MANNING, S.C. – Scott Dameron of Ghent, W.Va., inched closer to his first EverStart Series win Thursday with a two-day catch of seven bass weighing 36 pounds, 1 ounce to lead 20 Pro Division anglers heading into the semifinal round of the four-day, $256,825 EverStart Series Eastern Division event on the Santee Cooper lakes.
Dameron scoured Lake Moultrie Thursday to catch two bass weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces. Weather conditions remained near perfect for competitors, with bright skies and highs in the 80s, but the hefty limits typical of spring Santee Cooper fishing remained elusive for all but a few top contenders.
“I knew I had enough weight with these fish to make the cut,” said Dameron, who caught his bass using a spinner bait. “I plan on hitting the same four holes on Friday.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla. (nine bass, 34 pounds, 14 ounces); Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn. (10 bass, 32 pounds, 15 ounces); Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va. (eight bass, 32 pounds, 14 ounces); and Tony Christian of Hull, Ga. (nine bass, 29 pounds, 5 ounces).
John Deak of Phillipsburg, Ohio, caught 10 bass weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces over two days to lead the Co-angler Division after the opening round. Twenty co-anglers also advanced to Friday’s semifinal round, and Deak used a spinner bait around shallow banks to lead the co-angler charge.
“I caught my fish on Lake Marion both days,” said Deak, who is new to the EverStart Series. “I hope my luck continues on Friday.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ron Warren of Ocklawaha, Fla. (four bass, 16 pounds, 10 ounces); Ken Crumpler of Marianna, Fla. (five bass, 14 pounds, 6 ounces); Jeff Haywood of Troy, N.C. (five bass, 14 pounds, 1 ounce); and James Hill Jr. of Ozark, Ala. (three bass, 12 pounds, 15 ounces).
David Goshorn of Harleyville, S.C., earned $750 as Thursday’s Pro Division big-bass award winner, thanks to an 8-pound, 13-ounce bass. Warren claimed co-angler big-bass honors and $250 with a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass.
A total of 484 bass were caught Thursday, including 16 five-bass limits. More than 99 percent were released alive.
Friday and Saturday’s takeoff will be at safe light from the John C. Land III Boating and Sportfishing Facility in Manning. The semifinal- and final-round weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 481 W. Boyce St. in Manning beginning at 4 p.m.
Weights are cleared for Friday’s competition, and the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers will 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.