Tournament News Powered By Lake Drive Marine
- Details
By Lee Duracz
Thirteen teams battled 20 mph winds in the final regular season Polar Bear Circuit event held at Lake Maxincukee last Sunday, with five teams coming in with limits.
There were four bags that breached the 10 pound mark, making it a tight race as always.
Tad Hepler and Jason Dittmer 1st Place
First place went to Tad Hepler and Jason Dittmer with a 12.58-pound bag with their largest fish weighing 2.52 pounds. They were reported to be spot locked in one spot for most of the day, where they slow rolled swimbaits. All of their fish were largemouth. They also weighed a walleye that took the rolling trifecta pot for being the highest finisher that weighed a critter. They earned $550 for their efforts.
- Details
By Lee Duracz
Good weather and big bass showed up for the Polar Bear Circuit’s fourth event at Duke’s Bridge (Waldron Chain) last weekend.
Thirteen boats competed and nine weighed limits with five teams breaking the 15-pound mark and several came in with 10 pounds or more.
Eben Lambert and Floyd Wolkins 1st Place
First place went to Eben Lambert and Floyd Wolkins who smashed the all-time Polar Bear record with a 19.78-pound bag anchored by a 4.32-pound largemouth. They worked blade baits on deep drop-offs to win $250.
Chase Fennell and Josh Bradenburger 2nd Place
Chase Fennell and Josh Bradenburger were second ($150) with 17.30 pounds caught on blade baits in slightly shallower depths than the winners. Their biggest fish was 4.44 pounds.
Steve Kline and Aaron Likens 3rd Place
Local favorites Steve Kline and Aaron Likens were third ($55) with 16.04 pounds, also caught on blade baits.
Jeremy Bunnell and Lee Duracz Big Bass Award
The big bass award ($65) went to Jeremy Bunnell and Lee Duracz with a 5.32-pound largemouth caught on a Ned rig along a weed edge.
Steve and Amy Martin won Critter Pot
The super fishing couple Steve and Amy Martin won the critter pot ($65) for a 5.74-pound carp.
Tournament officials offer special thanks to Jim Young and Eben Lambert for their extraordinary efforts in fish care. Some of the released fish that were caught in deep water struggled to swim down and away from the weigh-in, so Young and Lambert collected all the fish and used their “fizzing” skills to get the fish up-righted where they could swim away. They spent an hour reviving more than a dozen struggling bass, and when they finished, all of the fish swam away from the bank and in healthy condition.
The final regular season event is set for Sunday Dec. 8th at Lake Maxinkuckee. The tournament is a make-up due to an earlier postponement due to bad weather.
Tournament hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Eastern)
The Trifecta pot has not been hit all season, therefore somebody who is entered into the option pot at this event will take home the money from the Previous 4 events that now totals $235.
- Details
By Lee Duracz
All the local big sticks showed up for the Polar Bears’ Saturday event on the St. Joseph River at 6-Span.
In fact, the 18 teams that competed was the 3rd largest turnout in Polar Bear Circuit history.
Winds were light most of the day with periods of sun in the morning and the freezing rain didn’t show up until weigh-in. Temps warmed quickly from the high 20s in the morning to the mid-40s by weigh-in time. Six teams weighed in limits and 10 brought fish to the scales.
- Details
By Lee Duracz
We will be cancelling this Saturday’s event on Lake Maxinkuckee due to snowy roads and brutal cold conditions.
The regular schedule will continue as planned with the next event being on the St. Joe River at the Six Span ramp on Saturday Nov. 23rd. Plans are to move the Maxi event to Sunday Dec. 8th - weather permitting - as mild temperatures are predicted for the first half of December. Sorry for any inconvenience, but for the safety of our anglers, we feel it is the correct decision.
- Details
By Lee Duracz
Steve Kline 1st Place
The second stop for the Polar Bear Opens on Wawasee started out with a solid breeze out of the Southwest and temperatures in the mid-20s and anglers battled ice in the rod guides until around 11 o’clock. The day gradually warmed up to about 40 degrees, but that didn’t heat up the fishing for most of the competitors.
There were 10 teams who ventured out on Saturday and most of them could only produce one or two fish and with only two limits being weighed in, but both were solid bags.
Steve Kline took first place with 15.20 pounds that was anchored by the big bass award of a 4.42-pound largemouth, barely beating out his second biggest fish that was in the 4-pound class as well. He reported that he had a mid-morning flurry that lasted about 45 minutes fishing in depths around 20 feet with blade baits. This earned him $225 for first and an additional $50 for big bass.