MANNING, S.C., – Ricky Shumpert, 1999 EverStart Eastern Division points champion, will lead 30 of the nation’s top professional bass anglers into Friday’s second round of competition at the EverStart Batteries Series tournament on Lake Santee Cooper with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 5 ounces.
Shumpert, 39, of Lexington, S.C., caught all of his fish on Lake Marion, the upper part of Santee Cooper, fishing isolated cover with a tube bait and jig and pig. “The fishing is great and getting better each day,” he says about catching five fish weighing 18-3 Thursday to secure the lead over runner-up Wayne Clifton of Goosecreek, S.C., who caught 32 pounds, 12 ounces over two days. “I feel pretty good. I found more fish today than I’ve been on all week. So, if we can bring them in when the bite tomorrow, I’m confident me and my co-angler will be back on Saturday.”
In the Co-Angler Division, Terry Gregory, 45, of Franklin, N.C., leads the field with a two-day total of seven bass weighing 17-8. Gregory, who is back on the tournament circuit for the first time since 1993, caught the majority of his fish on secondary points with stumps in 3 to 6 feet of water using a green, Texas or Carolina rigged lizard. “I feel real confident that my boater and I can stay in the top 10,” he says.
Big bass for the day in the Pro Division went to Randall Hillyer of Summerville, S.C., for a 7-pound, 11-ounce largemouth that earned him $500. Big bass honors in the Co-Angler Division and $150 each went to Jim Browning of Dawsonville, Ga., and Keith Schultz of Sumter, S.C., for a 5-pound, 14-ounce largemouth.
Rounding out the top five spots in the Pro Division were: Rusty Trancygier of Hahira, Ga., with 28-15; Mark Burgess of Norton, Mass., with 28-3; and Eric Bozeman of Bloomingdale, Ga., with 27-7.
On Friday, anglers will start over and fish for one day to determine the top 10 pros and co-anglers who will compete in Saturday’s final round. The winning pro will receive $10,000 cash and an Evinrude-powered Ranger bass boat. The winning co-angler will collect $6,000.
Competition begins at 7 a.m. each day at the John C. Land III Boating and Sportfishing Facility located on Logjam Landing Road in Summerton, S.C. Friday’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at the same location, and Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 481 West Boyce Street in Manning at 4 p.m.
Over the course of the season, the EverStart Series awards anglers up to $1.7 million in cash and prizes. It also provides a pathway to the prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the richest tournament series in history. Winning anglers in the Pro and Co-Angler Divisions of each EverStart tournament, as well as the overall top 10 anglers, based on a system of points and pounds, receive automatic berths in the 2001 FLW Tour.