Missouri native wins EverStart Championship in Co-angler Division by ounces
ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. – Steven Marler of Fenton, Mo., knew it was going to be close. And nerve-wracking. And in the end, he was right. Buoyed by a catch of 7 pounds, 2 ounces, Marler survived an onslaught of competitive five-fish stringers and emerged victorious in the 2002 EverStart Championship by a mere 5 ounces.
And when it was over, Marler could do little more than breathe a giant sigh of relief.
“It was just a roller coaster ride all week, but man, it was awesome,” he said. “This is the biggest win of my career.”
Marler said that he knew he had a shot at winning the championship after a stellar morning of fishing. But he admitted that he had no idea if he actually had enough to win the championship until the very last fish was weighed in.
“I really smacked (the fish) today. I had three fish by 9 a.m. and a limit by 10:30 a.m.,” he said. “I knew coming in that I would be in the top three, but you’re never sure what’s going to happen in a tournament like this. It was really brutal waiting it out onstage. I was sweating all day. I still can’t believe it.”
For his efforts, Marler won $10,000 in prize money as well as a brand new, fully equipped Ranger boat valued at $30,000.
Marler targeted deep structure with a Carolina rig and a green-pumpkin Zoom finesse worm to land the majority of today’s catch. However, Marler acknowledged that the tournament was probably won on Thursday when he was able to squeak into the finals by the slimmest of margins.
“I had 7 pounds, 15 ounces on the first day, and everyone told me I probably didn’t even need to catch a fish (on Thursday) to make it to the finals,” he said. “I wound up catching one (15-ounce) fish that was barely over the 12-inch minimum. And that fish made the difference between fishing in the finals and going home.”
After qualifying for the championship after finishing in 14th place in the Central Division standings, Marler told himself he wanted to improve on his performance in the 2001 EverStart Championship.
“Last year, I came in 48th place and barely made a check,” he said. “So I came here with the goal of doing a lot better. I’m a gambler, a do-or-die type of guy. And I went for broke today.”
And finally, it paid off.
Carlile finds second place bittersweet
Jon Carlile could hardly be blamed for having mixed emotions after barely missing out on a $50,000 payday, national recognition and a place in history. But then again, when you have absolutely no expectations to start with, a second-place check and $7,000 in prize money is really not too bad of a consolation prize.
“I’m thrilled to have finished in second place, but like everyone else, I would have loved to have won it,” said Carlile, who won a tiebreaker for second place after recording a catch of 6 pounds, 7 ounces. “I had some highs and lows today. And I got really close. But in the end, I just came up a little short.”
Never having fished Lake Martin until this tournament, Carlile said he had absolutely no expectations coming in.
“I didn’t expect this at all,” he said. “I didn’t really anticipate catching a lot of fish. My only real goal was to come down here to learn how to fish a clear-water lake. So I’m definitely happy with the way things worked out.”
Well, almost.
“I was in the boat with (Quinn) and the motor quit running on our way out to the first spot,” he said. “We had to change boats and we had a camerman riding with us until about 1 p.m. There wasn’t a lot of space in the boat and we lost some fishing time. I guess I wasn’t able to overcome that.”
Carlile used a finesse worm on a jighead and some Rapala crankbaits to land the majority of his catch.
“Overall, I had a wonderful week,” he said.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top five finishers were Stephen Francis (third) of Brookeland, Texas, with a catch of 6 pounds, 7 ounces; John Pellegrino (fourth) of Smithtown, N.Y., with a catch of 6 pounds, 5 ounces; and Warren Thomas (fifth) of Lakewood, Wis., with a catch of 5 pounds, 5 ounces.
EverStart action in the Co-angler Division commences Jan. 8 at Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston, Fla.
Related links:
Photos
Workman-like effort pays off
Quick Bites: EverStart Championship, Day 3
Co-angler results
Results of day-three pairings
Press release