Quick Bites
EverStart Eastern
Lake Cumberland, Somerset, Ky.
April 5-8
Not-so-small mouth … The EverStart Eastern final stop on Lake Cumberland brought out, in huge numbers, the liveliest fish fresh water has to offer. All four days of competition, anglers were filling their live wells with smallmouth bass, good-sizes ones, too. Pro Vince Ingle of Maryville, Tenn., who placed sixth, caught at least one smallmouth over four pounds every day except Saturday. The day-two co-angler big bass was a 5-pound, 9-ounce smallmouth landed by Dean Hamilton of Beaver Creek, Ohio. “The biggest smallmouth I ever caught,” he said. Lake Cumberland is known for its smallmouth population and is a favorite destination for anglers in search of the feisty fish. Explained pro Tee Watkins of East Point, Ky., “If you ever get on them one time, you’ll probably just retire and come down here.”
Speaking of big little fish … The 4-pound, 13-ounce spotted bass weighed in by pro Mark Mauldin of Knoxville, Tenn., on day two was the talk of the tourney in Somerset. The fish crept up on the Kentucky spotted bass record of 7 pounds, 10 ounces. It would have almost beaten the state record in Louisiana, which is 4 pounds, 14 ounces. Said EverStart Tournament Director Jerry Stakely, “The world record used to be around eight pounds until they stocked them in California. Now it’s at 11. Still, it’s a smaller bass and 4-13 is huge. It’s the biggest I’ve ever seen in a tournament.”
That’s why he works for us … FLW Tournament Director Gale Stearns fished the competition on Lake Cumberland, his home lake, and he showed why he’s in the bass business. He avoided going to his fish on day one and blanked; but on day two he went to his fish pockets and, by 10 a.m., he landed the heaviest stringer of day two at 17 pounds. His co-angler for the day, Jimmy Hale, Jr.. of Rocky Mount, Va., also benefited from Stearns’ Cumberland savvy. Hale caught the co-angler big stringer of day two with 13 pounds, 10 ounces.
This one’s for Dad … Tony Hill of Chatsworth, Ga., the co-angler winner, wasn’t even going to fish the tournament at Somerset. The week before the tourney, his father underwent kidney surgery and Hill planned to stay home with him. But Dad said, “Go,” and he was even in the audience to watch his son claim the co-angler trophy and $6,000. The planets must have been lined up right for Hill because he barely squeaked into the second round in 30th place, making the cut by a mere one ounce. Said Hill, “I had a great time.”
Brrrr … Temperatures plunged into the freezing range on day four in eastern Kentucky, making both fishing and spectating at Somerset a labor of love. At takeoff, the official temperature was 44 degrees with a 33-degree wind chill. It was all downhill from there as the wind chill dropped into the 20s by weigh-in. Regardless, a hearty crowd of several hundred arrived to watch as the finalists weighed in some of the biggest stringers of the tourney.
Consistency is key … Congratulations to co-angler Todd Schaaf of Hume, Va. He took the top spot in the final Eastern Division standings with a 17th place showing at Somerset. He finished the season with 135 points and 39 pounds, 5 ounces of fish. The win gives him priority entry into the 2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour as well as a berth in the EverStart Invitational in November.
Sound bite of the tournament:
“Every day I prayed a little bit harder and harder, and the fish just got bigger and bigger.”
– Pro winner Rodger Beaver of Leesburg, Ga. – who respectively weighed in stringers of 12-15, 10-5, 5-6 and 15-11 on days 1-4 – on his daily fishing preparations.