Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Monday, November 24, 2025
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Nineteen months ago, Easton Fothergill was lying on a gurney in an Alabama hospital, awaiting surgery to remove an infected abscess from his brain.
Sunday afternoon, in front of thousands of fans at Dickies Arena, Fothergill stood tall as champion of the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
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FORT WORTH, Texas — All it took was 53 magical minutes on Lake Ray Roberts for Easton Fothergill to take complete control of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
The 22-year-old native of Grand Rapids, Minn., entered Day 2 of the Classic in third place, less than two pounds out of the lead. He had high hopes for Saturday morning, but it didn’t start out exactly as he planned, with only one bass in his livewell at 10 a.m.
Then, what he called “the 180” started — and what a turnaround it was.
Between 10:28 a.m. and 11:31 a.m., Fothergill caught three hogs that added a whopping 19-10 to his total. He finished the day with a limit of five bass weighing 29-6, giving him a two-day total of 54-5, exactly 8 1/2 pounds more than his nearest competitor.
No lead is too big, but the Classic compass clearly points to the young ace from the North Star State. And barring a complete collapse on Championship Sunday, coupled with one of his closest competitors yanking a huge sack of bass, Fothergill is a day away from winning the Ray Scott Bassmaster Classic Trophy and the $300,000 prize that goes with it.
Fothergill used sonar electronics to pinpoint his best bass. His flurry began when a jerkbait yielded a 6-13 cruising near the water’s surface. A 5-13 followed a half-hour later and 20 minutes after that, the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Seriesrookie dropped the hammer on a 7-pound hog.
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FORT WORTH, Texas — When Trey McKinney hopped onto the stage at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, the infectious beat of “Church Clap” by Christian hip-hop artist KB filled Dickies Arena.
Though conventional wisdom says don’t ever change what’s working, McKinney’s hype song might as well be “The Kids are Alright” by The Who, because things are, indeed, quite alright for the whiz kid from Carbondale, Ill.
McKinney, who celebrated his 20th birthday only last month, holds the Day 1 lead in the world’s most-celebrated fishing tournament. His limit of five bass totaled 26-9 and gave him a 1-pound cushion over Canada’s Cory Johnston, who’s in second with 25-9.
Rounding out the Top 5 in the 56-angler field are, third, Minnesota’s Easton Fothergill, 24-15; fourth, Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat, 23-7; and fifth, Texas pro Lee Livesay (who many pundits consider the favorite here,) with 23-0. The entire field will fish again Saturday, and the Top 25 anglers will make Sunday’s cut, with the winner pocketing $300,000 cash.
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By Louie Stout
Four more tournament circuits have been added to our Lake Drive Marine Events Calendar.
Arjay’s weeknighters, Butchers Baits, Michiana Walleye Club and Livin’ the Dream have submitted their circuits and they are now posted.
Arjay’s Weeknighters
The Wednesday nighters charge an annual membership fee of $10 per person and a tournament entry fee of $60 per event.
For more information, call Steve Martin, 269-858-6296.
Schedule
- May 28 Barton Lake
- June 4 Portage Lake
- June 11 Templene
- June 18 Diamond
- June 25 Klinger
- July 9 Fish Lake (Marcellus)
- July 16 Portage
- July 23 Corey
- July 30 Klinger
- Aug. 6 Templene
- Aug. 13 Randall Chain
- Aug 20 Coldwater Lake
- Aug. 27 Clear Lake
- Sept. 3 Diamond
- Sept. 13 Classic TBD
Butchers Baits
Entry fee is $80 plus an optional $10 big bass pot. Tournament officials say $50 of each entry fee goes to the payout with the remainder for trophies and Classic payout.
Contact Gary Butcher, 269 503 2706 for details.
Schedule
- June 1 Austin Lake, 6-1
- June 22 Coldwater Lake, 6-1
- July 13 Portage Lake 6-1
- July 20 Klinger Lake, 6-1
- Aug. 3 Long Lake (Portage) 6-1
- Aug. 24 Fish Lake Chain (Marcellus) 7-2
- Sept. 7 Randall Chain 7-2
- Sept. 28 Classic (TBD) 7-2
Michiana Walleye Circuit
You don’t have to be a member to fish their events but you will have $10 added to the $100 entry fee for non-members. Most tournament hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. unless designated otherwise.
For rules and other information, call 219-869-2119.
Schedule
- April 5 Bass Lake
- May 17 Pine Lake
- June 1 Sylvan Lake
- June 28 Winona Lake
- Aug. 8 Maxinkuckee ( 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.)
- Sept. 6 St. Joe River, Buchanan
- Sept. 20 Classic, St. Joseph River, Maggies
- Sept. 21 Classic, day 2 TBD
Livin’ the Dream
Barry Jones; Thursday night circuit charges a $40 entry fee and $20 membership per person. He says all tournaments will run 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For information, call him at 269-414-0892.
Schedule
- May 29th Clear Lake
- June 5th Stump Bay, St. Joe River
- June 12th Fish Lake Marcellus
- June 19th Long Lake in Portage
- June 26th diamond
- July 3rd Austin
- July 10th Clear Lake
- July 17th Klinger
- July 24th Cedar
- July 31st pleasant Lake
- August 7th Klinger
- August 14th Austin
- August 21st Fish Lake Marcellus
- August 28th Corey
- September 4th Long Lake in Portage
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By Louie Stout
Michiana Outdoors News has posted two more tournament circuits on our 2025 Lake Drive Marine Events Calendar, bringing the total to 10.
The schedule now includes the Casting Couples and the Northern Indiana Couples Circuit.
Also, our all-new calendar design is up we hope anglers find it easier to navigate.
Schedules and details of tournaments we received so far are listed below and in the order they were received. We encourage other tournament directors working on their dates to review these schedules to avoid scheduling on top of them.