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Tackle Shack Report

Steve Martin and Floyd Wolkins - 1st PlaceSteve Martin and Floyd Wolkins - 1st Place

A big smallmouth late in the day helped lift Steve Martin and Floyd Wolkins to the Tackle Shack Fall Brawl title on the St. Joseph River at 6 Span Bridge Saturday.

The tournament drew 29 teams who also helped raise money for Toys for Tots and the Forrest River Fishing Group conducted the weigh-in.

Martin and Wolkins used a mixture of A-rigs, glide baits and Chatterbaits to pocket $1,200 for first and $580 for big bass. More importantly, says Martin, it was the decisions they made.

“We didn’t have the greatest starting position so we picked a spot where no one was fishing and worked that pattern in similar areas,” he says. “It worked to perfection, which usually isn’t the case. We had an 11-pound limit in the first hour. We upgraded a few times by fishing bigger baits and Floyd wanted to try one more spot. I jumped on the back of the boat and hurled my A-rig over a nearby hole. That’s when the big one hit.”

That smallmouth weighed 4.50 – huge for the St. Joseph River – and they culled out a 2 ½ pounder. They went back to the ramp and loaded early, knowing they were in good position to do well.

In the MoneyIn the Money

Kevin Miller and his son Trevor finished second with 10.62 pounds, good for $800.

“We culled once in the first hour and never upgraded the rest of the day,” said Kevin. “We focused on 3 to 5 feet of water. Baits that did the most damage were swimbaits and Senkos.” 

Lee Duracz and Terry Burgess used a mixture of baits to finish third ($550) with 10.24 pounds.

“Our first fish was the biggest and it was caught on topwater,” offers Duracz. “The second was in a current seam on a Ned rig, third was caught on a Ned under a dock, and the fourth was under a dock on a wacky worm.  Every fish was about an hour apart - just slow & steady.“

Dominick Tirotta and James Siguenza finished fourth ($350) with 8.50 pounds.

“We started fishing for largemouth, but they weren’t cooperating, so locked in on throwing swimbaits up against the bank,” explains Tirotta.  “The key for us was just covering a ton of water.”