All in the family
M1 fields full of kin, anglers with unique backgrounds
The richest bass-fishing tournament in history, the Ranger M1, will be host to some of the biggest stars in Ranger Boats’ stable of pro anglers. Guys with already established tournament resumes like Denny Brauer, David Fritts and Randy Blaukat will be casting for the biggest cash prize of their careers – a possible $1 million.
But besides the big guns of pro bass fishing, one of the more remarkable aspects about this week’s M1 is the number of family members who are fishing the tournament together – many of whom will be competing directly against one another for the largest bass-tournament payout in history.
It IS a family sport, after all
Alfred and Andrew Iverson are a father-son tandem out of Wayzata, Minn. While Alfred is competing as a pro at the M1, he says his 19-year-old son Andrew, who is fishing as a co-angler in what could turn out to be a tough fishing tournament, might have the better chance between them at winning the tournament.
“Oh, he has the better shot,” Alfred Iverson said. “On the other hand, I pre-fished (the Mobile area) last week and he didn’t. Plus he could end up paired with a pro who is not on any fish. Either way, it’s going to be a lot of fun. A lot of hoopla.”
Another prominent fishing family warming up for the M1 is the Millsaps clan out of Georgia. Three brothers – Jimmy, Mike and David – and one nephew, Jesse, all spent last week practicing on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and will be competing this week. Jimmy, an FLW Tour pro who has two top-10 finishes to his name, made the semifinal round at the inaugural Ranger M1 tournament, at Cypress Gardens, Fla., in 1999. Despite his own accomplishments, he, too, points to his family on the co-angler side to do well at Mobile. Mike, David and Jesse are all competing as co-anglers. David, the oldest brother, made the co-angler finals of the M1 in 1999.
“Well, I hope it will be me,” Jimmy Millsaps said. “But I don’t know. I think David has the best chance to finish high on that side. I just root for all of them.”
Friendly competition amongst themselves is no strange concept to the first family of the FLW Tour, the Israels. The mother-father-son combination of Judy, Abbie and Eric Israel have been competing together at the FLW level for years. As co-anglers, the New Yorkers have all made their mark on the FLW Tour and EverStart Series with a number of top-10 finishes among them. Judy and Eric made history in 1999 by becoming the first mother-son tandem to simultaneously finish in the top 10 at an FLW event, at Lake Okeechobee in Florida. And while Abbie made his first FLW finals last year, it is Judy who reigns supreme as queen of the Israels. A force to be reckoned with on the EverStart Series, she has four top-10s to her name including a near-win at Alabama’s Lake Eufaula in 1998.
She’s excited about the prospect of fishing this year’s M1, as always, together with her family. “(Mobile) is a new area for us and the water here is beautiful,” she said last week while practicing with her husband in Alabama. “We’ll fish hard all day Sunday and Monday to see what we can find. We take turns fishing from the front of the boat. … Of course, whoever finds the fish has the biggest chest that day.”
So what happens if one of the family members wins the tournament and the boatload of cash?
“Well, he’s going to end up buying me a whole lot of fishing tackle,” laughed Alfred Iverson about his son Andrew, who stands to clear $250,000 for a win in the Co-angler Division. “Maybe I’ll be able to get some of the kid’s college money back from him.”
But it’s not really about the money, insists Iverson. It’s the natural way that the sport of fishing, in general, draws families together that he cherishes.
“When everything else is going haywire in the relationship, you can always count on fishing,” he said. “When you’ve got a 19-year-old boy and you find something that you both enjoy doing together, you’ve got to cherish it. It’s a little pricey, but how often do you get to fish the M1 with your son?”
Other notables
In addition to fishing families and high-profile pros, the 2002 Ranger M1 will host some other unique anglers:
· Co-angler Dennis Green is fishing in his first-ever big-time national tournament. The former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings and current “FLW Outdoors” TV personality said his “hope springs eternal” about a good showing in Mobile but admitted that he has “never fished anything like this. The key thing is I will be used to the pressure of competition. … What I’ll probably be doing is a little cheerleading for my pro partners, but I’ll also be doing anything I can to be in first place. You’ve got to plan your work and work your plan. I figure my chances are as good as many of the co-anglers out there.”
· Co-angler Brad Peterson is no stranger to the idea of winning a quick million bucks. In 1997 the former landscaper from Benton, Tenn., cleared several million dollars when he won the Georgia state lottery.
· Pro Chris Daniels of Clayton, N.C., is a former contestant for the hit TV show “Survivor.” He’s also a former FLW Tour champion, winning at Lake Okeechobee in 1997.
· Pro David Hudson of Rogersville, Ark., is a paraplegic, having lost the use of his legs in a fall from a cliff 15 years ago. He competes out of a Ranger boat customized with a hydraulic lift to allow movement in his wheelchair while he fishes.
· Pro David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., is the FLW Tour’s all-time winningest angler. He has captured four titles on tour.
Competition for the 2002 Ranger M1 tournament begins Wednesday morning when all anglers take off from Chocolotta Bay two miles east of downtown Mobile, Ala., at 6:30 a.m.
Links:
Pro field
Co-angler field
$3.64 million Ranger M1 bass tournament starts Wednesday
Ranger M1 preview: Mobile-Tensaw Delta – Feb. 27-March 2
Destination: Mobile-Tensaw Delta