Mike Rhinehart of Delaware (Logan County) last saw his father alive 21 years ago when they fished in a bass tournament.
Rhinehart and his dad also fished annually in the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza, so it was a bittersweet Sunday when Rhinehart won the tournament and $50,000 with a 6.22-pound largemouth that he caught Saturday in Lake Dardanelle.
"I can't explain it," Rhinehart said. "I've been fishing this tournament for over 20 years. I started with my dad when I was barely big enough to walk, and he's been gone for 21 years this month."
Having caught many big bass in tournament on Lake Dardanelle over the summer, Rhinehart said he attracted a lot of company during the Big Bass Bonanza. Other anglers knew his spots, and he said the traffic affected the fishing.
"I won the DAV Big Bass tournament, and I won checks in another big bass tournament," Rhinehart said. "They all came from the same spot. Word gets out. People were following me everywhere. I was covered up with boats, and it killed it."
Rhinehart slipped away unnoticed to a pocket that had no cover and no features except for a single stump that he marked on his GPS a week ago. There was no current, and the water was the color of chocolate milk.
"I went straight to that stump, and she was on it," Rhinehart said. "I bounced the jig off the left side, and she crushed it."
The time was 12:13 p.m. The situation was identical to the one Robinette Fox encountered when she won the tournament in 2016, also on Lake Dardanelle. Fox won second place in Lake Dardanelle on Sunday with a bass that weighed 5.43 pounds.
Fortunately, nobody followed Rhinehart when he moved.
"They knew the primary area where I was catching them, and I left it," Rhinehart said.
Rhinehart's equipment was a 1/2-ounce jig, a medium-heavy Falcon Lowrider rod, a K series Shimano baitcaster with an 8.3:1 retrieve ratio and 25-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper line.
Acknowledging the challenges that rainy weather inflicted on the tournament, Montine McNulty, executive director of the Arkansas Hospitality Association, said that about 700 fewer anglers fished in the Big Bass Bonanza than in 2018. Because significantly fewer entry fees were collected, McNulty said prize money was not paid to anglers that caught the biggest bass per hour during the three-day tournament. However, all of the pool winners and runners-up received cash prizes.
Originally scheduled for June, the tournament was rescheduled for Oct. 11-13, which was also the weekend of the statewide private lands antlerless deer season. In addition, college football and high school football around the state lured many anglers away.
"But we'll be back better than ever next year," McNulty said.
Sports on 10/14/2019