Tournament competition will commence again Friday morning with the top 30 anglers from the professional division and the top 30 anglers from the
co-angler division, from Wednesday’s action, competing for one day to
determine the top 10 anglers, based on that day’s catch weight, who will
advance to Saturday’s final round.
Friday’s weigh-ins will be held at Twin Dikes Marina beginning at 3:00 p.m.
Saturday’s weigh-in will be located at the Jasper Wal-Mart starting at 4:00
pm. Shane Allman of Sam Rayburn, Texas, led the Pro Division field after the first day with a weight totaling 15 pounds, 6 ounces. Ronald Bates of
LaPorte, Texas, led the Co-Angler Division after day one with a weight of
13 pounds, 14 ounces. The winning Pro angler will receive $10,000 and an
Evinrude-powered Ranger bass boat; the winning Co-Angler will win $5000.
The highest-finishing Ranger boat owner in each division for the tournament will qualify to enter the $3.5 million Ranger M1 Millennium tournament, the richest bass event in history, with a $1 million first-place cash prize at stake. The Ranger owner who catches the largest bass in each division over the course of the season will also qualify for the Ranger Millennium tournament.
Operation Bass’ EverStart Series is a 10-event series of bass tournaments that features two divisions, Central and Eastern, and will award participating anglers over $1.8 million in cash and prizes, while also providing top anglers a pathway to the prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour professional bass fishing series, also conducted by Operation Bass. The winning anglers in the professional and co-angler division, along with the top 10 anglers based on points and pounds, for the year will receive priority entry into the prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour professional bass tournaments in 2000.
Sponsors of the EverStart Series bass tournaments include: EverStart Batteries, Chevy Trucks, CITGO Petroleum, Ranger Boats, Evinrude Outboards and Electrics, Black & Decker, Coca-Cola, Coleman, Eveready, Land O’Lakes, Mitchell, SpiderWire,Uniroyal,Wal-Mart, Chex Mix, Hamburger Helper, Wrangler, and Wheaties.