Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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Chad Lovell and Keith Green
Chad Lovell and Keith Green (Dowagiac, Mich.) had a limit of four keeper smallmouth weighing 13.62 pounds to win the Casting Couples Open on the St. Joseph River at Benton Harbor last weekend.
The tournament rules limited anglers to a four-fish limit. There were five, 4-pound smallmouth weighed in during the tournament.
Lovell and Green used crankbaits to earn them $210.
John Gipson Jr. (Battleground, Ind.) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor)
John Gipson Jr. (Battleground, Ind.) and Tom Noe (Benton Harbor) were second ($100) with 12.55 pounds caught on A-rigs and tubes.
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Polar Bear Opens Bass Tournaments
Clear H2o Tackle will sponsor the second annual Polar Bear Opens Bass Tournaments throughout the month of November.
Tournament dates are Nov. 4 Austin Lake (Portage, Mich.), Nov. 11 Eagle Lake (Edwardsburg, Mich.); Nov. 18 Maxinkuckee (Culver, Ind.) and Nov. 26, Dukes Bridge (Topeka, Ind.)
Tournament hours are 7:30-2:30 for the first three and 8-3 in the Dukes Bridge event.
Entry fee is $50 plus $5 big bass and $5 critter pot.
For more information, contact Lee Duracz, 574-322-8564 or duraczl@gmail.com.
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Greg Mangus
Greg Mangus of Fremont, Ind. rallied in the last 60 seconds to win the Indy League Fishing (ILF) Lake Drive Marine Challenge on the Marble Chain last week.
Mangus, who had to sit through four different penalties in the unique tournament format - including one with three minutes left in the last period - edged out Ron Fabiszak in the closing seconds.
Mangus won $1,500 for his 23 pounds, 15 ounces with 24 fish while Fabiszak ($600) had 23-5 with 21 fish. Marc Evans was third ($300) with 19-10 and 16 fish.
Ron Fabiszak
Under the ILF format, which is very similar to the Major League Fishing television circuit, anglers fish three, two-hour periods and each fish is caught, weighed and released. A 12-inch size limit is used.
Each angler is assigned a boat official who weighs and records each fish and determines when violations are made. When a violation is determined, the angler must sit idle for two minutes without fishing or controlling the boat.
Penalties include throwing a fish back without releasing it beneath the boat gunnel and letting a fish touch the floor of the boat while landing or weighing the fish.
Lake Drive Marine announced plans to conduct two, 24 angler circuits next season and a 12-angler invitational in the fall.
Details of the 2018 Michigan ILF Circuit will be announced later this year.
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The annual Thanksgiving Weekend Bass Tournament will be held on Corey and Harwood Lakes Nov. 25.
Tournament hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Entry fee is $40 and includes a big bass pot. If the access is frozen, Diamond Lake will be the back-up lake.
For more information, contact Bob Evans, 574-320-3366 or gkingbevans@gmail.com.
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BASS Report
One Spot Remains for 2018 Bassmaster Classic On Lake Hartwell
A star-studded field of 51 bass anglers has qualified to compete for more than $1 million in the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods. Only one spot remains to be filled in the world championship of bass fishing. It will go to the individual winner of the Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship, to be held in December.
Long known as the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing, the Classic will take place ó for the third time ó on Lake Hartwell at Anderson, S.C., March 16-18. Morning takeoffs will be from the modern Green Pond Landing and Event Center in Anderson, and weigh-ins and the popular Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods will be held in Greenville on those dates.
Among the 13 former Classic champions competing for the $300,000 first prize are two who have won on Hartwell: Casey Ashley of Donalds, S.C., the winner in 2015, and Alton Jones of Lorena, Texas, the 2008 champion. Also aiming for bass fishing's biggest prize are defending champion Jordan Lee of Guntersville, Ala., and four-time Classic winner Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich.