Lake Mead mania begins

EverStart anglers vie for $215,000 in cash, prizes

HENDERSON, Nev. – With nearly perfect weather conditions serving as backdrop for today’s competition, approximately 250 EverStart anglers charted a course for the open waters of Lake Mead shortly after 7 a.m. to kick off the second Western Division tournament in the history of FLW Outdoors.

While the weather shouldn’t be much of a factor during today’s action, anglers will have their hands full fishing against one of the more competitive professional fields in the country. However, the challenge should be worth the effort. With a total cash-and-prize payout of up to $60,000 awaiting the winner in the Pro Division and another $25,000 earmarked for the tournament winner in the Co-angler Division, competition should be intense.

The EverStart Series features a pro/co-angler format in which the pro supplies the boat, fishes from the front deck against other pros and controls boat movement while the co-angler fishes from the back deck and competes against other co-anglers. The field competes for two days to determine the top 20 anglers who will advance to Friday’s competition, based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for Friday’s semifinal round, and pros and co-anglers start fresh to vie for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s final round, where anglers again start at zero.

So who will join Lake Pleasant winner Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., as the next Western Division EverStart title holder? Only time will tell.

EverStart action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. at the Callville Bay Resort marina, located at 100 Callville Marina Road, Las Vegas, Nev.

Vital statistics:

Sunrise: 6:06 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 43 degrees
Expected high temperature: 60 degrees
Water temperature: 54 degrees
Wind: from the northeast at 6 mph
Relative humidity: 63 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny

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Day-one pairings