By Lee Duracz

Winners ($250) Scott Sizemore and Dan Powell

The first stop of the Polar Bear Circuit on Austin Lake near Kalamazoo started out as a beautiful fall day that turned into a four-season nightmare by noon.

When we launched boats, we could see the sunrise coming up under partly cloudy skies with a light east breeze, making the 40-degree air temp very manageable. The graphs read 44 degrees water temp and the water clarity was perfect.

Just about when we thought we were going to escape the grim forecast for the day, noon rolled around and the sky turned a wintery gray, making it look like the sun had just set. The wind switched north for a while, and we started to see flashes in the distance accompanied by deep rumbles of thunder. The deep rumbles turned to loud hard cracks, the wind pushed the torrential rains into our faces, and the lines were coming off the water from the static electricity in the air. Remarkably, only three boats left early, and we all were saying a quick prayer after a couple loud thunder cracks.

Winners ($250) Scott Sizemore and Dan Powell hunkered down in a small area that had some cover which they knew was holding fish and grinded out five solid bass for 14.66 pounds.

Curtis Werner and Jason Nehring

Curtis Werner and Jason Nehring finished second ($170) by fishing jigs with Money Mouth trailers and covered tons of water while fishing visible cover. They caught 12.22 pounds and nearly made a complete lap around the lake.

Frank and Doyle Randall Big Bass

Frank and Doyle Randall finished third ($100) with one fish, but it weighed 5.92 pounds and earned them third place and the big bass honors ($65).

Mark Flotow and Mike Martin had one solid fish and another decent keeper to move into fourth place by chucking jerkbaits. Their 5.78 pounds earned them a Clear H2o gift certificate for being the first time out of the money.

Joey Steiner and Luhk Mullendore

The Polar Bear Open also offers a critter pot ($65) that was won by Joey Steiner and Luhk Mullendore with a giant 41.5-inch, 16.22-pound muskie caught on a jerkbait.

The next event is Saturday, Nov. 11 at Eagle Lake in Edwardsburg, followed by free pizza, beer and soda at Clear H20 for all participants following the weigh-in.