CLAYTON, N.Y. – Steven McGahan of Gales Ferry, Conn., landed more than $50,000 in cash and prizes including a Yamaha- or Evinrude-powered Ranger boat Saturday with five bass weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces in the EverStart Series Northern Division tournament on Thousand Islands.
McGahan, who led the first two days of the four-day tournament, topped 156 Pro Division anglers after four days of competition and two elimination rounds. He made the top-20 cut Thursday in first place with a two-day, opening-round total weighing 40 pounds, 6 ounces. He then caught five more bass weighing 17 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to make the top-10 cut in sixth place. Catch weights were cleared for all competitors following each cut.
Faced with windy weather the first three days of the tournament, McGahan caught his bass using a green and pumpkin Stalker Finesse tube. Even though the wind died down Saturday, he employed the same productive technique to claim victory over pro anglers from more than a dozen states.
“I was paying close attention to my GARMIN depth finder, and any time I’d see a mark close to the bottom, I’d drop my tube down there, and the bass would eat it,” said McGahan, who also landed a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN for using a fixed-mount GARMIN GPS/Sounder. “I got seasick Friday and still managed to catch over 17 pounds, but if I hadn’t gotten seasick I probably would have led this tournament every day.”
Dean Meckes of Clayton, N.Y. (five bass, 19 pounds, 14 ounces, $10,000); Randy Ramsey of Battle Creek, Mich. (five bass, 19 pounds, 6 ounces, $9,000); Tom Dolin of Palatine Bridge, N.Y. (five bass, 17 pounds, $8,000); and Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., (five bass, 16 pounds, 1 ounce, $7,500) rounded out the top five pros.
In the 156-competitor Co-angler Division, Mark McNeil of Ledyard, Conn., claimed first place and $6,000 with five bass weighing 17 pounds. He was the No. 6 seed in the final round after landing five bass weighing 12 pounds, 5 ounces in the semifinal round.
Catch weights were cleared at the start of each round.
McNeil, paired with McGahan during the final round, reaped the benefits of the pro angler’s depth finder.
“It was like a video game,” said McNeil. “This is too cool. On the way back from the river, we hit a big barge wake, and it filled our boat up with water, but besides that, this tournament has been pretty good. This is awesome.”
Co-anglers Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., (five bass, 15 pounds, 3 ounces, $4,000) and Kevin McClurg of Huntertown, Ind., (five bass, 12 pounds, 2 ounces, $3,500) finished second and third, respectively.
One hundred percent of the 97 bass caught Saturday were released alive.
The tournament began Wednesday with 312 anglers taking off from French Creek Marina in Clayton, N.Y., to claim a piece of the event’s $210,000 purse. The Detroit River near Trenton, Mich., will be the next Northern Division EverStart Series stop Sept. 25-28.
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.