CLAYTON, N.Y. – The newly expanded EverStart Series will hold its second Northern Division tournament July 25-28 on Lake Ontario near Thousand Islands.
Up to 330 top bass anglers from 29 states and Canada will compete in the event for a share of $185,000, including first place awards of $50,000 in cash and prizes in the Pro Division and $6,000 in the Co-Angler Division. The winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat with GARMIN Electronics plus a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN if he or she was using a fixed-mount GARMIN sonar product.
“We added a Northern Division to our 2001 schedule to accommodate growing demand in the region,” said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director. “We held our first Northern Division tournament last month with a full field on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, and we are looking forward to another successful Northern Division tournament in Clayton.”
In addition to a new division, the EverStart Series increased the purse at each regular season event by $20,000 and introduced a no-entry-fee championship with a $325,000 purse for the 2001 season. More than $2.5 million will be awarded this year.
The 4-year-old EverStart Series, which serves as a pathway to the $4.45 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour, includes three divisions-Eastern, Central and Northern-with four events each plus the year-end championship. 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 Lake Ontario for four days starting July 25. A full field of up to 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.
EverStart Series tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from the Eastern, Northern and Central divisions will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship presented by Conseco Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will receive a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat with GARMIN electronics and $25,000. The top co-angler will win a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat with GARMIN electronics and $10,000.
French Creek Marina in Clayton is the site of each day’s 6 a.m. take-off on Lake Ontario July 25-28. 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, June 16, will be held at the Wal-Mart on Arsenal Street in Watertown, N.Y., at 4 p.m.