GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – EverStart Series rookie Jeremiah Kindy, 24, of Benton, Ark., claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot Friday going into the final round of the $210,000 Central Division tournament on Kentucky Lake with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces.
Kindy, a Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League star who advanced to the EverStart Series after earning nine top-10 BFL finishes in three years, has already proven himself to be an EverStart Series contender with a fifth-place finish at the season opener Feb. 6-9 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas. Now he’s making his second final-round appearance in three tournaments, competing Saturday against nine other pros for a top award of $15,000 cash and a Ranger boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha. If his boat is equipped with a fixed-mount GARMIN Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder, he will also receive a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN.
Kindy caught his bass Friday flipping a Zoom Brush Hog to bushes growing in 1 to 4 feet of water along creek channels in Lake Barkley. In the opening round, he caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 9 ounces doing the same thing to make the opening-round cut in third place. Will his pattern hold out? “I’ve only been getting six to eight keeper bites per day, and I’ve been beating the fish so hard,” Kindy said. “I didn’t know if I had enough fish left [Friday]. But now I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
He should feel good. Luck seems to be on Kindy’s side since he captured the lead Friday despite breaking off two solid fish before landing his first keeper. He is also catching pre-spawn bass that seem to be immune to the cold weather that moved through Thursday afternoon. As fishing conditions deteriorate, his weights are steadily improving.
“I feel great,” Kindy said. “I can’t wait to go for it.”
He is bound to face stiff competition, however, from Bobby Kilzer of Trenton, Tenn. (five bass, 14 pounds, 10 ounces); Dan Morehead of Paducah, Ky. (five bass, 14 pounds, 1 ounce); Brad Hallman of Norman, Okla. (five bass, 13 pounds, 5 ounces); and Patrick Hailstones of Cincinnati, Ohio, (five bass, 13 pounds, 4 ounces) who rounded out the top five pros.
Finalists start on equal footing as weights from previous rounds are erased, and the winner is determined by the weight of Saturday’s catch. The original field of 165 pros was cut to the top 20 Thursday and cut to the top 10 Friday.
Robert Bogard Jr. of Conway, Ark., claimed the top co-angler spot Friday with four bass weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces. He survived the semifinal round cut from 165 to 20 co-anglers Thursday in fourth place with a two-day total of six bass weighing 15 pounds.
James Alphin of Hemphill, Texas, qualified in second with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Doug Caskey of Madisonville, Ky., with four bass weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces.
Like their pro counterparts, co-anglers start from zero Saturday with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. The winning co-angler receives $6,000 cash.
A total of 94 bass were caught Friday including six five-bass limits. All of the bass were released alive.
Saturday’s action begins at 6 a.m. at Moors Resort in Gilbertsville, Ky. The final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 310 West Fifth Street in Benton, Ky., 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 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 – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series – 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.