Northern Division fires up at Vermilion
EverStart anglers make their assault on Minnesota’s Iron Range
TOWER, Minn. – A total of 378 tournament anglers have made the trek to one of the continental United States’ northernmost waterways to open the Northern Division of the 2003 EverStart Series. The smallmouth bass spawning bite is in full swing at the moment at Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion, which has many competitors feeling it was worth the trip.
Picturesque Lake Vermilion sits in the heart of Minnesota’s Iron Range – one of the richest iron-ore-producing regions in the world – and anglers will be working its rusty-colored water in the shallows to fill out their limits. Expectations are high for a productive week.
“We’re going to have some serious weigh-ins,” pro Mark Zona of Sturgis, Mich., said. “It’s all about the spawn right now.”
The weather, which can be testy in northern Minnesota this time of year, looks like it will remain relatively calm throughout the tournament. Partly cloudy skies and temperatures reaching daytime highs in the 70s should keep anglers – and the bass – in a good mood all four days.
Tournament logistics
The four-day tournament lasts through Saturday. The full field of 189 pros and 189 co-anglers will compete for two days to determine the 20 anglers who will advance to Friday’s semifinal round based on their two-day accumulated weight. Anglers will start at zero Friday and compete for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s final round. Weights are again cleared for Saturday’s competition, and anglers compete for position and prize money.
The winning pro is guaranteed $10,000 cash and an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 519VS Comanche bass boat equipped with EverStart batteries, a Minn Kota trolling motor and Garmin electronics. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, Ranger will award an additional $10,000 cash bonus for a total prize package of $61,900. The winning co-angler is guaranteed $5,000 cash. If the co-angler winner is a registered Ranger boat owner, Ranger will also award a new Ranger 519VS Comanche bass boat.
Wednesday’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. on the shore of Lake Vermilion at Fortune Bay Resort in Tower.
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 5:13 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 39 degrees
Expected high temperature: 72 degrees
Water temperature at the ramp: 63 degrees
Wind: calm
Relative humidity: 93 percent
Day’s outlook: partly cloudy
Day-one links: