Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
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BASS Report
B.A.S.S. officials have unveiled the 2024 schedule for their College, High School and Junior tournament circuits, which give thousands of young anglers a taste of high-level competition on some of the country’s best bass lakes.
The Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops recently announced a new two-division format with three tour stops each, which helps meet the booming demand for college teams to compete. There will now be more priority placed on the Bassmaster College Team of the Year standings to qualify for both the National Championship and the College Classic Bracket presented by Lew's.
“Over the past few years, college fishing has surged in popularity,” said Glenn Cale, tournament manager for the College, High School and Junior Series. “This new format opens avenues for more teams to compete while also prioritizing a team’s overall body of work throughout the season and rewarding a strong National Championship showing.”
The Legends Trail kicks off Jan. 26-27 on Lake Murray, named the country’s fourth-best bass lake on Bassmaster Magazine’s 2023 100 Best Bass Lakes list. From there, the College Series will visit Kentucky Lake April 18-19 and wrap up on Michigan’s Saginaw Bay — No. 19 in the Northeastern Division’s Best Bass Lakes list — on June 6-7.
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Tackle Shack Report
Duane Bontrager and Tyler Wingard - 1st Place
Duane Bontrager and Tyler Wingard caught 14.62 pounds to win the Tackle Shack Tournament on Coldwater and other lakes in the chain last weekend.
The winners caught their fish on drop-shot rigs in 25 to 35 feet of water.
“We caught fish all day long, but there was a bite window between 10 a.m.-noon when the bigger fish ate,” the team said. “MaxScent and ElaZtech baits were keys. We stayed on Coldwater Lake.”
Bill Mathews and Kris Iodice - 2nd Place
Bill Mathews and Kris Iodice were close to winning, finishing second with 14.26 pounds.
“We got our limit in the box pretty early,” said Mathews. “We had five within the first hour, with one of the five being our biggest fish. We caught a ton of fish throughout the day, but caught a few key culls in the last 2 hours. We were throwing a swim jig around grass in 4-10 feet. Archer and Bartholomew lakes were where we had the most success.”
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SMAC Report
Brad Sterling and Trevor Paulas - 1st Place
Brad Sterling and Trevor Paulas won the Southwest Michigan Anglers Club (SMAC) season finale Saturday at Juno Lake.
Sterling and Paulas had five bass weighing 13.52 pounds that included big bass of the event, a 3.74 pounder. They fished jigs in 4 to 10 feet.
Mike VanderReyden and Brett Gessinger - 2nd Place
Second place Mike VanderReyden and Brett Gessinger caught their limit in the first hour. It weighed 12.32 pounds and most came on topwaters in 10 feet or less.
Terry Smith and Scott Crocker - 3rd Place
Terry Smith and Scott Crocker were third with 10.48 pounds. They said they used crankbaits and finesse worms in 4 to 8 feet of water.
There were 14 boats that caught 48 largemouth weighing 92.53 pounds.
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Arjay’s Report
Chris Yoder and Lester Hochstetler - 1st Place
Chris Yoder and Lester Hochstetler fished jigs to win the Arjay’s Weeknight season finale on Klinger Lake last week.
Martin Hochstetler and Jonas Troyer - 2nd Place
The winners had 9.70 pounds, edging out second place Martin Hochstetler and Jonas Troyer with 9.22 pounds. They fished bladed jigs.
Floyd Wolkins and Steve Martin - 3rd Place
Floyd Wolkins and Steve Martin finished third and wrapped up the Team Anglers of Year title with 8.78 pounds. They fished spinnerbaits and jackhammers.
Ben Harrison - 4th Place
Ben Harrison fished alone to win fourth with 8.48 pounds caught on drop-shot rigs.
Heath and George N Jody Musall - Big Bass
Heath and George N Jody Musall bagged the Tackle Shack big bass prize with a 4.82-pound largemouth caught on a finesse worm.
Eric and Doug Sanderson - 5th Place
The ClearH2O Tackle first out of the money spot (5th) with 8.20 pounds went to Eric and Doug Sanderson who fished drop-shot rigs. They also won the Jaywalker’s Restaurant junk fish pot with a pike.
Charlie Fouts and Ray Lohr - 6th Place
The Tackle Shack gift prize for sixth with 8.02 pounds was won by Charlie Fouts and Ray Lohr who fished jigs.
Scott and Chase Carpenter won the Michiana Outdoors News tackle pack for seventh place with 7.88.
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BASS Report
2024 Bass Elite Series Schedule
For the first time since 2018, the Bassmaster Elite Series won’t be kicking off its season in Florida, opting instead to open its 2024 slate at the big-bass factory of Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Louisiana/Texas border Feb. 22-25.
B.A.S.S. officials made that announcement Wednesday, along with the entirety of a nine-tournament schedule that will span six states and visit fisheries that have ranked among the best in the United States, both recently and historically.
CEO Chase Anderson said that, with the 2023 season in the books, B.A.S.S. is anxious to tackle what is certain to be an action-packed 2024 lineup.
“We just finished one of our best seasons ever only two weeks ago, and it is already time to start marking your calendar for another incredible year,” Anderson said. “Anyone who follows and celebrates the sport of bass fishing will recognize the lakes on this schedule as some of the best fisheries anywhere, and we could not be more excited to get it started with the top anglers in the world competing on bass fishing’s biggest stage.”