipson (Battle Creek) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor) beat out 43 teams with 12.78 pounds of smallmouth bass to win the R&B Circuit event on Lake Maxinkuckee.

The winners found the spawning fish in practice the day before and targeted them the next day. They caught over 50 fish with tubes, wacky rigs, and jerkbaits, which included the second biggest fish of the tournament - a 2.80 pounder. They won $875.

The father-and-son team of Brad and Clay Sterling had an identical plan as the winners to finish second ($450) by weighing a 12.21 pounds. They caught the bedding smallmouth bass with tubes and darters. They caught over 40 bass throughout the tournament.

Cody Bennett and Kyle Kaser (Mishawaka) weighed spawning smallmouth as well to finish third ($330). They began by targeting largemouth bass in channels, but quickly realized they were not large enough. They used drop shot rigs for the bedding fish, but also caught several key fish with jerkbaits while searching for beds.