CLEWISTON, Fla., – James Nuckols Jr., 43, of Rockwood, Tenn., landed $50,000 in cash and prizes Saturday for winning the EverStart Series Eastern Division opener on Lake Okeechobee with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces.
Nuckols survived four days of competition on the expansive lake before claiming victory over 165 competitors in the Pro Division. Throughout the competition, he successfully caught bass using blue/chartreuse and firetiger colored crankbaits in 6 to 12 feet of water. He spent most of the tournament fishing deep cuts near spawning flats at the south end of the lake. On Saturday, however, the bites didn’t come as quickly as they had during previous days.
“I had to fight the urge to leave that spot,” Nuckols said after winning $15,000 cash and a new Ranger boat. “The only thing that kept me there was knowing that I could catch a 7-or 8-pounder, and I knew that was what I needed to win.”
With about one hour left to fish, Nuckols, who has been fishing professionally for 17 years, landed a 6-pound, 8-ounce largemouth and a 5-pounder to seal his first EverStart Series victory.
Nuckols made the semifinal round cut to the top 30 pros Thursday in 24th place with a two-day total of eight bass weighing 24 pounds, 2 ounces. He then jumped into first place Friday for the final round cut to the top 10 with five bass weighing 28 pounds, 3 ounces. Catch weights were cleared for all competitors at the start of the semifinal and final rounds.
Second through fifth place in the Pro Division went to Rufus Johnson of Strawberry Plains, Tenn., with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 2 ounces worth $10,000; Mark Rogers of Naples, Fla., with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces worth $9,000; Mike Glazier of Frederick, Md., with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces worth $8,000; and Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla., with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces worth $7,500.
Jim Kimball, 60, of Okeechobee, Fla., claimed first place in the 165-person Co-Angler Division and collected $6,000 with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces. Tom Turner of Bowie, Md., finished second in the Co-Angler Division and collected $4,000 with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces. Dale Warren of Newton Grove, N.C., finished third with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces worth $3,500.
“I had a blast,” said Kimball, who was competing in his first EverStart tourney. “It was a great, great tournament. I had my limit around 9 a.m., but I kept looking for that big bite. As it turned out, I didn’t need it.”
A total of 92 bass weighing 245 pounds, 11 ounces were caught Saturday including 16 five-bass limits. Ninety-eight percent of the bass were released alive.
The tournament began Wednesday with 330 anglers taking off from Roland Martin’s Marina in Clewiston to claim a piece of the event’s $185,000 purse. Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Ala., will be the next Eastern Division EverStart Series stop Feb. 28-March 3.
The 4-year-old EverStart Series now includes three divisions – Eastern, Central and Northern – with four events each plus a year-end championship. Tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from each division will earn a spot in the championship, which will be held Nov. 7-10 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 receive a Ranger boat and $10,000 cash. More than $2.5 million will be awarded to bass fishing enthusiasts during the 2001 EverStart Series season. The series also provides a pathway to the $4.4 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.