GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – The newly expanded EverStart Series is heading to Lake Eufaula with a $185,000 tournament featuring 330 anglers from 22 states and Canada.
Some of the circuit’s top pros including 2000 EverStart Challenge Champion Alister Johnson of Cottondale, Fla., will be among the competitors in the second Eastern Division tournament of the 2001 season.
“We are looking forward to our visit to Lake Eufaula,” said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director. “Eufaula is a wonderful fishery, and EverStart anglers are some of the best bass fishermen in the world. I think people are going see some big 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 each tournament this season.
“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. More than $2.5 million will be awarded to bass fishing enthusiasts this season. The EverStart Series also provides 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 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.
Anglers will compete on Lake Eufaula 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. 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 Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will receive a Ranger boat and $25,000 cash. The top co-angler will win a Ranger boat and $10,000 cash.
Lake Point State Park located at 104 Lake Point Drive is the site of each day’s 7 a.m. take-off on Lake Eufaula Feb. 28-March 3. Weigh-ins for the first three days of competition will also be held at the park starting at 3 p.m. each day. The final weigh-in on Saturday, March 3 will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 1218 South Eufaula Ave. at 4 p.m.
After Lake Eufaula, the remaining Eastern Division events will be Lake Santee Cooper, Manning, S.C., March 28-31 and Kerr Lake, Henderson, N.C., May 30-June 2.
For more information about EverStart Batteries, visit www.everstartbatteries.com.