OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Near freezing temperatures and dense fog conspired against 330 bass anglers representing 19 states and Canada Wednesday as they kicked off the $2.8 million 2002 EverStart Series on Lake Okeechobee. Pro Billy Bowen Jr., 43, of Ocala, Fla., however, managed to land an impressive five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces to lead the tournament.
Bowen, who finished as the No. 3 Eastern Division angler last season, caught his bass near isolated reeds using a 4-inch Gambler craw.
“I feel great right now. This is where I want to be,” Bowen said. “I figure the cut will be around 14 pounds, so I just have to catch one or two more to be safe.”
The $210,000 tournament features 165 pros who supply boats, control boat movements during competition, and fish for a top award of more than $50,000 in cash and prizes and 165 co-anglers who fish from the back deck of each boat for a top award of $6,000 cash. If the winning pro’s boat is equipped with a fixed-mount GARMIN Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder, he or she will receive a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN.
Brian Randall of McCalla, Ala., finished opening day in second with four bass weighing 11 pounds, 11 ounces. Pat Fisher of Stone Mountain, Ga., (five bass, 11 pounds, 5 ounces); Tommy Chumley of Jasper, Ga., (two bass, 9 pounds, 2 ounces); and Vince Ingle of Maryville, Tenn., (four bass, 9 pounds, 2 ounces) rounded out the top-five anglers.
Co-angler David Bowersock of Lake Worth, Fla., leads his division with two bass weighing 6 pounds, 13 ounces followed by Randy Webster of Brilliant, Ala., (one bass, 4 pounds, 12 ounces) in second and Sam Wisnewski of Kill Devil Hills, N.C., (two bass, 4 pounds, 2 ounces) in third.
An 8-pound, 12-ounce largemouth landed Keith Buterbaugh of Douglasville, Ga., big bass honors and $750 in the Pro Division while Webster’s 4-pound, 12-ounce largemouth landed him big bass honors and $250 in the Co-angler Division.
For a shot at victory, anglers in both divisions must secure one of the 20 slots for Friday’s semifinal round determined by the two-day opening round totals. Anglers then start from zero and compete for one day to determine the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers to compete in Saturday’s finale. Catch weights are cleared again for final competition day, and the winners are determined by the weight of that day’s catch.
Competition begins at 7 a.m. each morning at Okee-Tantie marina located at 10430 Highway 78 West in Okeechobee. Thursday’s weigh-in will also be held at the marina starting at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 2101 South Parrott Ave. in Okeechobee starting at 4 p.m.
Now in its fifth season, the EverStart Series features three divisions-Eastern, Central and Northern-with four events each plus the $325,000 EverStart Series Championship. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division will be invited to the Championship for a shot at top pro awards of more than $60,000 in cash and prizes and top co-angler awards of more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. The top 10 pros and co-anglers from each division also receive priority entry into the 2003 Wal-Mart FLW Tour where they could win up to $260,000 and $40,000 in cash respectively.
Sponsors of the 2002 EverStart Series are Wal-Mart, ALPO Pet Foods, BFGoodrich Tires, Castrol, Chevy Trucks, Coleman, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, Fujifilm, GARMIN, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Minn Kota, Pepsi, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, US Bank, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards. Associate sponsors are Abu Garcia, Berkley, Eagle Claw, Laker, Plano and Solar Bat.
FLW Outdoors is the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing tournaments. The organization operates 170 tournaments through the EverStart Series, Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and Ranger M1. FLW Outdoors will award anglers up to $22 million in 2002.