Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
- Details
CastingCouples Report
Billy Mathews (Dowagiac, Mich.) and Kris Iodice (Chicago) - 1st Place
Billy Mathews (Dowagiac, Mich.) and Kris Iodice (Chicago) caught a five-fish limit bag of a Lifetime to win the CastingCouples Open at Webster Lake last weekend.
Their five bass total weighed 24.25 pounds and their big bass of the day was 5.47 pounds. They said they started in the shallow backwaters but were unable to get any bites. They moved to a bottleneck area of the lake where the fish were grouped up and getting ready to move shallow to start spawning. They used three hooks on their A-rigs in shallow weeds to catch the monster bag, with the biggest coming in the last half hour of the tournament. They took home $280.
- Details
(Editor’s note: Best on Tour is a free newsletter about fishing and the industry that is emailed to anglers. Sign up at https://bestontour.net/)
Best on Tour Report
Tournament Business
It is October and you and your partner just won the year end championship and the $20,000 cash prize that goes with it.
You drive home from the lake thinking about a new Lowrance Ghost Trolling Motor or Garmin Livescope along with something to keep your wife happy for letting you be gone in the first place. Maybe even a down payment on that new Skeeter FXR you have been looking at. You mentally spend the $10,000, your half of the winnings, before you even pull in the driveway back home.
The next day when telling your buddy at work, he asks “how much you owe in taxes?”
Taxes? You never even thought about that; how much could it be on $10,000? Your tax bill for that will be at least $2,500 and could go as high as $3,960 for just the federal portion, not to mention state taxes if they apply where you live.
- Details
Mercury Report
Tournament Fishing
Tournament fishing has a significant place and influence in the fishing industry. The innovations developed by tournament anglers drive a lot of trends in the sport. Tournaments also unite anglers on bodies of water across the country and around the world. These events shape how many anglers fish and help build wonderful communities around a shared passion.
Tournaments aren’t for every angler. A quiet evening on the lake is vastly different than an early morning blastoff on tournament day. But for some anglers, competing with and against friends makes fishing more enjoyable.
Thankfully, the opportunities in tournament fishing are nearly endless. Whether you’d like to one day compete as a professional on a major trail, or you’re happy to compete as a club angler on a local lake, there’s a tournament that’s right for everyone.
Here’s some advice on how to get started.
- Details
MWA Report
Heath Malone and Riley Cook - 1st Place
The Michiana Walleye Club had a tough time in their Bass Lake opener of the Don Shelton Memorial Tournament Series.
Heath Malone and Riley Cook won with two legal (14-inch) fish weighing only 1.52 pounds. They fished a jig and minnow along an 8-foot weed edge.
Kasey Conklin and Cameron Mead caught the only other legal fish to finish second.
The next tournament is April 30 at Lake of the Woods near Bremen, Ind. For more information see our Lake Drive Marine Events calendar or contact Rick Nichols, 474-993-1913.
- Details
Amy and Steve Martin Report
Lee Duracz and John Gast 1st Place
Lee Duracz and John Gast had the most weight in the Dennis Losee Benefit bass tournament on the St. Joseph River at 6 Span Saturday, but the real winner was the Losee family.
Dennis Lossee with some of his fishing buddies!
Twenty-three teams showed up to support and provide financial aid for fellow tournament angler Dennis Losee, who suffered a stroke recently and is saddled with major medical bills.
Dennis Lossee with the plaque winners
The event raised $3,000 for the Losees through donations and drawings, plus all of the top finishing teams donated their winnings back to the family.