GROVE, Okla. – The 2002 EverStart Series, known as the pathway to the $5.1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour, will host its second $210,000 Central Division tournament April 3-6 on Grand Lake.
During the four-day tournament, 330 of the nation’s top bass anglers will compete in two divisions – pro and co-angler. Pros supply the boats, control their movement throughout the tournament, and fish for a top award of more than $50,000 in cash and prizes while co-anglers fish from the back decks for a top award of $6,000 cash.
EverStart Series anglers will fish for more money than ever before in 2002 thanks to a $300,000 boost to tournament purses that brings the series’ 13-event payout to more than $2.8 million. More money also brings more opportunity to win, as the top 50 pros and co-anglers in each qualifying tournament will receive checks compared to the top 30 pros and co-anglers last year.
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 no-entry-fee 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 earn priority entry into the 2003 Wal-Mart FLW Tour where they will compete at the sport’s highest level. 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.
EverStart Series Championship anglers will make their network television debut when the tournament is broadcast to 84 million households as part of the “FLW Outdoors” series on PAX TV Saturdays at 3 p.m. EST. Anglers will also benefit from expanded coverage of EverStart Series tournaments on the new FLW Outdoors Web site and in the new FLW Outdoors magazine, which is now featured in Wal-Mart stores.
Anglers fishing Grand Lake will launch from Red 11 Port at 6 a.m. Weigh-ins for the first two days of competition will also be held at Red 11 Port starting at 3 p.m. each day. Weigh-ins Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 2115 South Main Street in Grove starting at 4 p.m. each day.
One hundred and sixty-five pros pros and 165 co-anglers will compete for two days in the opening round after which the field will be cut to the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers. Weights from the opening round are cleared and anglers start the semifinal round from zero. Following the one-day semifinal round, the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers advance to the final round. These anglers again start from zero, and the winners are determined by the weight of their final day’s catch.
Additional EverStart Series Central Division tournaments are Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky., May 1-4 and the Red River in Shreveport, La., June 12-15. The EverStart Series Championship will be held on Lake Martin in Alexander City, Ala., Nov. 6-9. Pro entry fees are $650, and co-angler entry fees are $250.
Contingency awards available at EverStart Series tournaments are the GARMIN Grand Giveaway and the Ranger Cup. GARMIN will award $1,000 to the winning pro at each event if his boat is equipped with a fixed-mount GARMIN Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder. For details, visit garmin.com. For details on the Ranger Cup, visit rangerboats.com.
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, Maxwell House, 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.
EverStart Batteries, the best selling battery in the world, are marketed exclusively through Wal-Mart stores.
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.