CLAYTON, N.Y. – Steven McGahan of Gales Ferry, Conn., will lead 20 of the nation’s top professional bass anglers into Friday’s semifinal round at the $210,000 EverStart Series tournament on Thousand Islands with a two-day total of 10 smallmouth bass weighing 40 pounds, 6 ounces.
McGahan caught five smallmouth bass weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces Wednesday to take the early lead, which he retained Thursday by landing five more smallmouth bass weighing 20 pounds, 9 ounces. Catching fish was the easy part for the second-year pro. It was getting to them that was difficult, as a passing front whipped up 7- to 8-foot waves on the massive fishery. McGahan skillfully maneuvered his Ranger 518 bass boat through the waves approximately 30 miles to a productive island that was protected from the wind and caught his smallmouths using a green pumpkin and red Stalker finesse tube.
“After seeing what some of the other guys are bringing in, I’m kind of nervous,” said McGahan, who finished fifth at last month’s EverStart Series tournament on New York’s Lake Champlain. “I could go wire to wire if Mother Nature is nice to me.”
Pro Randy Ramsey of Battle Creek, Mich., caught 10 bass weighing 35 pounds, 5 ounces over two days to secure the No. 2 spot in the semifinal round. Jonathon Rogers of Loudon, N.H., (10 bass, 34 pounds, 3 ounces); Marcel Vennstra of Newtown, Pa., (10 bass, 33 pounds, 3 ounces); and Jack Gifford of East Woodstock, Conn., (10 bass, 33 pounds, 2 ounces) rounded out the top five pros.
Friday the top 20 pros and co-anglers will start from zero and fish for one day to determine the top 10 anglers advancing to Saturday’s final round for a shot at a top pro award of more than $50,000 in cash and prizes and a top co-angler award of $6,000 cash.
Co-angler Duane Rinkus of Amhest, N.Y., claimed the top spot in his division Thursday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 5 ounces. He caught five smallmouths Wednesday using a Zoom fluke and a spinner bait followed by five largemouths Thursday on Senkos and a drop-shot robo worm.
Finishing in second and third place were co-anglers Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., (10 bass, 25 pounds, 14 ounces) and Chris Wade of Preston, Conn., (10 bass, 25 pounds, 5 ounces).
An enormous 8-pound, 3-ounce largemouth landed Tom M. Lavictoire of West Rutland, Vt., big-bass honors and $750 in the Pro Division while John Pellegrino of Smith Town, N.Y., landed co-angler big-bass honors and $250 with a 5-pound, 6-ounce largemouth.
A total of 1,028 bass were caught Thursday including 147 five-bass limits. More than 98.9 percent of the bass were released alive.
Competition begins at 6 a.m. each morning at French Creek Marina in Clayton, N.Y. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 20823 State Route 3 in Watertown, N.Y., 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 as much as $500,000 and $40,000 in cash, respectively.
More than $2.8 million will be awarded to bass anglers through the 2002 EverStart Series.