OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Opening-round leader Billy Bowen Jr., 43, Ocala, Fla., retained his No. 1 ranking heading into Saturday’s final round of the $210,000 EverStart Series season opener on Lake Okeechobee with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 1 ounce.
Clear skies and the warmest temperatures of the week helped Bowen land his limit Friday with a 4-inch Gambler craw cast to grass along the lake’s north shore. His next closest competitor, Mark Lamb, West Palm Beach, Fla., was just 12-ounces back with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces.
Wayne Clifton, Goose Creek, S.C., (four bass, 8 pounds, 6 ounces) and J. T. Kenney, Frostburg, Md., (four bass, 8 pounds) qualified third and fourth respectively. Jonathan Newton, Rogersville, Ala., however, stole the show with a single bass weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces that landed him in fifth place.
“I don’t know if my fish will hold out,” said Bowen, who led the semifinal round with his two-day, eight-bass total weighing 21 pounds, 9 ounces. “That’s the nerve racking part of tournament fishing. This is a big lake, and I don’t know if my spot will produce what it takes for another day.”
Ten pro finalists will compete Saturday for a top award of more than $50,000 cash and prizes. If the winning pro’s boat is equipped with a fixed-mount GARMIN Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder, he or she will also receive a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN. Each angler starts from zero and the winner is determined by Saturday’s catch.
Roger Peifer, 43, Lake Placid, Fla., claimed the top qualifying spot in the Co-angler Division with two bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces-the heaviest catch overall. He survived the semifinal-round cut from 165 to 30 co-anglers in sixth place with a two-day total of 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Just one of his fish equaled that total Friday.
“When I hooked that big one (a 7-pounder) I said `here she is,” said Peifer, an EverStart Series rookie. “I didn’t really need her, but it sure was nice.”
Co-angler Jamey Way, McLeansville, N.C., (three bass, 6 pounds, 2 ounces) was the No. 2 qualifier followed by Mike Calloway, Titusville, Fla., (four bass, 4 pounds, 15 ounces) in third.
Ten co-anglers also start from zero Saturday with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. The winning co-angler will receive $6,000 cash.
Saturday’s action begins at 7 a.m. at Okee-Tantie marina located at 10430 Highway 78 West in Okeechobee. The final weigh-in 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.
More than $2.8 million will be awarded to bass anglers through the 2002 EverStart Series. The series also provides a pathway to the $5.1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour-bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.