Nuckols punches his way to the top – again
Over half the tournament field weighs in five-fish limits
EUFAULA, Ala. – Whew. In what is becoming a familiar routine in EverStart Eastern Division events, James Nuckols Jr. has jumped into the lead after day one of competition at the $185,000 EverStart Eastern Division tournament at Alabama’s Lake Eufaula. Nuckols is coming into this week’s event having won the last EverStart Eastern tourney, held at Lake Okeechobee, Fla., earlier this month.
Taking the lead was no small feat today. When all was said and done after day one of opening-round of competition, a nearly unprecedented 75 percent of the pro field had weighed in full five-fish stringers of bass. While many pro anglers vied for the lead – a total of six competitors weighed in over 20 pounds of fish – Nuckols topped them all with five fish weighing 22 pounds, 14 ounces.
“That was a big thrill,” said Nuckols. “This lake’s got a ton of fish in it, and with the cloud cover, they’re easier for me to catch.”
And he didn’t just catch them big, he caught them early. The Tennessee native filled his livewell this morning within 30 minutes of arriving at his location toward the lower end of Lake Eufaula. He caught his leading fish in shallow pockets using a Predator spinnerbait and a Rebel Pop-R topwater bait.
If Nuckols can continue his successful run and somehow win this event, he would be the first-ever angler to win back-to-back titles on any Operation Bass tournament series. The 43-year-old pro from Rockwood, Tenn., has already racked up $50,000 this season with his win on Lake Okeechobee Feb. 10. A win here would boost his season earnings to $100,000 in cash and prizes.
But Nuckols remains cautiously optimistic about his chances.
“It’s just a big thrill any time you can lead one of these tournaments,” he said. “To lead on any day is an honor to me, but we’ve still got a long way to go. There were five other fishermen with over 20 pounds today. I’ve fished long enough to know that a lot can happen between the first day and the final day.”
But if Nuckols can pull off a repeat anywhere, it’s here at Lake Eufaula. A resurging bass population and lowered fish-length minimums from 16 inches last year to 14 inches this year has nearly the entire field bringing heavy sacks to the scale. Of 165 competitors in each division, an amazing 162 pros weighed in fish today while 148 co-anglers weighed in. Of those, 124 pros and 56 co-anglers weighed in a five-fish limit – making it over half of the 330-person tournament field. The total weight of all the fish brought in by the competitors in both divisions topped out at an incredible 3,199 pounds, 2 ounces.
“I’ve seen a few tournaments with this many (full) stringers, but I’ve never seen one with this much weight,” said EverStart Tournament Director Jerry Stakely.
Said Nuckols, “For the next month, this lake’s probably going to have some of the best shallow-water fishing in the South.”
The top-five anglers finishing the day just behind Nuckols – each weighing in over 20 pounds – also had few complaints about the Lake Eufaula fishery. Jim Russell of Statham, Ga., finished the day in second place with five bass weighing 22 pounds. He was followed by Fred Hill of Roxboro, N.C., with five bass weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces; Jamie Horton of Centerville, Ala., with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 13 ounces; and Jeff Turner of Plainville, Ill., with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces. And the $750 pro Big Bass award went to Mark Mauldin of Knoxville, Tenn., for a 6-pound, 12-ounce largemouth.
But Nuckols hopes he can stay in the hunt as the week progresses and he has confidence in the four or five locations he is fishing.
“I think I can continue to catch some fish,” he said. “It all depends on the weather. I need the clouds to stay so I can catch the bigger ones.”
Sherbet ices Co-Angler Division lead
Wayne Sherbet of Pell City, Ala., caught his biggest one-day tournament weight ever today and edged out fellow Alabaman Jeff Taylor by one ounce for the lead in the Co-Angler Division. Taylor held the lead with a hefty five-fish weight of 19 pounds, 13 ounces until Sherbet – who came in with the last flight of competitors – brought his day-one leading weight of 19 pounds, 14 ounces to the scale.
“It feels great,” Sherbet said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever held the lead on the first day.”
Sherbet, whose previous personal tournament one-day weight record was 18 pounds, today focused like most everybody else on shallow water and plastic baits.
“If your boat breaks down and you can’t walk out of it, you’re too deep,” he explained about fishing the shallows in this tournament. For Sherbet, the abundance and proximity of the bass were almost too enticing. He also took the $250 co-angler Big Bass award with a 6-pound, 9-ounce largemouth.
“Basically, you’ve got so much (fish) to throw at, you just throw it in there and not worry about where they are,” he said.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Taylor; Mike Birge of Florala, Ala., with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces; Billy Coleman of Holly Hill, Fla., with five bass weighing 17 pounds; and the notable Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces. Israel, the only female on the leaderboard, placed second at the EverStart event on Lake Eufaula in 1999. Today she held the Big Bass lead with a fish weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces until Sherbet eventually topped it.
Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 7 a.m. at Lake Point State Park located at 104 Lake Point Drive, Eufaula, Ala. Weigh-in is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the same location.
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