Winners Gardenour and WareMatt Gardenour (Fort Wayne) and Josh Ware (Fort Wayne) hauled in a 17.83-pound limit of largemouth to beat out 65 other teams in the R&B Bass event on Lake Wawasee last weekend.

The winners’ fish, including a 5.02-pound largemouth, were caught in channels with a combination of reaction baits, including lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits, and jigs. Their big fish was fooled with a jig. Channels with dark bottoms were the most productive. They were awarded with $983 for the win and another $132 for the second largest bass weighed in.

Wawasee veterans Greg Mangus (Fremont) and Kevin Fletcher (Elkhart) caught 20 keepers by focusing on windy points on Lake Wawasee to finish second ($632). Their 15.21 pounds came on on Erie Darters, spider grubs, jerkbaits, and jigs, but their best fish came on a spider grub fished between 8-12 feet of water.

The father-son team of Don and Joe DiMarzio landed 12 pounds from Lake Wawasee by throwing Erie Darters on a break that fell sharp from 10-15 feet at the end of a flat. They took home $456.

Big bass – Gipson Jr. and NoeThe Money Mouth Baits Big Bass ($528) was a 6.26-pound behemoth landed by John Gipson, Jr. (Lafayette) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor). The fish, which earned them $528, was caught on a Max Jig.

The next event is May 17 at Lake James. More details can be found at www.randbbasscircuit.com.