Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Monday, November 24, 2025
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John Gipson (Lafayette, Ind.) and Jim Weaver (Dowagiac, Mich.) teamed up to catch 16 pounds, 10 ounces of bass on jigs at Paw Paw Lake to win ($330) the Clear H2o Southwest Michigan Big Bass Challenge last weekend.
Eric and Bob Schoolmaster (Kalamazoo) were second ($180) with 16-5 caught on creature baits while Herman Barry (Watervliet, Mich.) fished alone and finished third ($100) with 15-2 in four fish caught on craws. Dan Linn (South Bend)) and Adam Crocker were fourth ($45) with 9-10 while Darrin Schaap (Edwardsburg, MI) and AJ Hurt were fifth ($40) with 9-5.
Barry won the big bass pot with a 5-1 smallmouth caught on a craw-style bait.
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 Terry Smith (South Bend) and Scott Crocker (Niles) |
 John Gipson (Lafayette, Ind.) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor) |
The Southwest Michigan Bass Club (SMAC) announced results of two recent tournaments.
Terry Smith (South Bend) and Scott Crocker (Niles) won ($330) tournament on Paw Paw Lake with five bass weighing 18.10 pounds.
John Gipson (Lafayette, Ind.) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor) were second ($200) with 17.98 pounds and also had Big Bass, 4.86-pound largemouth. Andy Jenkins and Scott Beard (Elkhart) were third ($120) with 17.55 pounds while Steve and Austin Hurt (Niles) were fourth ($50) with 16.5 pounds.
 Andy Jenkins and Scott Beard |
 Steve and Austin Hurt |
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John Gipson and Mike Rappette won the Clear H2o Southwest Michigan Big Bass Challenge last weekend on Pipestone Lake.
The winners ($310) had 15 pounds, 12 ounces, all caught on tube baits and craws.
Lee Duracz and Clint Marler were second ($150) with 12-9 caught on tubes while Herman Barry and Adam Doyle were third ($80) with 11-8 caught on craws. Barry and Doyle also won the big bass pot ($80) with a 3-13 caught on a craw.
The next tournament is on Paw Paw Lake May 31 followed by Magician Lake June 13. Entry fee is $45 with 100% cash payback.
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Teddy Bradley (Mishawaka) and Tom Bell (Mishawaka)It’s safe to say that Lake Maxinkuckee at Culver, Ind. was red hot last weekend.
There were 51 limits and more than 260 bass taken to the scales during the R&B circuit tournament there.
A 12.41-pound limit of smallmouth caught by Teddy Bradley (Mishawaka) and Tom Bell (Mishawaka) beat 57 teams to claim $847. The team caught 30 keeper bass by fishing "history." They simply targeted waypoints on their GPS units from bedding smallmouth from previous years. They found 20% of those waypoints held bedding fish again. When found, they threw Erie Darters and drop shot rigs to coax them into biting.
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Mark and Suzette Michael (Union City, Mich.) had five keeper bass weighing 9.82 pounds to win the Casting Couples tournament on Pine and Stone lakes in LaPorte.
The winners never started their big motor and fished Poor Boys Wigglers wacky-style in 4-6 feet of water to catch their fish.
The brother and sister team of Mike Martin and Jennifer Hibner (LaPorte) had four keepers totaling 7.26 pounds to finish second. They used Senkos and a frog in 2-4 feet of water.
Rick and Jennifer Kedik (Niles) only had two fish, but one of them weighed 4.08 pounds that earned them third place and big bass honors. They fished jigs in 4-6 feet.
The next event is on Magician Lake June 20th from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Call Rick (269)240-4917 for more information.