POLAR BEARS

ANGLERS BUNDLE UP, FISH TO START NEW YEAR

Bundled up anglers wait to take their boats out of the water on New Year's Day during the annual Polar Bear bass tournament at Beaver Lake.
Bundled up anglers wait to take their boats out of the water on New Year's Day during the annual Polar Bear bass tournament at Beaver Lake.

— One of Beaver Lake’s longest-running annual bass tournaments lived up to its name New Year’s Day.

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Andy Benson shows two of six bass he and Nick Frakes brought to the scales on New Year's Day to win the Polar Bear bass tournament at Beaver Lake.

Nobody in their left brain would’ve gone fishing in the fog, sleet and snow Tuesday, not with those swell parades and a full day of bowl games on TV. Or would they?

Fifty-two pairs of fishermen bundled up to compete in the Polar Bear bass tournament held each New Year’s Day at Beaver Lake.

It was wintry cold above the lake’s chop. Below the surface, conditions were evidently ideal. Fishing was superb for many who braved the weather.

Anglers brought heavy catches of largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass to the 3 p.m.

weigh-in at Prairie Creek park.

Nick Frakes and Andy Benson won the contest with six bass that weighed a hefty 21 pounds, 2 ounces.

That’s exceptional for the New Year’s Day fi sh-off . Sixteen to 18 pounds is a typical winning weight for a Polar Bear tournament.

“Twenty-one pounds is pretty good for a tournament at Beaver any time of year,” said Rocky Hopkins. He and teammate Jerry Ray finished fourth.

Six bass more than 5 pounds were caught, which shows winter can be big bass time at Beaver Lake. Hopkins agreed.

“There was an 8-pounder caught in December at a Winter Series tournament,” the angler said.

Hopkins himself caught a bass last month that weighed 6 pounds, 7 ounces.

Frakes and Benson caught their winning catch on jerk baits, jigs and jigging spoons in shallow water and along wind-blown points. They had 15 keepers throughout the day and fished in the midlake area.

Spinner baits were among the list of lures that put bass in the boat on New Year’s Day - if fingers weren’t too numb to feel ’em bite.

FREEZING START

How does one stay warm on the lake when it’s 30 degrees, breezy and damp?

“Gloves, gloves and more gloves,” said Leonard Graves of Farmington. “Coveralls and long johns too.”

Tuesday was Graves’ fi rst Polar Bear tournament.

“It was cold. Danged cold,” he said.

Some of the boats driven in Tuesday’s tournament can zip down the lake at 70 mph. Graves said he and teammate James McCratic of Farmington kept speeds down to around 50 mph to lessen the wind chill. Hopkins said his hands take the biggest beating in the cold because he doesn’t wear gloves when his line is in the water.

“We were fishing for smallmouths with jigs, and smallmouths bite them pretty soft,” he said. “When you’re fishing with jigs you can hardly wear gloves because you can’t feel the bite.”

Fourth is a fine finish, but Hopkins said they may have done better if they hadn’t had to stop fishing so much to warm their hands.

This being Arkansas, Hawaiian shirts have been suitable garb at some Polar Bear events. Others would freeze the beak off a penguin.

Chris Johnson, who fi shed Tuesday, remembers one Polar Bear tournament when it was 18 degrees at the start and never cracked 32.

“We were so cold we got out of the boat and ran up and down the bank,” Johnson remembered, “but we got third place and big bass that year.”

His brother, Chad Johnson, director of this year’s event, said when it’s bone cold like it was on New Year’s, fewer anglers participate.

“We had 52 boats this year. Last year it was clear, and we had 71,” Chad Johnson said.

LAKE TRADITION

No matter the temperature, the Polar Bear is always one of the biggest tournaments of the year, said longtime Beaver Lake fi sherman Jim Wolfe of Rogers.

Wolfe skipped the event this year, but watched the weigh-in closely Tuesday. There’s been a Polar Bear tournament every New Year’s Day since the late 1970s, he said.

Different fishing organizations and individuals have run the Polar Bear event from year to year. It’s never missed a New Year’s Day in Wolfe’s recollection.

Think fishermen are the only people one lure shy of a tackle box to hit the water in January? Maybe not.

“We’ve seen people out water skiing in wet suits or riding Jet Skis on New Year’s,” Wolfe said. “Now that’s crazy.”

Outdoor, Pages 5 on 01/03/2013

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