J.R. Beehler of Wichita, Kans., and Rickey Searcy of Rogers started the new year by winning the Polar Bear Bass Tournament at Beaver Lake with five bass totaling 14.41 pounds. They won $1,000.
The two used football jigs fished slowly 20 to 30 feet deep along channel banks in creek arms to catch their fish.
"It took us until about 11 a.m. to figure it out," Beehler said. "We were catching some smaller fish, but then we started moving around and found them along the channel banks halfway back in the creek arms," Beehler said.
The pair was surprised when tournament director Jeff Cook announced their victory. They barely edged second-place fishermen Shane Spiva and Don Woolsey, who had five bass at 14.36 pounds.
Spiva and Woolsey said they used jigs and single-tail grubs to catch their bass. They fished all over the lake 10 to 20 feet deep, Spiva said. The pair won the big bass prize with a 4.92-pound largemouth bass. Travis Fox and Kevin Keef had second-place big bass with a 4.85-pounder.
Fifty boats were registered for the tournament, which is one of the longest-running fishing contests at Beaver Lake.
Third through seventh place, all with five bass, were third, Heath Konkler, Justin Cooper, 13.92 pounds; fourth, Warren Edwards, Allan Shannon, 13.68 pounds; fifth, Rodger Taylor, Wes Paulin, 12.89; sixth, Justin McClelland, Mike Hubbard, 12.73; and seventh, Tony Parsley, Burl Smith, 12.65.
Prize money was paid to the top seven places.
Anglers reported water temperatures between 48 to 52 degrees. That's warmer than usual for January at Beaver Lake.
Floating debris wasn't a problem in the wake of record rain Dec. 27-28 that filled Beaver Lake to capacity and muddied the water.
"We only saw a couple of trees in the water all day," said Wes Paulin, who finished fifth with his teammate, Rodger Taylor. The Polar Bear Tournament lived up to its name this year.
"It was windy. It was cold," Paulin said.
A stiff wind and temperatures in the 30s challenged the fishermen. So did the high, muddy water. Paulin said the water is muddy south of the Arkansas 12 bridge and gradually clears toward the dam.
He and Taylor used jigging spoons to catch their bass.
"We tried to find them where we could then pluck a few off from each spot. It was sporadic," Paulin said.
Considering the conditions, anglers caught good numbers of fish, said tournament director Cook.
"I'd say fishing was better than everybody expected, from the stories I've heard today," he said.
Ron Duncan of Springdale watched the weigh-in at Prairie Creek park on Friday.
"I'm surprised at how many smallmouth bass are coming in," Duncan said. He's former chairman of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and an avid angler. "Looks like a lot of them are smallmouths."
Sports on 01/02/2016