GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. (May 12, 1999) – Bradley Stringer of Huntington, Texas, has taken the first day lead in the Pro Division of Operation Bass’ EverStart Batteries Bass Series tournament with a first day weight of 21 pounds, 12 ounces in the event being held on Kentucky Lake, where 150 professional and 150 co-anglers are competing in a four-day elimination tournament for a $35,000 first place Pro prize and $5,000 Co-Angler prize in the fourth event of the EverStart Series’ Eastern Division.
Stringer is competing for one of 30 slots available in the second round of competition that begins Friday, when the anglers compete for one day to determine the top 10 anglers (pro and co-angler) that will compete in Saturday’s final round. The winning pro will receive $10,000 plus an Evinrude-equipped Ranger boat. First place in the co-angler division is $5,000 cash. Thursday, and Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at Moors Marina beginning at 3:00 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be located at the Benton Wal-Mart
starting at 4:00 pm. Jerry Wade of Indianapolis, Indiana, is leading the co-angler field with a first day weight totaling 16 pounds, 6 ounces.
The highest-finishing Ranger boat owner in the tournament will qualify to enter the $3.5 million Ranger M1 Millennium tournament, the richest bass event in history, with a $1 million first-place cash prize at stake. The Ranger owner who catches the largest bass in each division over the course of the season will also qualify for the Ranger Millennium tournament.
Operation Bass’ EverStart Batteries Series is a 10-event series of bass tournaments that features two divisions, Central and Eastern, and will award participating anglers over $1.8 million in cash and prizes, while also providing top anglers a pathway to the prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour professional bass fishing series, also conducted by Operation Bass. The winning anglers in the professional and co-angler division, along with the top 10 anglers based on points and pounds, for the year will receive priority entry into the prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour professional bass tournaments in 2000.
The top 30 anglers in the EverStart Series receive priority entry into the following year’s Wal-Mart FLW Tour. During the 1999 season, the EverStart Series will pay back $120,900 in cash and prizes to the top 30 Pros in each regular event, and $216,800 to Pros in the EverStart Batteries Challenge events. Each of the eight regular EverStart events feature total cash and prizes of $154,100 including an Evinrude-equipped Ranger bass boat. The fifth and final event in both the Central and Eastern Division is the
EverStart Challenge, each of which will have a $283,200 purse, including an Evinrude-equipped Ranger boat.
Sponsors of the EverStart Series bass tournaments include: EverStart Batteries, Chevy Trucks, CITGO Petroleum, Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards and Electrics, Black & Decker, Coca-Cola, Coleman, Eveready, Land O’Lakes, Mitchell, SpiderWire, Uniroyal,Wal-Mart, Chex Mix, Hamburger Helper, Wrangler, US Bank-VISA, and Wheaties.