Jeremy Bunnell and Lee Duracz - 1st Place

The Polar Bear Circuit held its final event of the year at Duke’s Bridge last Sunday where Jeremy Bunnell and Lee Duracz took home first place, and over $400, with their five largest bass weighing in at 13.48 pounds.

The weather could not have been much better for late-November and that was a big reason this event drew 16 teams. Duke’s Bridge did not disappoint in regards to the fishing either. Not only were the bass results very favorable, but there were very large fish of other species caught as well.

The second place team belonged to Aaron Likens and Steve Kline who weighed in a bag topping out at 10.98 pounds. Floyd Wolkins and Lee Eby came in third with a total weight of 8.82 pounds. All the top three teams reported catching bass utilizing blade baits, A-rigs and swimbaits.

Steve and Amy Martin - Big Bass

The big bass of the day and a couple “critters” really stole the show at the weigh-in, however. Steve and Amy Martin caught a massive 6.7 pound largemouth bass that nearly set the record for the largest bass ever weighed in at a Polar Bear event.

Chase Fennell and Josh Brandenberger won the “critter” prize for largest non-bass caught with a carp tipping the scales at 13.68 pounds.

Lee Duracz with Monster Crappie

Lee Duracz landed a monster-of-a crappie during the event. The fish measured 18 inches long and weighed exactly 2.3 pounds. The crappie was released after photos were taken.

This was the last Polar Bear tournament of the year, but if weather allows, the directors may put together another open event before the water freezes.

Please check out the Lake Drive Marine Events Calendar adjacent to this page for more details.