Pro Ford throttles into first at Red River
Boschert tops co-anglers at hot EverStart contest
SHREVEPORT, La. – It’s been said that the devil lives in New Orleans. Well, he apparently vacations in Shreveport because that’s how hot it was at the Red River for day one of EverStart Series competition in the final Central Division tournament of the year.
A wilting heat and broiling sun canvassed the river – temperatures neared the mid-90s and humidity soared this afternoon – as EverStart anglers plied its banks for big payoff bass Wednesday. At the end of the day, it was Newton Ford of Brandon, Miss., who cooked up top honors in the Pro Division.
“Well, I’m an old fella, and this heat’s about to kill me,” Ford joked following weigh-in. “But my fish were in good shape. I used lots of ice and treatment in my livewell.”
Smart thinking. His five bass weighed in at 17 pounds, 6 ounces and topped second-place Marvin Ettredge of Shreveport by 14 ounces. Ettredge had five fish worth 16-8.
Ford kept silent about how he managed to catch his five good-sized bass, only admitting that he and fellow pro Danny Gulledge of Hamburg, Ark., fished the same water in the river’s Pool #4. Gulledge placed third with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce.
“I’ve known Danny since the `80s,” Ford said. “We compared notes before the tournament started and, when I started to describe how I was catching them, we figured out that we’d be butting heads. … If he would have caught them and I hadn’t, I would have felt the same way.”
That feeling was one of reserved confidence about the rest of the week. Ford said his fish turned on in the morning for about 10 minutes when he caught his three biggest bass. He eventually filled out his five-bass stringer, culling three keepers to reach his leading weight. He wasn’t sure whether he would return to his big-bass location for day two since he likely won’t need nearly as much weight to make the cut.
“The fish are there. They’re running in schools, I think,” he said. “But if you’re not on the right spot, you could zero.”
Gulledge was a little more forthcoming about his success Wednesday. He said he caught his fish in that area two ways: by using a crankbait around stumps and a tube in the bushes. He had his limit by 10:15 a.m.
Ettredge, on the other hand, had a tougher go of it but still managed to capture enough weight for second place.
“I had 20 to 30 bites today and had a limit by 10 o’clock that was 10 pounds,” he said. “Then I fished all day with a lot of moving around. I caught my biggest one right before coming in. It was a big pickup.”
Ettredge, who fished Pool #5 not far from the takeoff point at Clark’s Marina, feels confident about repeating tomorrow and is shooting for at least 12 pounds.
In fourth place was Wesley Burnett of Hot Springs, Ark., who weighed in five bass worth 14 pounds, 5 ounces. Burnett also landed the pro big bass award for day one, worth $750, for his 5-pound, 10-ounce kicker largemouth. He said it was his wife, Rebecca, who found the bait he used – a plum-apple baby brush hog – to catch the lunker.
“Don’t tell me that big fish don’t bite brush hogs,” Burnett said.
Rounding out the top five in the Pro Division was Jeff Pate of Heflin, La., with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 15 ounces.
Boschert trucks into first
Thomas Boschert took advantage of familiar conditions to take a decisive lead in the Co-angler Division Wednesday with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 3 ounces. A terminal manager for a trucking company from New Athens, Ill., Boschert said the Red River reminds him of his waters on the Kaskasia River back home.
“It fishes a lot like how I fish back home – with oxbows and some pretty familiar stuff,” he said.
He topped second-place co-angler Chris Phillips of Little Rock, Ark., who weighed in 10 pounds even.
Boschert caught his limit by 9:30 a.m. fishing a big slough with pro partner Larry Peacher of Bentley, La., who placed 10th.
“I caught four on a Stanley spinner bait. I was following a guy who was flipping, so I wanted to do something different,” Boschert said.
For the co-angler leader, who drove 10 hours to get here and had bad luck in practice, Wednesday was a just reward.
“I practiced two days without a keeper fish, so this is all right,” he said. “Tomorrow is another day.”
Following Boschert and Phillips in the Co-angler Division were Bobby McMullin (third place) of Pevely, Mo., with four bass weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces; Jason Reyes (fourth) of Humble, Texas, with four bass weighing 9-2; and Jeff Smith (fifth) of Cape Girardeau, Mo., with five bass weighing 8-13.
A 5-pound, 2-ounce largemouth landed Ken Keys of Evansville, Ind., big-bass honors and $250 in the Co-angler Division.
Day-two action begins Thursday as anglers take off from Clark’s Red River Marina in Elm Grove, La., at 6 a.m. The top 20 anglers in both divisions following tomorrow’s competition will advance to Friday’s semifinal round.
Day-one links: