Florida native duplicates day-three effort, takes home $6,000 in prize money
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Fishing in the first EverStart tournament of his career, Robert Peifer used an 8-pound, 15-ounce catch on the final day of competition to win first place at the Eastern Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee. Although Peifer admittedly let the “big one” get away, it turns out that it didn’t matter one bit.
“It feels great. I’m just now starting to calm down,” said Peifer, a native of Lake Placid, Fla. “I lost a big fish today, probably about 8 pounds or more. And after that, I was a little sick to my stomach. I thought I had enough to finish in the top five. But I never expected to win.”
Although Peifer turned in a fantastic performance on his own merits, he said he couldn’t have won the title without the expert assistance of his pro partners.
“I had four of the greatest partners,” said Peifer, who caught the majority of his fish flipping a black and green worm in heavy cover. “They put me on fish all week and that’s what made the difference.”
Way to go
Jamey Way of McLeansville, N.C., used a 6-pound, 12-pound catch to capture second place in the Co-angler Division and a check for $4,000.
“I enjoyed this week very much,” said Way, who flipped a 10-inch worm in matted grass during the finals. “I was very fortunate. I caught a fish during the first 10 minutes today and I was able to catch enough fish to get second place. This is biggest accomplishment of my fishing career so far.”
Al Reed of Tequesta, Fla., used a bubble-gum colored fluke on a flipping stick to net a 3-pound, 10-ounce catch. His effort was good enough for a third-place finish and a check for $3,500.
Mike Calloway of Titusville, Fla., took fourth place with a 3-pound, 2-ounce catch. Calloway won $2,500 for his efforts.
“I had a couple of decent fish on the line today, but I just couldn’t get them in the boat,” said Calloway. “But that’s how it goes.”
Sam Wisnewski of Kill Devil Hills, N.C. finished in fifth place after recording a catch of 3 pounds. Wisnewski won $2,500.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top 10 were Joseph Webster (sixth place) of Brilliant, Ala., with a catch of 2 pounds, 11 ounces; David Kent (seventh) of Lumpkin, Ga., with a catch of 2 pounds, 5 ounces; Ed Sankowski (eighth) of Riverview, Fla., with a catch of 1 pound, 6 ounces; David Bowersock (ninth by virtue of a tiebreaker) of Lake Worth, Fla., with a catch of 0 pounds; and David Geeter (tenth) of Augusta, Ga., with a catch of 0 pounds.
The next EverStart Eastern Division tournament is scheduled to take place at Lake Eufaula from March 20-23 at Eufaula, Ala.
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