Quick Bites: EverStart Championship, Day 1

2003 EverStart Series Championship
Old Hickory Lake, Gallatin, Tenn.
Wednesday, opening round

Tennessee Puffer Fish? … If there was an Odd Bass Award in EverStart competition, John Sappington would’ve walked away with the check on opening day of the 2003 EverStart Series Championship. Before leaving the weigh-in stage, the Snickers pro from Willard, Mo., told tournament announcer Chris Jones that one of his four bass ought to be brought out into the light for spectators to see. What he pulled from his bag was a small fish with an unusually big belly. “That’s the fattest skinny fish I’ve ever seen,” Sappington said. “It looks like he swallowed a balloon.” Though the fish wasn’t fat enough to lift the 2002 FLW Tour champion’s combined weight above 5 pounds and 9 ounces, its inflated stomach was enough to elicit a belly laugh from several members of the crowd. One audience member offered an explanation for the anomaly: “He ate a Snickers.”

Tough bite to swallow … One angler after another reported a tough bite on Old Hickory Lake during day one’s weigh-in. In fact, pro leader Art Ferguson III of St. Clair Shores, Mich., reeled in a total weight of only 12-3 – just more than half the weight of 23-1 that served as the day-one stronghold on the pro side the last time an FLW tournament was held here when the FLW Tour paid a visit in 2002. Many fishermen said Wednesday that they were having trouble solving the riddle of the fall bite on Old Hickory; others said they were catching lots of fish, but many were too small to keep and definitely too small to tip the scales in their favor. Pro Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., whose three bass weighing 5-4 was good enough for 26th place, said, “I don’t have anything figured out. This is the best day I’ve had since I’ve been here. I don’t even know if I’ll catch anything tomorrow, I’ll just be honest with you.” Pro Jim Moynagh of Carver, Minn., said he felt like he didn’t know where to turn throughout the day as the bass kept eluding his best efforts. “I spent the whole day casting and casting,” he said. “I was just thinking … I wish there was somewhere else I could go, but I didn’t know where else.” However, Moynagh found a silver lining in his results; because he missed a couple opportunities, he said he knew there would at least be a couple more bass in his spot Thursday. Despite the poor return on the day’s angling investment, many competitors maintained a bright outlook for the rest of the tournament and said the only answer was to continue to fish hard. One such angler was 13th-place pro Art Berry of Ramona, Calif., who said, “I’m excited about this tournament, as tough as it is.” And 49th-place pro Sam Newby of Pocola, Okla., was also confident of his chances. “I’ve still got a trick or two up my sleeve,” he said.

Quick numbers

16: Number of different states or Canadian provinces represented by the top 16 pro anglers after Wednesday’s opening round – from Ontario to Ohio, Alabama to Arizona and many points in between.

2: Number of five-fish limits caught on the pro side.

0: Number of five-fish limits caught on the co-angler side.

1.36: Average number of fish caught by competing pros.

.54: Average number of fish caught by competing co-anglers.

Sound bites

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to take a whole lot to have a good day here.”

– Pro David Reault of Livonia, Mich., putting the current fall bite on Old Hickory Lake into perspective for the early part of the 2003 EverStart Championship.

“I’ve been averaging about one fish a day, and five minutes ago I didn’t have that fish. He just joined us.”

– Pro Mark Zona of Sturgis, Mich., describing his last-minute catch of a 1-pound, 11-ounce bass that kept him from zeroing in Wednesday’s competition.