Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Friday, April 24, 2026
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Tackle Shack Report
Bill Mathews teamed up with substitute partner Justin Hahaj to win the Tackle Shack tournament on Gun Lake last weekend.
Their 15.87 pounds earned them $1,470 and they also caught the biggest bass, a 4.69-pound largemouth, for another $200.
Remarkably, neither one of the team members had pre-fished, Mathews had never been there and Hahaj hadn’t been there for 15 years. The Gun Lake win vaulted Bill and his s main partner Kris Iodice into first for Angler of the Year.
“We caught our fish on a variety of baits,” says Mathews. “Swim jig, finesse jig, wacky worm and the BAFA primal all played a role for us. We targeted docks and flats in 2-4 feet of water. We caught fish all day but the afternoon bite was better for size. That is, other than the big bass. We had 4 rats within the first 30 minutes or so and the big bass of the day was actually our fifth keeper.”
They made some small culls over the next hour or two, but most of the other 2.5-3 pound fish came after the sun got up.
Maynard Hochstetler and Steven Wickey were a distant second ($850) with 11.24 pounds.
Hochstetler said he and his partner fished drop shots in 15 to 25-feet early morning and fished docks in the afternoon.
“Pre-fishing did help us narrow down the better areas,” he adds.
Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits were keys for the third place ($250) team of Jonathon Brock and Christopher Martin, who had 11.24 pounds.
“We caught our two biggest on a spinnerbait and a Texas rig,” Martin explains. “We had a good bite all day; while we caught probably 35 keepers, we just couldn't find a kicker fish. All our fish came from 4-8 feet.”
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Arjay’s Report
John Miller and Ashley Gibson not only won again in the Arjay’s weeknight tourney, but they scored the Tackle Shack big bass honor at Randall Chain near Coldwater, Mich.
Miller and Gibson had a 14.02-pound limit that included a 3.62-pound largemouth. They caught their fish by drop-shotting in 10-15 feet.
Scott and Chase Carpenter were a distant second with 9.76 pounds. They used crankbaits and Chatterbaits.
Steve Martin fished alone and garnered third with five weighing 8.50 pounds. He fished swim jigs on weedlines.
Fourth place went to Chris Yoder and Edward Bontrager with 7.90 pounds, caught by skipping docks.
The ClearH2O Tackle first out of the money spot for fifth was won by Steven Wickey and Irvin Yoder with 7.56 pounds.
The Michiana Outdoors News tackle pack was won by Justin and Hunter Kosmerick while the Jaywalker Restaurant junk fish pot was won with a 2.84-pound northern pike by Yoder and Bontrager. Str8-Up Mounts lucky dog pot went to Ray Lohr and Charlie Fouts, Dennis and Chris Yoder won the $50 gas cards and Justin Kosmerick won the 50/50.
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Stars and Stripes Report
Big bass continue to dominate at Gull Lake, especially for anglers using forward facing sonar.
Kyle Smith and Rickey Lynch won with a whopping 21.16 pounds.
“We caught them out deep on a minnow,” they said. “It was a tough bite but we were fortunate to get a few big smallmouth to bite which are key to being successful on Gull.”
They fished from 40-60 feet deep. Their biggest smallmouth came within the first 30 minutes of the event.
Jesse Richardson and Lance Cole finished a close second with 20.71 pounds.
“All the fish caught today were on Tightliner's Customs ball head. We used a bunch of different minnows today we got at The Angler, Inc.” They were targeting similar depths. They also mentioned they caught LOTS of bass and culled up throughout the day.
Third place Luke Toliver wasn’t far behind with 20.65 pounds.
Travis and Charlie Terry caught the biggest bass of the tourney, a 4.87 pounder.
The season finale is at Austin Lake on August 24th. Entry is $100, no membership required. It’s an eight hour event that will start at safe light.
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SMAC Report
Docks were in play Tuesday night in the Southwest Michigan Anglers Club tourney on Diamond Lake.
Scott Crocker and Terry Smith returned to the winner’s circle with a limit weighing 11.56 pounds. Their sack was topped by big bass of the tourney, a 4-pound largemouth. They said they fished Senkos and jigs in shallow water.
Billy Mathews also fished shallow and alone to finish second with 11.47 pounds. He fished BAFA jigs.
Third went to Mike VanderReyden and Brett Gessinger with a 9.19-pound limit. They fished tube jigs in 5 to 10 feet.
There were 53 bass weighed in and three were smallmouth for a total weight of 94.13 pounds.
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D&R Sports Report
Randy VanDam and Miles Hanley, two top veterans who have won their share of tournaments over the years, hit the jackpot in the D&R Sports Center Series last weekend on the Grand River.
VanDam and Hanley had 17.43 pounds, anchored by a 4.04 pounder.
"We caught them on anything and everything,” says VanDam, D&R Sports Center owner, brother of Kevin VanDam and father of Jonathon VanDam. “We were junk fishing, honestly, working through the main river and hitting bayous here and there. Miles would cast to a spot with a Rage bug and I would go in behind with a Crush City bait and we tag teamed most of the water.
“The wind picked up and I pulled out a spinnerbait and caught a few on that - I actually had lost a few good ones that we thought were going to hurt us, but everything turned out just fine.”
It sure did. They won by nearly three pounds.
Cyrus and Foxx Ruel were second with 14.54 pounds.
“Foxx and I started the day trying some deep cover off the main river where we were able to boat only a single keeper,” Cyrus explains. “After an hour or so of fishing deeper isolated cover we decided to make a change and ran to another rather popular area with a little current and lots of shallow vegetation.”
They were flipping mixed grass and lily pads in 3 feet or less.
“We caught two keepers pretty quickly, targeting areas closer to the edge of the pads,” he adds. “We really took our time and picked that area apart, catching several keeper fish and filling our limit in one stretch less than 200 yards long.
“We passed another boat on the opposite bank that also flipping but we didn't see them boat any fish. We debated on fishing the other side where he had fished and Foxx thought we should run it because whatever we are doing, it was working. I'm glad we did, as our two biggest fish, both over 3.5 pounds, came off that bank and we were able to upgrade by several pounds.”
Third place went to Brian Burmania and Don Watts with 13.37 pounds.
David Hooker and Kyle Borst were fourth with 13.11.
Paul Simonis and Marc Rosel finished fifth with 12.76 pounds but they also had the biggest bass of the tourney, 4.97 pounder.