Cody Bird of Granbury, Texas, took first place in the $227,550 EverStart Challenge with a five bass catch weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces, to capture the $45,000 first prize in the event concluded Saturday on the Arkansas River.
Bird survived two earlier elimination rounds and 105 anglers enroute to the EverStart victory, edging out four other finalists competing in Saturday’s final round of the professional division. He received $20,000 and an Evinrude-powered Ranger boat for the victory.
Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Arkansas, took the runner-up spot with a championship round, five bass tally weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces, good for $20,000.
Rounding out the top five in the professional division of the event that culminated the first year EverStart Series’ Central Division were: (3) Brian Thomas, Kuttawa, Kentucky, 7 pounds, 12 ounces, $18,000; (4) Kelly Coble, Conway, Arkansas, 6 pounds, 4 ounces, $16,000; and George Bowman, Dumas, Arkansas, 13 ounces, $14,000.
The winner of the Co-angler (amateur) division competition concluded Friday was John Little of Hope, Arkansas, who had a winning weight of 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Little collected $10,000 for his Co-angler division victory. Both Bird and Little will receive priority entry into the $3.97 million, 1999 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
The EverStart Series consists of eight regular events, four in the Central and four in the Eastern Division, and two EverStart Challenge tournaments. The Challenge events, one per division, feature the same format as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour tournaments. The Pro and Co-angler fields are cut to the top 10 after two days. Co-angler competition is ended at the conclusion of day three, with only the top five pros left to compete on the final day.
Each of the EverStart Challenge events is filmed for a future television segment that will air on ESPN 2. The Pine Bluff EverStart Challenge will air on ESPN 2 December 13, 1999, at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. EST.
One tournament remains on the 1998 EverStart Series schedule. The EverStart Challenge, culmination of the Eastern Division, will be held November 11-14,1998, on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina.
EVERSTART CHALLENGE
PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS, OCTOBER 3, 1998
FINAL STANDINGS
Pros
Place Name City, State Day 1&2 Day 3 Day 4 Winnings
1 CODY BIRD GRANBURY, TX, 20 0 5 5 8 8 20,000.00 +Ranger Boat
2 STEPHEN BROWNING HOT SPRINGS, AR, 22 1 8 8 7 13 20,000.00
3 BRIAN THOMAS KUTTAWA, KY, 17 14 9 13 7 12 18,000.00
4 KELLY COBLE CONWAY,AR, 28 10 10 9 6 4 16,000.00
5 GEORGE BOWMAN DUMAS, AR, 24 5 18 2 0 13 14,000.00
6 BILL LAWRENCE RUSSELLVILLE, AR 17 5 3 15 12,000.00
7 RANDY MORRIS GARFIELD, AR 17 15 3 8 10,000.00
8 STEVEN POWELL CABOT, AR 22 4 3 7 9,000.00
9 EDDIE LINDLEY STUTTGART, AR 19 9 3 0 8,000.00
10 A. C. HAWPE FORT SCOTT, KS 16 10 1 9 7,000.00
11 EDDIE WOODY N. LITTLE ROCK, AR 15 15 6,000.00
11 KENT SCHAEDE BROKEN ARROW, OK 15 15 5,000.00
13 TEDDY D BOGARD RISON, AR 15 14 4,000.00
14 TIM WILSON MARION, IN 15 9 3,400.00
14 KRISTOPHER BOULDIN ASHLAND, MS 15 9 3,400.00
16 DAVID ASHCRAFT BISMARCK, AR 14 15 2,800.00
17 JERRY WILLIAMS CONWAY, AR 14 9 2,800.00
18 ERIC HOLT CAPE FAIR, MO 14 0 2,800.00
19 WES WOODARD COLUMBUS, IN 13 14 2,800.00
20 TERRY DILLON PLAINFIELD, IN 13 10 2,800.00
Co-Anglers
1 JOHN LITTLE HOPE, AR 9 7 8 13 10,000.00
2 GREG AULT JESSIEVILLE, AR 15 1 6 0 4,000.00
3 ANDY VON ANTZ GREENVILLE, MS 10 1 4 13 3,000.00
4 FRED ESTES ROYAL,AR 11 6 2 9 2,500.00
5 GENE BLEDSOE GRADY, AR, 9 2 2 7 2,000.00
6 JACK COOPER KNOWVILLE, TN, 9 11 2 0 1,400.00
7 DAVID ELLINGTON PINE BLUFF, AR, 13 8 0 0 1,300.00
8 BRIAN TOLLEY KATY, TX, 12 4 0 0 1,200.00
9 TRAVIS VENABLE DUMAS, AR, 10 5 0 0 1,100.00
10 Martin Whitaker Hensley, AR 10 5 0 0 1,000