David Frank skims across Beaver Lake during the Walmart FLW Tour bass tournament, but rarely makes a cast.

Frank is one of 15 Northwest Arkansas anglers FLW Outdoors hires during the tournament to chauffeur camera crews, writers and other observers around Beaver Lake to cover the action on the water. Northwest Arkansans such as Frank get plenty of work. FLW Outdoors has a magazine, website, television and more. The main job is to follow the top anglers wherever they roam, from the headwaters near Fayetteville to the dam near Eureka Springs.

"Everywhere we go we hire local anglers," said Bill Taylor, FLW tournament director. "They all know Beaver Lake. They know the history of the lake. They know where the hazards are to keep our people safe."

Duties include helping with chores on land, such as taking weigh-in bags to the fishermen so they can carry their catch to the scales. The bags are filled with water first to keep the fish alive. They're released after being weighed.

"Some of these guys have been with us for 10 or 12 years," Taylor said. This is the 10th FLW tournament Frank has helped with at Beaver Lake.

They get to rub elbows with the pros who are competitors in the major leagues of professional fishing.

"It's fun to be out here, to cruise up and down the lake and meet people from all over the country," Frank said Thursday while helping with the weigh-in. He was back at the lake before dawn Friday.

The days can be long. Frank arrived at Prairie Creek park at 5:15 a.m. Thursday. He didn't leave until 6 that evening. "Other days may only be a few hours," he said.

The job pays $125 per day, plus money to cover gasoline and other expenses. The anglers use their own boats to chauffeur passengers. Taylor meets with the local crew before the tournament to go over the duties ahead and talk about safety.

A rare task is towing in a fisherman's boat if one breaks down. One year, Frank got paid to fish.

"They needed some fish for a photo shoot they had scheduled for Wednesday," Frank recalled. That's the day before the tournament when the lake is off limits to the fishermen. The pros weren't allowed on the lake so FLW called Frank.

He caught the fish and FLW got their photos and video.

Frank was bright-eyed and ready to hit the water at dawn Friday with Ben Ballard and Travis Wavescorx who work for FLW Outdoors. They do the "Circuit Breaker" Internet television show for FLW that is seen on You Tube. It was Frank's second day with the pair.

"He took us to a bunch of places yesterday like that old amphitheater and hotel," Ballard said. The two may have never learned about historic Monte Ne without Frank.

"He gives us the extra information that helps us get different things for the show," Wavescorx said.

The pair said they feel safe with Frank and the drivers at other FLW contests who know the lake.

At the start of one tournament in Texas, Ballard said half of the anglers went lickety-split at 70 mph across a long point. The camera-boat driver about had a cow because the whole point was littered with stumps that were a foot deep or less.

Working for FLW is a father-son gig for Stephen Sutley and his dad, Kenneth Sutley. They come from Pryor, Okla., to help at the Beaver Lake tournament.

They're in it for more than money.

"I get to hang out with all these guys I saw on TV while I was growing up," Stephen Sutley said.