LA CROSSE, Wis. – Daniel Keyes of Manchester, N.H., will lead 30 of the nation’s top professional bass anglers into Friday’s semifinal round of competition at the $185,000 EverStart Series Northern Division tournament on the Mississippi River with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 4 ounces.
Keyes caught five bass weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces Wednesday to finish in 10th place, then turned in five bass weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces Thursday to finish the opening round on top of the 165-angler Pro Division. Friday the top 30 pros and co-anglers will start from zero and fish for one day to determine the top 10 anglers who will advance to Saturday’s final round for a shot at top awards of $15,000 and a Mercury- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat with GARMIN Electronics in the Pro Division and $6,000 in the Co-Angler Division. GARMIN will also award a $1,000 bonus if the winning angler was using a fixed-mount GARMIN sonar product.
“I feel really good about my chances going into tomorrow,” said Keyes, who caught the majority of his bass on a Gambler black with red flake tube lure. “I was nervous last night because the weather was calling for more wind today, and it was the wind that hurt me yesterday. But it never materialized, and I was able to fish my spot.”
Yesterday’s leader, Ronald Cherkas of Des Moines, Iowa, caught 9 bass weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces over two days to secure the No. 2 spot in Friday’s competition. Rounding out the top five pros were Robert Izumi of Canada, with 10 bass weighing 21 pounds, 15 ounces; Joe Flinn of Iola, Wis., with 21 pounds, 2 ounces; and Nick Prvonozac of Warren, Mich., with 20 pounds, 7 ounces.
In the 165-person Co-Angler Division, Tadd Andrle of Fairfax, Iowa, claimed the top spot with a two-day, nine bass total weighing 18 pounds, 9 ounces.
Finishing in second and third place in the Co-Angler Division was Jeffery Carmen of Liberty, Ky., with 10 bass weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces and Brian Thomas of Green Bay, Wis., with eight bass weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces.
Big bass and $750 in the Pro Division went to Bill Baker of Rockford, Ill., for a 4-pound, 8-ounce largemouth. Big bass and $250 in the Co-Angler Division went to Joe Pappas of Southgate, Mich., for a 4-pound, 2-ounce largemouth.
539 bass were caught Thursday. More than 97 percent of the bass were released alive.
Competition begins at 5:30 a.m. each day at Northside Ramp in La Crosse. Friday’s weigh-in begins at 3:00 p.m. at the ramp, and Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1210 Crossing Meadows Drive in Onalaska, Wis., at 4:00 p.m.
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 presented by Conseco Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. More than $2.5 million will be awarded during the 2001 EverStart Series season.