GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – The newly expanded EverStart Series will kick off its 2001 season Feb. 7 with a $185,000 tournament on Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Fla. A full field of 330 of the nation’s top anglers is expected for the Eastern Division opener.
Some of the circuit’s top pros including nuclear reactor technician and 2000 EverStart Challenge Champion Alister Johnson of Cottondale, Fla., will be among the competitors.
“Each year the level of competition seems to go up a notch,” said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director. “EverStart anglers are some of the best bass fishermen in the world, so I think people are going see some nice fish brought to the scales.”
Finding big bass, of course, is the name of the game, and anglers may be working more diligently than ever with nearly $20,000 more in cash and prizes on the line during this year’s tournament.
“We increased the rewards in all of our 2001 qualifiers and introduced a no-entry-fee championship with a $325,000 purse,” Stakely said. “We also added a new Northern Division to accommodate growing demand in that region. Tournament fishing is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and our goal is to give as many bass anglers as possible the opportunity to be successful in the sport they love.”
The 4-year-old EverStart Series now includes three divisions – Eastern, Central and Northern – with four events each plus a year-end championship presented by Snickers Cruncher Bar. All told, the series will award more than $2.5 million to bass fishing enthusiasts while also providing a pathway to the $4.4 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.
The top 10 anglers from each division will qualify to compete in the full 2002 FLW Tour series where they could win up to $250,000 in a single event. Rankings are based on a points system that awards 200 points for a win, 199 points for second, 198 points for third and so on. Points will be awarded during all four qualifying events per division starting with the Lake Okeechobee tournament.
Anglers will compete on Lake Okeechobee for four days. The full field of 165 pro anglers and 165 co-anglers will compete for two days in the opening round. After the opening round, the field will be cut to the top 30 pros and top 30 co-anglers. These competitors will start from zero and compete for one day in the semifinal round to determine the top 10 anglers in each division who will advance to the final round. Catch weights are again cleared for the final day of competition, and the winner of each division is determined by the weight of that day’s catch. The winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Ranger boat, and the winning co-angler will receive $6,000.
Tournament winners and the top 50 pros and co-anglers from the Eastern, Northern and Central divisions will earn a spot in the EverStart Series Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will go home with a Ranger boat and $25,000 cash. The winning co-angler will leave with a Ranger boat and $10,000 cash.
Roland Martin’s Marina located at 920 East Del Monte Ave. is the site of each day’s 7 a.m. takeoff on Lake Okeechobee Feb. 7-10. Weigh-ins for the first three days of competition will also be held at the marina starting at 3 p.m. each day. The final weigh-in on Saturday, Feb.10, will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1005 West Sugarland Highway at 4 p.m.
Other Eastern Division events are Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Ala., Feb. 28-March 3; Lake Santee Cooper, Manning, S.C., March 28-31; and Kerr Lake, Henderson, N.C., May 30-June 2.