TRENTON, Mich. – Richard Grosse of Hebron, Ohio, claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot Friday going into the final round of the $210,000 EverStart Series tournament on the Detroit River with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 8 ounces.
Grosse, who is fishing his first EverStart tournament since November 2001, will compete Saturday against nine other finalists in the Pro Division for a top award of $50,000 in cash and prizes including an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat. 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.
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 153 pros was whittled to the top 20 Thursday and cut to the top 10 Friday.
“I really didn’t know how much weight I had,” Grosse said. “I thought I might have 16 pounds, which I figured would put me close to the cut. It was a nice surprise, however, to have over 19 pounds.”
Grosse caught his bass Friday using a green pumpkin tube along channel bends near the mouth of the Detroit River. In the opening round, he caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 38 pounds, 13 ounces using the same tactic to make the opening-round cut in third.
Opening-round leader Steve Clapper or Lima, Ohio, fell to the No. 2 qualifying spot with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces. Neil Vandebiezen of Portage, Mich. (five bass, 18 pounds, 8 ounces); Ted Angers of Clinton Township, Mich. (five bass, 18 pounds, 1 ounce); and Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich. (five bass, 17 pounds, 7 ounces) rounded out the top five pros.
Patrick Schwierking of Wixom, Mich., claimed the top co-angler spot Friday with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces. He survived the semifinal round cut from 153 to 20 co-anglers Thursday in 19th place with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces.
“I haven’t really thought about the money,” said Schwierking, who stands to earn $6,000 if goes on to win the tournament. “I’m just going go to fishing and see what happens.”
Aaron Jakub of Lincoln, Neb., qualified in second with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces followed by Daniel Cramer of Van Wert, Ohio, with four bass weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces in third.
Like their pro counterparts, co-anglers start from zero Saturday with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch.
A total of 154 bass were caught Friday including 25 five-bass limits. More than 98 percent of the bass were released alive.
Saturday’s action begins at 7 a.m. at Elizabeth Park in Trenton, Mich. The final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2155 N. Telegraph Road in Monroe, Mich., beginning 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 $500,000 and $40,000 in cash, respectively.
More than $2.8 million will be awarded to bass anglers through the 2002 EverStart Series.
Sponsors of the 2002 EverStart Series are Wal-Mart, ALPO Pet Foods, BFGoodrich Tires, Castrol, Chevy Trucks, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, Fujifilm, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepsi, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, U.S. Bank, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards.
FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing tournaments, manages the EverStart Series. 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.