Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
Friday, September 26, 2025
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Ranger Report
Ranger Cup, a tournament contingency program for competitive anglers, will be even stronger in 2020 thanks in part to a new program just announced for BFL anglers.
Beginning with the first event on Sam Rayburn on January 4, anglers running Ranger boats will have more opportunity than ever to take home bonus money from the legendary boat builder.
For all 2020 regular season events, any angler that wins a BFL tournament and meets Ranger Cup criteria will be awarded a $5,000 bonus, representing a significant increase over past years. The enhanced program doesn't stop there. Ranger is adding a highest finisher guarantee for 2020 events as well. In the case a Ranger angler doesn't win the event, a $1,000 bonus will be paid to the highest finishing angler meeting Ranger Cup criteria.
"To date, more than $19 million has been paid out in bonus money to Ranger owners who have participated in Ranger Cup," said Ranger Sr. Marketing Promotions Manager Scott Arms. "That's more than the awards of all other competitive programs combined, and we are thrilled to make an even stronger commitment to our family of anglers in 2020."
"We've also got even more exciting news on the horizon," Arms added "Ranger anglers definitely don't want to miss signing up for this year's program."
Specific details and sign up information are available at Rangercup.com, which is now accepting 2020 entries. With so much opportunity at numerous competitive levels, Ranger boat owners are encouraged to sign up now to make the most of every event.
In addition to all regular season BFL events, Ranger Cup payout will continue to be available for the BFL All American. 2020 will offer strong bonuses for both pro-and co-anglers at the prestigious event with a $20,000 top prize available for those fishing on the pro division, as well as further incentives for 2nd-5th place, and a $5,000 top prize available on the co-angler division with additional payout available for 2nd-5th place co-anglers as well. Full details and 2020 registration links are available on Rangercup.com.
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Phoenix Report
Phoenix Bass Boats
Phoenix Boats announced the creation the new FLW PHOENIX BONUS for the 2020 FLW Tournament season.
The FLW PHOENIX BONUS program is designed to reward Phoenix Boat owners for their performance in Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL), FLW Pro Circuit and FLW Series events. This extends the recently announced partnership where Phoenix Boats became the exclusive boat sponsor of FLW to bring more opportunities to the anglers. The payouts in this exciting new program are substantial making it one of the best contingency programs in tournament bass fishing.
The FLW PHOENIX BONUS costs $19.95 to register and anglers will receive a Phoenix decal and membership card. The FLW PHOENIX BONUS is an independent program and separate from Phoenix First Flight, and while some guidelines will crossover between the two programs, they are not one and the same. In addition to higher payouts for Phoenix Bass Fishing League and FLW Series tournaments, the FLW PHOENIX BONUS program will also be paying the highest qualified finishing Phoenix Boat owner if the winner of the tournament is not a qualified Phoenix Boat owner.
Sign-up, rules, guidelines, and payouts can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
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By Louie Stout
Have you set your tournament schedule set for 2020? Send us the details and we will post them on our Lake Drive Marine Events Calendar.
Our Events Calendar has become the No. 1 spot anglers visit when looking for open events on Michiana lakes. Get yours posted there as soon as possible so anglers can plan ahead. It also helps groups avoid multiple tournament conflicts on a given lake.
Send your tournament information to stoutoutdoors@comcast.net. We cannot work from facebook links - we need your tournament information emailed!
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By Lee Duracz
Thirteen teams battled 20 mph winds in the final regular season Polar Bear Circuit event held at Lake Maxincukee last Sunday, with five teams coming in with limits.
There were four bags that breached the 10 pound mark, making it a tight race as always.
Tad Hepler and Jason Dittmer 1st Place
First place went to Tad Hepler and Jason Dittmer with a 12.58-pound bag with their largest fish weighing 2.52 pounds. They were reported to be spot locked in one spot for most of the day, where they slow rolled swimbaits. All of their fish were largemouth. They also weighed a walleye that took the rolling trifecta pot for being the highest finisher that weighed a critter. They earned $550 for their efforts.
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By Lee Duracz
Good weather and big bass showed up for the Polar Bear Circuit’s fourth event at Duke’s Bridge (Waldron Chain) last weekend.
Thirteen boats competed and nine weighed limits with five teams breaking the 15-pound mark and several came in with 10 pounds or more.
Eben Lambert and Floyd Wolkins 1st Place
First place went to Eben Lambert and Floyd Wolkins who smashed the all-time Polar Bear record with a 19.78-pound bag anchored by a 4.32-pound largemouth. They worked blade baits on deep drop-offs to win $250.
Chase Fennell and Josh Bradenburger 2nd Place
Chase Fennell and Josh Bradenburger were second ($150) with 17.30 pounds caught on blade baits in slightly shallower depths than the winners. Their biggest fish was 4.44 pounds.
Steve Kline and Aaron Likens 3rd Place
Local favorites Steve Kline and Aaron Likens were third ($55) with 16.04 pounds, also caught on blade baits.
Jeremy Bunnell and Lee Duracz Big Bass Award
The big bass award ($65) went to Jeremy Bunnell and Lee Duracz with a 5.32-pound largemouth caught on a Ned rig along a weed edge.
Steve and Amy Martin won Critter Pot
The super fishing couple Steve and Amy Martin won the critter pot ($65) for a 5.74-pound carp.
Tournament officials offer special thanks to Jim Young and Eben Lambert for their extraordinary efforts in fish care. Some of the released fish that were caught in deep water struggled to swim down and away from the weigh-in, so Young and Lambert collected all the fish and used their “fizzing” skills to get the fish up-righted where they could swim away. They spent an hour reviving more than a dozen struggling bass, and when they finished, all of the fish swam away from the bank and in healthy condition.
The final regular season event is set for Sunday Dec. 8th at Lake Maxinkuckee. The tournament is a make-up due to an earlier postponement due to bad weather.
Tournament hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Eastern)
The Trifecta pot has not been hit all season, therefore somebody who is entered into the option pot at this event will take home the money from the Previous 4 events that now totals $235.