GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – The EverStart Batteries Series will bring 350 of the nation’s top bass anglers to Lake Santee Cooper in Manning, S.C., March 1 for the third $164,000 tournament of the nine-event 2000 tournament season.
Among competitors vying for $10,000 first place cash and an Evinrude-powered Ranger bass boat in the Pro Division are defending EverStart Challenge champion, Robert Walser of Lexington, N.C., and Robert Beatty of Orlando, Fla., who won the season opener Jan. 8 on Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
“The EverStart Series is a favorite among serious bass anglers,” says Brian Sayner, vice president of communications for Operation Bass, the world’s largest bass tournament organization. “It offers them the opportunity to fish for large purses and to advance to the prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour, which features the sport’s top prize money.”
But anglers are not the only winners at EverStart tournaments. Communities hosting the events benefit from nearly $315,000 in direct expenditures by anglers, spectators and sponsors based on a study of multi-day fishing tournaments by Dr. Hobson Bryan of the University of Alabama, Department of Geography, Urban and Regional Planning. The estimate of economic impact, however, doesn’t account for the considerable value of subsequent tourism revenue generated by EverStart Series events.
Each regular season EverStart Series tournament includes four days of competition, Wednesday through Saturday. A full field of 175 anglers from the Pro Division and 175 from the Co-Angler Division compete for two days, after which the fields are reduced to the top 30. The top 30 anglers from each division start over on day three and fish for one day to determine the top 10 anglers in both divisions who will advance to the final round on Saturday. Anglers start over on the final day, with the winner of each division determined by the weight of that day’s catch.
The John C. Land III Boating and Sportfishing Facility located on Logjam Landing Road in Summerton, S.C., is the site of each day’s 7 a.m. take-off on Lake Santee Cooper. Weigh-ins for the first three days of competition will be held at the same location at 3 p.m. The final weigh-in on Saturday, March 4 will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter 481 West Boyce Street in Manning, S.C.
Other stops on the 2000 EverStart Series schedule are: Eastern Division – Lake Cumberland, Somerset, Ky., April 5-8. Central Division – Lake Sam Rayburn, Jasper, Texas, March 8-11; Beaver Lake, Rogers, Ark., March 29-April 1; Kentucky Lake, Gilbertsville, Ky., May 3-6; Ft. Gibson Lake, Wagoner, Okla., June 7-10. EverStart Challenge – Cypress Gardens, Winter Haven, Fla., Nov. 8-11.
EverStart batteries, the No. 1 retail selling automotive and marine batteries, are marketed exclusively through Wal-Mart Stores. Additional sponsors of the 2000 EverStart Series are: BFGoodrich Tires, Black & Decker, Chevy Trucks, CITGO, Coca-Cola, Coleman, Energizer, Evinrude, Frenzy, Fujifilm, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Mitchell, Poulan/Weed Eater, Power Bait, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Spiderline, Timex, US Bank, Visa USA, Wal-Mart and Wrangler.