Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Wednesday, November 26, 2025
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By Lee Duracz
The FishStyx Custom Rods’ Polar Bear Opens held a pair of tournaments over the past two weeks. Listed below are the details of each.
The next event is Saturday (Nov. 21) on the St. Joseph River at 6 Span that should be a smallmouth bass whack fest. Tournament hours are 8-3 with a $40 entry fee and optional $5 for the critter pot.
Klinger Lake
Lagodney and Evans - 1st Place
The third stop of the Polar Bear Opens visited Klinger Lake last Saturday where seven teams battled iced up rod guides during the early morning frigid temperatures but the fishing heated up.
Lagodney and Evans busted out a “monster” Klinger bag weighing 9.88 pounds that was anchored by the big bass of the tournament, a 2.78-pound smallmouth. They were seen covering shallow water quickly to earn their $225.
Bunnell and Duracz were second with a limit weighing 8.46-pounds by fishing a variety of techniques. They had a limit the first hour on blades and A-rigs and then switched up to single swimbaits as the day progressed. Luckily one hungry .46-pound perch decided to gobble up one of those single swimmers and that earned them the $125 critter pot as well.
The Friddles team had the only other limit, 7.18-pounds.
Steve and Amy Martin won the $200 FishStyx Custom Rod
The “super couple” fishing team of Steve and Amy Martin won the $200 FishStyx Custom Rod at the pre-tournament drawing.
Diamond Lake
Bunnell and Duracz - 1st Place
On Nov. 7, the Polar Bear Circuit visited Diamond Lake where Bunnell and Duracz won ($225) with 8.20 pounds, anchored by a 2.30-pound smallmouth. Most of their fish came on drop-shots and Ned rigs on shallow flats.
Second place ($110) went to Phillip Duracz and Tim Childs with 7.72 pounds. They reported that their catch came on Ned rigs fished on light line in shallow water.
Big bass honors went to the father/son team of Friddle and Friddle with a nice 2.42 pounder. They were one fish shy of a limit but still weighed in 7.24 pounds for third place to earn $105.
The final payout went to the team of Brunt and Ott who won $55 in the Critter pot with their 1.32-pound monster crappie. Some beautiful perch were also caught but fell short of the win on the critter pot.
The team of Mark and Conner won the drawing for the $200 FishStyx Custom Rod.
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Tackle Shack Report
Richard Chupp Jr. and Sherry Wise - 1st Place
Richard Chupp Jr. and Sherry Wise caught 11.08 pounds on Ned Rigs on the St. Joseph River to win the Tackle Shack Open last weekend at 6 Span Bridge.
The couple fished next to wood in the main river channel and had the best action between 11:45 and 12:45. The fish shut off so they decided to give the spot a rest for 40 minutes. When they returned, they caught their two biggest fish that helped earn them the $475 first-place prize.
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SWBBC Report
Bill Mathews and Kris Iodice - 1st Place
Bill Mathews and Kris Iodice offered a repeat performance in the Southwest Michigan Big Bass Challenge on the St. Joseph River.
The anglers, who won there last week with an impressive bag, backed it up with 18.94 pounds Saturday to win $250.
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Tackle Shack Report
Justin and Hunter Brinkman - 1st Place
Justin and Hunter Brinkman made an adjustment after the first hour of the Tackle Shack Open at Duke’s Bridge (Waldron Chain) Saturday and it paid off handsomely.
The Brinkmans fished 14-16 feet deep the first hour without a bite, then moved to a 7-foot windblown corner of Jones Lake and proceeded to catch 14.70 pounds on 1/4-ounce custom traps. It earned them $725.
Joe Sears and Eben Lambert - 2nd Place
Joe Sears and Eben Lambert were second ($350) with 13.60 pounds caught on MegaBass jerkbaits in 3 to 7 feet of water.
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By Al McGuckin
Swindle Can’t Horse Around at Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest
Bass fishing’s funniest man, Gerald Swindle is neighboring with a 19-year-old thoroughbred named Mistic that shows strong resemblance to Rainbow Brite’s talking horse, Starlite, during this week’s Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest on Lake Fork.
But the 2-time Bassmaster Angler of the year sits 16 points outside of making the 2021 Classic – so this is no time for horsing around.
Swindle has had a phenomenal career. He’s made 18 Bassmaster Classics, notched (55) Top 10s, and won over $2 Million dollars in prize money, but he’ll be the first to tell you 2020 hasn’t been up to his standards.
“I’ve had days this year when I felt like I fished well enough to win an AOY title, and other days when I fished my guts out and just didn’t catch ‘em the way I thought I would,” he reflects. “I’m not stressed right now, but I know I need a Top 20 this week to qualify for the Classic.”