GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – The newly expanded EverStart Series will open its Central Division March 7 on Ft. Gibson Lake with a $185,000 tournament featuring 330 anglers from 21 states.
Some of the circuit’s top pros including last season’s Central Division points champion and winner of the richest bass tournament in history, Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., will be among the competitors visiting Wagoner, Okla., for the division opener. Robertson won $600,000 in November 1999 for his victory in the Ranger M1 Millennium.
“Ft. Gibson Lake is a tremendous fishery,” said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director. “If the weather cooperates, we are going to have one heck of a tournament. These guys are some of the best bass fishermen in the world, and they know how to find quality fish.”
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 Ft. Gibson Lake 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.
Sequoyah State Park located eight miles east of Wagoner on Highway 51 is the site of each day’s 7 a.m. take-off on Ft. Gibson Lake March 7-10. 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 10 will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 410 South Dewey in Wagoner at 4 p.m.
After the Ft. Gibson tourney, remaining Central Division events include Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper, Texas, April 4-7; Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky., May 2-5; and Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Miss., June 6-9.
For more information about EverStart Batteries, visit www.everstartbatteries.com.