TOWER, Minn. – Pro Chris Cox of Appleton, Wis., kicked off the EverStart Series Northern Division’s 2003 season in grand fashion Wednesday on Lake Vermilion, netting five bass that weighed 17 pounds, 15 ounces to take the lead at the four-day event. Cox and 188 other pros are in the hunt for a top pro award of up to $61,900 in cash and prizes, including a fully-rigged Ranger 519VS Comanche, and 189 Co-angler Division contenders are competing for a top co-angler award of up to $27,800 in cash and prizes, including a Ranger 519VS Comanche. All told, the event will pay out as much as $249,825 in cash and prizes.
After braving chilly 39-degree weather at takeoff Wednesday morning, anglers scoured Lake Vermilion for limits of smallmouths lurking in the shallows. Temperatures rose to the comfortable mid-70s range over the course of the day, with water temperatures hovering in the 60s. Limits abounded Wednesday, and Cox holds a mere 1-ounce lead over second-place contender Mark Zona of Sturgis, Mich. In fact, only 10 ounces separated the top five pros. Cox sight-fished in 2 to 5 feet of water Wednesday and caught the majority of his bass on Venom tubes.
“This is my first time on this lake,” said Cox, who had his limit by 7:30 a.m. “I’ve been here since Tuesday, and I knew what I had; it was just a matter of getting to them first. There’s a few more fish left for (Thursday), so we’ll see what I can do. You can catch 75 to 100 fish a day on this lake.”
Cox, who is entering his second year as an EverStart pro, has his eye on a particular goal: to advance to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. “Leading this tournament is a dream come true,” said Cox, who finished 21st in 2002 Northern Division points standings. “I’ve been striving for it. I’m just trying to qualify for the FLW Tour.”
Finishing second was Zona (five bass, 17 pounds, 14 ounces) followed by Daniel Welch of New Martinsville, W.Va., in third (five bass, 17 pounds, 12 ounces); Tied for fourth were Edward Rogers Jr. of Grand Rapids, Mich., (five bass, 17 pounds, 5 ounces); and Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., (five bass, 17 pounds, 5 ounces) to round out the top five pros.
Eric Struif of Lake Villa, Ill., leads the Co-angler Division with a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces. He used tube jigs and 4-inch worms around shorelines and docks to catch his tournament-leading bass.
“I was fortunate that my pro partner (Butch Dobransky) missed a few fish and I was able to catch them,” said Struif, who is fishing his first EverStart Series event. “That’s pretty much how it worked. I was just watching what he was doing. I never dreamed I could be in the lead with 180 other fishermen. All these guys are such great fishermen; to be in first place is just unbelievable.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Richard Wyrick of Frankfort, Ill. (five bass, 13 pounds, 1 ounce); Phil Rose of Spring Valley, Ohio (five bass, 12 pounds, 10 ounces); Troy Schwab of Elk River (five bass, 12 pounds, 7 ounces); and Allen Hogenson of West Fargo, N.D. (five bass, 12 pounds, 6 ounces).
Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., earned $750 as Wednesday’s Pro Division big-bass winner thanks to a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass. Schwab took co-angler big-bass honors and $250 with a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass.
A total of 1,725 bass were caught Wednesday, including 318 five-bass limits.
Fortune Bay Resort and Casino in Tower hosts daily takeoffs and weigh-ins. Anglers take off each morning at 6 a.m. followed by the weigh-in at 3 p.m. 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 explore FLWOutdoors.com.