Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Friday, April 24, 2026
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SMAC Report
Man, what’s going on at Corey Lake?
Four Flags was there over the weekend and it took less than 7 pounds to win. The Southwest Michigan Anglers Club was there Tuesday night and the weights were incredibly low again.
Derek Kelly and Jordan Smith prevailed in the SMAC derby with a whopping 7.33-pound limit, and that included big bass of the event, a 3.61-pound largemouth. They caught their fish in 10 feet of water and caught their fish on the BAFA Primal Jig.
There were 42 bass weighed in and they averaged less than a pound apiece. There was one smallmouth taken to the scales.
Second place went to Jordan and Dan Gipson with a limit that weighed 5.89 pounds. They fished drop-shot rigs and Chatterbaits in 15-20 feet.
Brad and Clay Sterling were third with a limit totaling 5.21 pounds. They were caught on Senkos in 7 feet or less.
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Stars and Stripes Report
Bill Mathews and Kris Iodice caught 13.80 pounds to nudge out Jeff Ogletree in the Stars and Stripes Tourney at Austin Lake last weekend.
The difference maker was a 4.59 pounder that the winners caught and that also earned them big bass of the event.
Nearly one-third of the fish weighed in during the event were smallmouth. Topwaters and worms are said to be the key to most of the bites that competitors got.
“We targeted shallow fish all day long,” says Mathews. “The morning bite was surprisingly tough, but we picked off a limit in about 1.5 hours on a BAFA Primal jig, a Whopper Plopper and a popper. We continued to fish around docks and flats and made small culls throughout the day.”
He said the shallow bite really picked up for them later in the day. Kris caught their big bass and then Bill followed up with a few nice 2+ pounders that culled out smaller fish.
“Then with about 20 minutes left, I caught a 3 pounder skipping a BAFA primal jig (3/8 ounce magic craw) under a dock,” Mathews adds. “It culled out a 1.7 pounder.”
Ogletree had 12.89 pounds by fishing shallow around docks with a Zoom worm.
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Four Flags Report
Man, you talk about tough fishing!
That’s what Four Flags competitors experienced at Corey Lake last weekend.
Rob and Kim Swem won with a whopping with 6.14 pounds that also included big bass of the event, a 3.31 pounder. They won ($252 and $90) by fishing Senkos and jigs in 6 to 10 feet.
Jeff Bostic and Dan Posey were a close second ($108) with 6.02 pounds. They caught their fish on Senkos, grubs and assorted drop shot baits in 2 to 12 feet of water.
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Butcher Baits Report
Mike Lougeed and Kelly Warner landed a 4.05-pound bass that carried them to a big lead and victory in the Butchers Baits Tournament at Fish Lake Chain in Marcellus, Mich. Sunday.
The team’s total weigh was 12.13 pounds that were caught on jigs in 2 feet of water.
There was a tie for second with Cody Brown and Cody Zimmerman breaking the tie with a bigger big bass. They had 9 pounds, caught in 10-15 feet by using a drop-shot rig. Mark Flotow and Randy Walls also had 9 pounds caught on Senkos and jerkbaits on 6-foot grass flats. The last event is Sept. 7 at the Randall Chain, with launch at the Waffle Farm Campground with a $5 parking fee.
League standings heading into the final tournament are: Ray Lhor and Charlie Foutz with 56.11 pounds, Gary Butcher and Scott Smith with 56.09 pounds, and Jeremy Siler and Brock Howell with 55.04 pounds.
Big Bass for the season is led by Butcher and Smith with 5.06 pounds.
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SMAC Report
Danny Linn and Randy Starkey got their first tournament win Saturday in the Southwest Michigan Anglers Club (SMAC) at Eagle Lake.
Linn and Starkey fished crankbaits and wacky worms in 8 feet of water to catch a limit weighing 10.07 pounds.
Jeff Stankovich didn’t crack the top three, but he blew everyone away with big bass of the tournament, a 5.18-pound largemouth caught in shallow water on a Chatterbait.
Second place went to Rusty Robinson and Mike Fletcher with a 9.90-pound limit. They fished drop-shot rigs and swim baits in 14 to 18 feet.
Brad and son Clay Sterling were third with 9.61 pounds. They fished tubes and crankbaits on the flats.
There were 49 bass weighed in with 4 being smallmouth. The total weight was 94.17 pounds.
Time is running out on anglers looking to qualify for the SMAC Classic set for Burt and Mullet lakes Sept. 20-21. The next event is tonight at Corey Lake and the season finale at Juno Sept. 6. Both teammates must fish 7 events to qualify. Visit the SMAC Facebook page for details.