Rance Carter of Rogers and Dustin Simon of Bella Vista fished Saturday in the clear water on the north end of Beaver Lake to win the 26th annual Bradford Marine and ATV Buddy Bass Tournament to benefit the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce. They weighed five bass totaling 17.03 pounds.
The team won a Bass Tracker boat, motor and trailer.
Justin McClelland and Mike Hubbard placed second with five bass at 15.75 pounds. Monte Wheeler and Frank Rizley were third with five bass at 15.5 pounds.
Fourth through 10th were: Fourth, Kevin Kester, Scotty Parsons, 14.88; fifth, Craig Berkshire, Jared Berkshire, 13.8 pounds, sixth, J.B. Welch, Gary Smith, 13.68; seventh, Chevy Ply, Arnold Ply, 12.63; eighth, John Nystrom, Connie Nystrom, 12.51; ninth, Jeff Kositzke, Danny Ezell, 12.49; 10th, Jeff Spivey, Brady Spivey, 12.46.
Wheeler and Rizley had the biggest bass, caught by Wheeler, at 6.28 pounds. The fish hit a chatter bait.
Carter and Simon fished between Rocky Branch and Indian Creek parks for the win. They used Zara Spooks, buzz baits and plastic worms.
"We caught them pretty steady all day, but not like a fish every nine minutes," Carter said.
Wheeler and Rizley fished from Prairie Creek park to Rocky Branch park where the water is stained. Catching was sporadic, Wheeler said. Their best fishing came during the afternoon.
The father and son team of Craig Berkshire and son Jared Berkshire caught most of their fish in the morning in the Rocky Branch area. All their fish were caught with War Eagle spinner baits in green shad color.
"We were fishing shallow, pitching those spinner baits as close to the bank as we could," Craig said. Jared added, "We caught five early this morning and some others. After 9:30 it really shut down."
The tournament field was 274 boats, or about 548 anglers. Total purse was $30,000.
The lake rose several feet after flooding last weekend, and much of the water was muddy with floating debris. Joe Papczynski, tournament director for 21 years, said there were no boating accidents.
"The big debris has blown into the banks. Fishermen say the water is clearing up in the backs of the creek arms," he said.
Most fish were caught with spinner baits, jig and pigs or plastic worms, Papczynski said.
In team competition. Hook, Line and Sinker team No. 2 won the two-boat division with 23.63 pounds. Bella Vista Marine won the four-boat division with 25.46 pounds. Defending eight-boat division champions Hook, Line and Sinker team No. 3 won again on Saturday with 82.38 pounds.
Money raised at the tournament funds economic development programs of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce.
Sports on 05/07/2017