JASPER, Texas – After weighing in five bass that registered 19 pounds, 14 ounces, Tim Poe, 39, of Benton, Ark., will lead 10 of the nation’s top professional anglers into Saturday’s final round of the EverStart Batteries Series tournament on Lake Sam Rayburn.
Poe, who is fishing his first full EverStart season, caught his bass, including a 9-pound largemouth, using a Strike King Diamond Shad, Moon’s tube lizard and Rattling Rogue. The fish were caught out of grass around Needmore Point and Farms Flats about one mile from Twin Dykes Marina.
“I feel real good right now,” Poe said. “I’ve made the cut is some other big tournaments, and it always feels great. But Carl Svebek is going to be hard to beat. I’m just going to do what I did today.”
Finishing the round in second through fifth position in the Pro Division were Carl Svebek of Sam Rayburn, Texas, with five bass weighing 17-12; Mike Hawkes of Sabinal, Texas, with five bass weighing 16-14; David Ozio of Beaumont, Texas, with five bass weighing 16-9; and Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, with five bass weighing 16-2.
In the Co-Angler Division, day one leader, Melvin Henslee of Beaumont, Texas reclaimed the lead with five bass weighing 13-12. Mark Klein of Lawrenceville, Ill., finished the round in second with five bass weighing 13-11 followed by Ralph Myhlhousen of Council Bluffs, Iowa, with five bass weighing 13-2; Phil Hennigan of Center, Texas, with five bass weighing 12-7; and Ricky Rasbeary of Diboll, Texas, with five bass weighing 12-7.
On Saturday, anglers may face much cooler temperatures and windy conditions as they start over and fish for one day to determine the victor. The winning pro will receive $10,000 and an Evinrude- or Johnson-powered Ranger bass boat. The winning co-angler will collect $6,000.
Saturday’s action begins at 7 a.m. at Twin Dykes Marina on Highway 255 two miles east of the Sam Rayburn Dam. The weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 800 West Gibson in Jasper.
The three-year-old EverStart Series is comprised of two divisions, Eastern and Central, with four multi-day events per division. The top 75 pros and co-anglers from each division will advance to the year-end EverStart Invitational Challenge at Cypress Gardens, Fla., which features a purse of $360,000.
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 priority entry into the 2001 FLW Tour.