Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Monday, November 24, 2025
- Details
Butchers Baits Report
Jeremy Siler and Brock Howell locked up the Butchers Baits Anglers of Year title Sunday with a win at the Randle Chain.
Siler and Howell fished bladed baits in less than five feet of water to win the tournament with 12.12 pounds.
Manny Schwartz and Dennis Hochstetler were second with 11.10 pounds. They also took home the Big Bass pot with a 4.05-pound largemouth caught on swim jigs in 14 feet of water.
Third place went to Ray Lohr and Charlie Foutz with 9.06 pounds. They caught their fish on plastic worms and jigs in 14 feet. They finished second in the AOY race.
Siler and Howell won the AOY title with 68 pounds, followed by Lohr and Foutz with 66.01 pounds and Gary Butcher and Scott Smith with 61.04 pounds.
Butcher and Smith also had the biggest bass of the year at 5.06 pounds.
- Details
SMAC Report
Gary Butcher and Scott Smith caught one of the few limits weighed in during the Southwest Michigan Anglers Club (SMAC) season finale at Juno Saturday.
Butcher and Smith fished jigs and wacky worms around shallow docks to catch 10.65 pounds.
There were only three limits weighed in by the 14 teams.
Scott Crocker and Terry Smith also fished shallow with jigs and wacky worms to catch a 10.07-pound limit.
Third place went to Mike VanderReyden and Brett Gessinger with a limit weighing 6.13 pounds. They caught their fish by finessing Senkos through weeds in 5 to 10 feet.
Danny Linn and Adam Crocker won the big bass pot with a 3.46 pounder caught on a crankbait in six feet of water.
- Details
Arjay’s Report
A rainy evening on Diamond Lake didn’t hamper Ryan Hershberger as he fished alone and won three of the top prizes in the Arjay’s Weeknight season finale last Wednesday.
Hershberger won the tournament with a limit weighing 10.42 pounds. He also had the biggest bass, a 2.92-pound largemouth, and brought in the Jaywalker Restaurant junk fish with a pike weighing 5.68 pounds. He fished shallow weeds with a jig.
Noah Chambers and Jacob Meeker were second with 10.12 pounds. They fished drop shots and jigs.
Third place with 9.58 pounds went to Justin and Hunter Kosmerick who drop shotted in 8 to 10 feet of water.
Heath and George N Jody Musall were fourth with 8.96 pounds. They fished shallow weeds with jigs. Their biggest fish was 2.16.
The ClearH2O Tackle first out of the money spot in fifth, also with 8.96 pounds, was taken by Chris Yoder and Edward Bontrager. Their biggest fish weighed 2.08 pounds.
Maynard Hochstetler and Marvin Bontrager were sixth, earning the Michiana Outdoors News tackle pack.
Hochstetler and Bontrager won the Str-8 Up Mounts lucky dog pot, John Miller and Jonas Troyer Jonas took home the $50 gas cards and Justin Kosmerick won the 50/50 draw.
John Miller and Ashley Gibson won the season’s Anglers of Year title with the Kosmericks finishing second and Steve Martin was third.
- Details
D&R Sports Center Report
Neil Vande Biezen and Luke Gritter captured the D&R Sports Center season finale at White Lake in late August.
Vande Biezen and Gritter had a whopping 23.37 pounds that included a 5.62-pound bass that also won them big bass prize of the tournament.
Details on how the fish were caught were not made available.
Brian Burmania and Don Watts were second with 18.66 pounds anchored by a 4.67 pounder.
John Gipson and Evan De La Rosa finished a close third with 18.17 pounds.
Fourth place went to David Hoeker and Kyle Borst who had 17.53 pounds, anchored by a 5.16 pounder, the second biggest bass of the tournament.
Cole Zagrzebski and Branden Burrill were fifth with 16.51 pounds.
AOY Champs
In addition to the tournament, Randy VanDam and Myles Hanley clinched the season Angler of Year title.
They did it without utilizing forward facing sonar, grabbing a first, second, sixth 10th and 15th places in D&R Sports Events.
“We had a pretty good year,” said VanDam. “We caught fish at every event, and just scrapped out what we could get when it was tough. We primarily fished shallow stuff all year doing the ‘VanDam Power Fishing’ tactics. It still works, I guess.”
- Details
BASS Report
B.A.S.S. announced an update to its forward-facing live sonar (FFS) policy that will take effect during the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season.
Beginning in 2026, forward-facing live sonar will only be permitted in up to five of the nine regular-season Elite Series events. Which events allow the technology will be determined randomly. The remaining events will prohibit its use entirely, including during official practice. Restrictions implemented for 2025 — limiting anglers to one live sonar transducer and a maximum of 55 total screen inches — will remain in place. The 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour will allow FFS, since all qualifiers earned their spot under the 2025 rules.
This decision follows two years of careful evaluation. In 2025, B.A.S.S. scheduled a diverse set of fisheries to naturally limit FFS dominance, and winners in nearly half of the season’s events relied primarily on traditional tactics. However, live sonar still influenced outcomes across the board. Many stakeholders within the bass fishing community, including fans and B.A.S.S. members, continued to voice concerns about live sonar use and its influence on competition. Elite Series anglers, through the Angler Board of Professionals (ABP), also asked for more limitations for the 2026 season.
To address this feedback and preserve competitive balance, B.A.S.S. will blend tradition with technology: a hybrid schedule that both highlights innovation in bass fishing technology and ensures that traditional techniques remain central to success.
B.A.S.S. will reveal which tournaments will allow FFS during a live show on Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. CT on Bassmaster.com. Hosts Tommy Sanders, Mark Zona and Davy Hite will learn the results in real time alongside fans.
Events will be paired according to the schedule, with a coin flip deciding which one allows live sonar and which will not. The St. Lawrence River, the final stop of the season, will receive its own coin flip, meaning as many as five events could end up being non-FFS tournaments.
“Bassmaster competition has a long history of being the proving ground for new technology that enhances the sport,” said B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson. “While innovation should remain part of bass fishing, no single technology should define it. Listening to anglers, members and fans, we believe this balanced approach keeps competition diverse, entertaining and true to the culture of our sport.”
“B.A.S.S. was intentional last year in scheduling diverse fisheries to balance FFS use,” said Davy Hite, former Bassmaster Classic champion and Elite Series pro. “But the technology still impacted the results in nearly every event. This new rule is exactly what the majority of the ABP voted for — it creates amazing opportunities for fans to watch different skills shine, and it ensures our next Angler of the Year will be the most versatile angler on the planet. Whoever wins in 2026 will have to excel both with and without live sonar.”