ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. – EverStart Series competition resumed on Lake Martin, site of the 2002 EverStart Series Championship, Wednesday as Eastern Division competitors kicked off a four-day, $256,825 tournament on the Alabama reservoir. Ted Caldwell of Alexander City took an early lead in the 200-competitor Pro Division thanks to his five-bass catch weighing 20 pounds, 6 ounces.
Anglers fought steady downpours Wednesday in 40-degree weather but still hauled in 77 five-bass limits. Lake Martin water levels had fallen about 7 feet, but anglers reported that those levels are steadily rising and should not adversely affect the fishing. Local anglers seemed to have an advantage, as several Alexander City natives ranked high on the leaderboard, including both the pro and co-angler leaders.
Caldwell caught his bass Wednesday flipping a Davis Baits spinner bait and a Davis jig in stained water.
“It’s rained all day, and I think it helped me,” said Caldwell, who is fishing in only his second EverStart Series event. “It started raining about 9:30 this morning, and I didn’t catch a fish until then. I’m just flipping brush, and I’m catching the spots out on some points. I caught two largemouths in shallow water. I wish I could’ve saved this stringer until the last day, but I’m tickled to have it.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Tony Christian of Hull, Ga. (five bass, 14 pounds, 6 ounces); William Davis of Centerstar (five bass, 14 pounds, 4 ounces); Kim Carver of Milledgeville, Ga. (five bass, 13 pounds, 12 ounces); and Ralph Mixon of Bonaire, Ga. (five bass, 12 pounds, 8 ounces).
Shane Patterson of Alexander City topped 200 Co-angler Division competitors Wednesday with a five-bass catch weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces.
“I’m fishing for spotted bass, and most of them are coming from deep water,” said Patterson, who caught his bass using a Davis crankbait. “My partner and I were out there fishing, and this guy starts walking out in the water in hip waders. He didn’t mess anything up, though.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are David Holland of Loganville, Ga. (five bass, 9 pounds, 3 ounces); Darin Mitchell of Rutledge, Ga. (five bass, 8 pounds, 11 ounces); David Parks of Decatur (five bass, 8 pounds, 10 ounces); and Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla. (three bass, 8 pounds).
Davis earned $750 as the big-bass winner in the Pro Division with a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass. Robert Mulleins of Cumberland, Va., claimed co-angler big-bass honors and $250 thanks to his 6-pound bass.
A total of 993 bass were caught Wednesday, and 100 percent were released alive.
Anglers take off each morning from Wind Creek State Park in Alexander City at 7 a.m., and Thursday’s weigh-in will also be held at Wind Creek beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2643 Highway 280 W. in Alexander City beginning at 3 p.m. each day. The community is encouraged to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins.
Following Thursday’s conclusion of the opening round, the top 20 pros and 20 co-anglers based on their two-day accumulated weight advance to Friday’s semifinal round. Weights are cleared for Friday’s competition, and the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers advance to Saturday’s final round based on Friday’s total weight. Weights are again cleared for Saturday’s competition, and anglers compete for the heaviest one-day weight.
The winning pro will take home a guaranteed cash award of $10,000 plus a new Ranger 519VS Comanche equipped with Garmin electronics and powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive an additional $10,000 cash bonus from Ranger for a total of $61,900 in cash and prizes. Ranger will also award an additional $3,000 to the winner if he is a Ranger Cup participant, and Garmin will award $1,000 to the winner if his boat is equipped with a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder.
The winning co-angler is guaranteed $5,000 cash. If the winning co-angler is a registered Ranger owner, he will also receive a new Ranger 519VS Comanche for a total of $27,800 in cash and prizes.
Four divisions – Eastern, Central, Northern and Western – comprise the 2003 EverStart Series. Each division stages four regular-season tournaments leading up to the no-entry-fee $335,975 EverStart Series Championship, which will be held on Old Hickory Lake near Gallatin, Tenn., Oct. 29-Nov. 1.
In EverStart Series competition, pros supply the boats, control boat movement and fish from the front of each boat against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back of each boat and compete against other co-anglers.
FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing, administers the EverStart Series. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League. FLW Outdoors will award as much as $20 million through 175 tournaments in 2003.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please browse this Web site.