Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Monday, November 24, 2025
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Arjay’s Report
Forward Facing Sonar (FFS) and drop-shot rigs ruled the Arjay’s Wednesday nighter at Clear Lake last week.
John Miller and Ashley Gibson - 1st Place
John Miller and Ashley Gibson won with a five-fish limit weighing 11.60 pounds.
Chris Yoder and Edward Bontrager - 2nd Place
Chris Yoder and Edward Bontrager were a hair behind with 11.58 pounds but they also brought in the Tackle Shack LLC big bass with a 3.72-pound largemouth.
Hunter and Justin Kosmerick - 3rd Place
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(Editor’s note: We apologize for the delay in posting this.)
Tackle Shack Report
Sometimes it just pays to wing it.
Bill Mathews and Steve Martin - 1st Place
That’s what Bill Mathews and Steve Martin did in the Tackle Shack Tournament on Lake St. Clair last weekend.
With the Mathews, a top angler in Michiana, as a substitute partner, the team never got a practice day yet went on to win the event with 21.35 pounds on a wind-blown Lake St. Clair.
“Bill and I just winged it,” said Martin. “No practice – we just set out at 2:45 a.m. on a hope and a prayer. We really only had a couple spots in mind to try. Bill punched in the coordinates on the Lowrance and we set sail.”
And they battled big water to get to the first spot.
“Our destination was roughly 10 miles away,” adds Martin. “The first half was fairly smooth then reality set in and we were catching air and crashing waves, so I just brought her down and put the nose in the air and took our time the next five miles. It was sketchy to say the least but we got there.”
They fished that spot and a few others, scrapping together a big limit that carried them to the $2,000 first place prize.
“We fished the ol’ NED rig, a jig and a Fluke-style minnow bait,” described Mathews. “We targeted 12- to 18-feet of water. It was a slow day; we caught two early, but then had a few hours without a keeper. We moved areas and then started catching keepers every hour or so, but they were the right ones. We made a key cull in the last hour or so to get rid of our last little one. We only fished U.S. waters.”
Chase Fennell and Josh Brandenburger - 2nd Place
Chase Fennell and Josh Brandenburger pocketed $1,400 for second place with 20.62 pounds.
“We caught everything in 10- to 12- feet of water on two different stretches,” said Brandenburger. “We caught them on jighead minnow and an A-rig, with a few coming on a drop shot. The afternoon was the best bite. All fish were caught in US water. The Canadian fish seemed to be smaller when we pre-fished.”
Jeremy Bunnell and Eben Lambert finished third ($900) with 19.11 pounds. (No picture provided)
“We caught everything between 9 and 12 feet with drop shot and Ned rigs,” said Bunnell. “We didn’t venture far from Anchor Bay.”
Andrew Jr Troyer and sub Hunter Brinkman - 4th Place
Fourth place ($500) went to Andrew Jr Troyer and sub Hunter Brinkman with 19.60 pounds.
“They all came on a drop shot and variety of MaxScent baits,” explained Troyer. “We fished 18 to 19 feet and all of our fish were caught in the first 2 1/2 hours. We only culled twice and fished our primary area until 11 when it was getting too rough. We caught everything on U.S. side.”
Shawn Kertai and Heath Hawkins - Big Bass
Big bass honors ($500) went to Shawn Kertai and Heath Hawkins with a 5.89-pound Smallmouth, which barely beat out a 5.88-pound smallmouth caught by Strock and Yoder.
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LMBT Report
Cameron and Jeff Crussemeyer - 1st Place
Cameron and Jeff Crussemeyer won the Little Money Bass Tournament (LMBT) on Palmer Lake over the weekend.
The Crussemeyers caught 10 pounds, 5 ounces on jigs in shallow water.
John Dixon and Steve Martin - 2nd Place were second with 10-1. They also said they caught their fish on Jigs in shallow water. They also had the biggest bass of the tournament, a 3-1.
Dave Dowden and Don Miles had 9-4 for third. They used Senkos and jigs.
The next LMBT tournament is Sept. 7 on the St. Joseph River at Maggie's landing. Visit the Lake Drive Marine Events Calendar on this website for details.
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SMAC Report
Jordan Smith and Derek Kelly - 1st Place
Jordan Smith and Derek Kelly won the Southwest Michigan Anglers Club tournament on Diamond Lake Tuesday night.
The winners fished drop-shot rigs in 10 to 15 feet of water.
Terry Smith and Scott Crocker - 2nd Place
Terry Smith and Scott Crocker were second with a 9.05-pound limit caught on wacky rigs in 6 feet or less.
Courtney and Bill Mathews - 3rd Place
Courtney and Bill Mathews finished third with only three fish, but they also had a 4.18-pounder that earned them big bass honors. Their 8.98-pound sack came in less than 6 feet of water on jigs.
Paul Groves and Scott Kulp - 4th Place
Paul Groves and Scott Kulp were fourth with four bass weighing 7.77 pounds. They fished jigs in 12 to 16 feet.
The tourney drew 18 boats with 55 bass (94.08 pounds) weighed in, two of which were smallmouth.
The next SMAC event is Saturday at Paw Paw. Visit the Lake Drive Marine Events Calendar on this page for details.
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D&R Sports Report
Bo Thomas and Kurt Antonowitsch - 1st Place
Bo Thomas and Kurt Antonowitsch tightened their grip on the “Team of Year” title by winning the West Michigan Bass D&R Sports Series tournament on wind-blown Lake St. Clair last weekend.
The winners, who also won the D&R event on Muskegon lake earlier this year, had 22.32 pounds, anchored by a 4.62 smallmouth.
“Anchor bay was huge because it helped keep us out of the wind,” said Antonowitsch. “A Baby Z Too drop-shot rig did most of the work for us. We just had to search around and find those fish roaming out there."
Cody Fisher and Cody Kelley - 2nd Place
Cody Fisher and Cody Kelley finished second with 22.29 and had the second biggest bass of the tournament, a 5.55.
Mark Smith and Mark Webber - 3rd Place
Mark Smith and Mark Webber had the biggest bass of the tournament, a 5.68, that lifted them to 21.5 pounds and a third place finish.
McLane May and Nicholas VanDam finished fourth with 20.59 pounds. Their biggest bass weighed 4.89.
Matt Gorham and Cody Deatsman - 5th Place
Fifth place went to Matt Gorham and Cody Deatsman with 20.17 pounds.
The next event is Aug. 24 at White Lake.