Bob Stutzman (Mishawaka) and Carl Schnaible (Mishawaka) won the Michiana Walleye Clubs Between the Buns Challenge on the St. Joseph River at Maggies Landing last weekend.
The winners had four fish weighing 9.64 pounds, all caught near the end of the tournament. They used three-way rigs with Rapala stick baits in 10 to 11 feet of water. Their catch also included the Clear H2O Tackle Big Fish prize ($285) for a 3.55-pound walleye. They also won a bonus $50 for being the highest placing team using a Trailmaster boat trailer.
The father-son team of Rick Nichols (South Bend) and Jeremy Nichols (South Bend) was second with 5 fish weighing 8.90 pounds. The Nichols team had their limit by 8:30 a.m., focusing on a small area that had a sharp break from 12 to 18 feet. They used drop shot rigs with minnows and worked custom-painted jigs with crawlers slowly down the break.
Ed Szymczak (Osceola) and Dalllas Dunn (Indianapolis) were third with an 8.52-pound limit caught by winding Rapala crankbaits in shallow, slack water off main river channels.
Between the Buns provided half-pound cheeseburgers and fries to every angler after the weigh-in.
The event attracted 21 teams that brought 54 legal walleye to the scales for a total of 94.48 pounds.
The next event is June 7 on Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver, Ind. Anyone interested in participating should call Ed Szymczak, 574-707-5407.