Ferguson wins Everstart Series Texas Division event on Lake of the Pines
Honeycutt wins co-angler title
LONGVIEW, Texas – Ritter Ferguson of Diana, Texas, weighed a five bass limit on Saturday weighing 13 pounds, 4 ounces to win the EverStart Series Texas Division on Lake of the Pines presented by Evinrude. His three-day total of 15 bass weighed 46 pounds, 9 ounces and earned him $24,715 for his victory.
With water levels below normal and anglers all vying for the same spot, Ferguson said that he was surprised that he fished alone all week. Targeting bait fish on points and flats he said that he was able to find five or six schools of fish that he went back and forth from throughout the week.
“The good Lord was shining down on me this week and made everything happen,” Ferguson said. “Lake of the Pines is known for schooling fish and I was lucky enough to find five or six good schools of fish during practice that held out for me all week.
“Today I caught all my fish on a Zoom Brush Hog,” Ferguson continued. “I was also Texas rigging a Zoom Trick Worm earlier in the week. Most of the fish came in 6 to 15 feet of water. My main spot was a point that the bass were coming up to feed on. Other areas that I toggled back and forth between to get my limit were flats that were also holding bait fish the bass were feeding on.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
1st: Ritter Ferguson, Diana, Texas, 15 bass, 46-9, $24,715
2nd: John Tanner, Quitman, Texas, 15 bass, 44-1, $8,474
3rd: Harold Allen, Shelbyville, Texas, 15 bass, 43-14, $7,062
4th: Kris Wilson, Montgomery, Texas, 15 bass, 42-12, $6,355
5th: Brian Clark, Haltom City, Texas, 15 bass, 39-0, $5,649
6th: Austin Terry, San Angelo, Texas, 15 bass, 36-0, $4,943
7th: Stewart Herndon, Graham, Texas, 15 bass, 33-11, $4,237
8th: Joe Don Setina, Pittsburg, Texas, 11 bass, 33-3, $3,531
9th: Russell Cecil, Willis, Texas, 10 bass, 29-12, $2,825
10th: Bert Thompson, Benton, La., nine bass, 26-9, $2,118
Alton Wilhoit and Randy Cisler tied for biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division. On Thursday each caught a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass that earned them the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award worth $90 each.
Keith Honeycutt of Temple, Texas, won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 11 bass weighing 29 pound, 4 ounces. For his efforts Honeycutt won a Ranger Z117 with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor plus $5,000 Ranger Cup bonus.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, 11 bass, 29-4, Ranger Z117 with outboard plus $5,000
2nd: Dan Wilson, Pilot Point, Texas, 13 bass, 26-10, $3,427
3rd: Chuck Nelson, Elmore City, Okla., eight bass, 22-9, $3,046
4th: David Underwood, Waco, Texas, eight bass, 21-9, $2,665
5th: Anthony Ferdinando, Spicewood, Texas, 10 bass, 20-15, $2,284
6th: Andrew Crain, Grapevine, Texas, eight bass, 18-10, $1,904
7th: Darrell Denton, Georgetown, Texas, five bass, 16-9, $1,523
8th: Elton Brock, Denton, Texas, five bass, 15-13, $1,142
9th: Marc Logan, Lawton, Okla., six bass, 15-2, $761
10th: Kevin Carter, Spring, Texas, eight bass, 14-13, $609
Denton caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – a 8-pound, 11-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $120.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on the Ouachita River in Monroe, La., Nov. 1-4.
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