FLORENCE, Ala. – After four qualifying events and 16 days of regular season competition in the Northern Division, Richard Grosse of Hebron, Ohio, is one step closer to winning the EverStart Series Championship after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces Wednesday on Pickwick Lake.
To maintain his lead, however, Grosse will have to continue producing quality bass for the next three days or risk being overtaken by one of the other 161 pro anglers fishing his division. Five and one-half pounds separate the top 10 anglers, and staying in the top 10 is crucial since the field will be cut following Thursday’s weigh-in. The top 10 will then advance to the semifinal round Friday where they will start from zero and fish for one day to earn a berth in the final round. Only the top five pros will make it there for a shot at winning the championship title and $60,000 in cash and prizes. Anglers will start from zero again for the final round.
“This feels awesome,” said Grosse, who was the last championship qualifier to come out of the Northern Division. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I hope it keeps going.”
While most of the field struggled, Grosse managed to catch his limit by working crankbaits near shallow ledges adjacent to deep-water haunts. He says he was surprised, however, to catch mostly largemouth bass since the area he fished yielded smallmouths during practice. Grosse, who is fishing his first season as a pro, finished in 13th place on Lake Erie in September. It was his best showing to date.
Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., is currently in second place with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces followed by Joe Balog of Independence, Ohio, with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces; Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, with three bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces; and Terry Tucker of Gadsden, Ala., with three bass weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces.
In the Co-angler Division, Jeffery Carman of Liberty, Ky., holds the top spot with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 5 ounces followed by Chuck Welch of Knoxville, Tenn., with three bass weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces and Ken Keys of Evansville, Ind., with two bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces.
Like their pro counterparts, co-anglers must finish in the top 10 to advance to the next round, which is the final round of co-angler competition. The top co-angler will receive $40,000 in cash and prizes.
Big bass and $625 in the Pro Division Wednesday went to Glen Northcutt of Del City, Okla., for a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass. Big bass and $250 in the Co-angler Division went to Renee Flesh of Edwardsburg, Mich., for a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass that was good for fifth place. Only 160 bass were caught Wednesday including three five-bass limits.
Competition begins at 6:30 a.m. each morning at McFarland Park except for Friday when takeoff is scheduled for 8 a.m. Thursday’s weigh-in will be held at the park starting at 2:30 p.m. Friday’s weigh-in starts at 5 p.m. at the Florence Wal-Mart Supercenter on Hough Road. Saturday’s final weigh-in will also be held at Wal-Mart starting at 3:30 p.m.
The 4-year-old EverStart Series includes three divisions-Eastern, Central and Northern-with four events each plus the year-end championship presented by Conseco. Tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from each division earned a spot in the championship. Top competitors may also qualify for the Ranger M1 tournament in Mobile, Ala., Feb. 27-March 2, 2002, where they could win up to $1 million in the world’s richest freshwater tournament.