GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – The newly expanded EverStart Series will open its Central Division April 4 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir near Jasper, Texas, with a $185,000 tournament featuring 330 anglers from 22 states.
The event, which emerged as the season opener after an earlier EverStart tournament on Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma was rescheduled due to high water, will feature some of the circuit’s top pros fishing for a first-place award of $50,000 in cash and prizes. The winning co-angler will receive $6,000.
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 Jasper. Robertson won $600,000 in November 1999 for his victory in the Ranger M1 Millennium.
“Texas is well known for its superb largemouth bass fisheries,” said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director, “and Sam Rayburn Reservoir is one of the best. With the quality of the anglers that we have competing, I think we are going to see some huge bass 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 Wal-Mart FLW Tour 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 Sam Rayburn Reservoir for four days starting April 4. The full field of 165 pros and 165 co-anglers will compete for two days during 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. Anglers will again start from zero for the final day of competition, and the winner of each division will be 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.
EverStart Series tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from the Eastern, Northern and Central divisions will earn a spot in the EverStart Series Championship presented by Conseco 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. The top 10 anglers from each division will also qualify to compete in the 2002 Wal-Mart FLW Tour where they could win up to $250,000 in a single event.
Twin Dikes Marina on Highway 255 in Jasper is the site of each day’s 7 a.m. takeoff on Sam Rayburn Reservoir April 4-7. 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, March 10 will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 800 West Gibson Road in Jasper at 4 p.m.
After the Sam Rayburn Reservoir tourney, remaining Central Division events are Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky., May 2-5; Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Miss., June 6-9; and Fort Gibson Lake in Wagoner, Okla., Sept. 19-22.
For more information about the EverStart Series, call (270) 362-4880. For more information about EverStart Batteries, visit www.everstartbatteries.com.
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