R&B Report

Randy Kafka and Nate Bontrager - First Place

Randy Kafka and Nate Bontrager caught 13.56 pounds to beat out 50 teams and win the R&B Circuit tournament on the Barbee Chain.

Neither angler had been to Barbee in 2019, so they began on a weed line that produced for them years ago. Immediately they began getting bit on the inside edge with a 9K Elite Lures Chatterbug. It took just 90 minutes to get their limit.

As that bite dissipated, they moved to the outside edge and whacked them pitching a 9K Elite Lures Flipping Jig with B&N Custom Baits Kicker Jig Trailer. In all they caught 40 keepers. All fish came in a 100-yard stretch. They won $740.

The 12.93-pound limit weighed by Terry Schoettmer and David Brown earned them second place ($450) thanks to the Lochness Lures Big Bass ($400) - a 4.01-pound largemouth ñ that anchored their limit. This team spent time on both the Barbee Chain and Lake Tippecanoe. Interestingly, though, their biggest came from Grassy Creek between the lakes. Schoettmer recalls, "Rich Paton and Dave Morrow had just fished a stretch of pads in the creek and we were idling behind them. That's when David pitched his jig in and caught the big bass. It was great to do it in front of them!"

Most of their fish came on the flats with sporadic weeds. Schoettmer notes that the weeds had to be clean - "clear of the slime from the weed kills."

Trevor Paulus (Edwardsburg) and Dave Selig were third ($340) with 12.62 pounds. They slung jigs between 12-16 feet of water on the outside of weed edges.