MANNING, S.C. – EverStart Series veteran Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla., took control of the EverStart Series Eastern Division tournament on the Santee Cooper lakes Wednesday with an opening day total of five bass weighing 23 pounds, 12 ounces.
Crafton, who won the 1998 EverStart Series stop on lakes Marion and Moultrie, caught his heavyweight bass near lily pads and grass using spinner baits and buzzbaits early before switching to a jig and isolated wood cover later in the day. His limit included three bass over 5 pounds, the largest of which weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces.
“I caught those three big fish in a 30-minute span that was just incredible,” Crafton said. “I’m off to a great start, that’s for sure, but there are a lot of great guys fishing. I’m just going to try to make the cut.”
Crafton currently holds second place in the EverStart Series points race after finishing third on Alabama’s Lake Eufaula last month and 11th on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee in January. Since 1998, he has earned five EverStart Series top-10 finishes.
William Smith of Moncks Corner, S.C., winner of the 2000 EverStart Series stop on the Santee Cooper lakes, finished opening day in second with five bass weighing 22 pounds, 6 ounces. Cecil Wolfe III of Goose Creek, S.C. (five bass, 22 pounds); Robert Haldeman of Acworth, Ga. (five bass, 21 pounds, 11 ounces); and Todd Tucker of Moultrie, Ga., (five bass, 20 pounds, 10 ounces) rounded out the top five pros.
Co-angler John Presnell of Shelby, N.C., leads his division with an impressive four-bass catch weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces. Kindle Nelms of Lake City, Fla., landed in second with four bass weighing 18 pounds, and Pat Cox of Rochester, Ind., took third with just two bass that weighed an astounding 16 pounds, 13 ounces. One of his bass, a 9-pound, 14-ounce largemouth, landed Cox $250 and co-angler big bass honors.
An 8-pound, 14-ounce largemouth landed George Alexander of Jacksonville, Fla., big bass honors and $750 in the Pro Division.
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 will receive a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN.
For a shot at victory, anglers in both divisions must secure one of 20 slots in Friday’s semifinal round with their two-day opening round total. Anglers then start from zero and compete for one day to determine the top 10 pros and co-anglers who will fish in Saturday’s finale. Catch weights are cleared for the final day, and the winners are determined by that day’s catch.
Competition begins at 7 a.m. each morning at the John C. Land boat ramp. Thursday’s weigh-in will also be held at the John C. Land Boating and Sportfishing Facility starting at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 481 West Boyce Street 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 presented by Conseco. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division will earn a berth in 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 could win up to $260,000 and $40,000 in cash respectively while fishing at the sport’s highest level.
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, Newell Rubbermaid, 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.