Out of the fog, into the blue on day two
Gorgeous weather greets EverStart Series anglers Thursday to close out opening round of championship action
GALLATIN, Tenn. – The only thing clearer than the sky above Tennessee’s Old Hickory Lake this morning was the fact that the 298 pros and co-anglers competing in the 2003 EverStart Series Championship would have a beautiful day of fishing ahead of them. After Wednesday’s fog delay that held anglers back for nearly two hours, Thursday’s blue skies gave a green light for a full day of championship competition.
After an opening day pervaded by a bass bite that could be described as fickle at best, anglers are undoubtedly appreciative of having the extra time to find fish today. Warm temperatures and calm conditions will grace the full field as its members try to lock in on a pattern that might send them into tomorrow’s semifinal round. Hanging on the horizon is a tournament purse of $335,000.
Leaders of the pack
Wednesday’s weigh-in confirmed what anglers had reported while pre-fishing the championship: Cracking the code of the fall pattern on Old Hickory Lake outside of Nashville will be a daunting task. Only two limits were caught yesterday, both by Pro Division fishermen, and anglers were bringing in sacks of bass that barely tested the capacity of the scales.
Despite median catch weights of just under 3 pounds on the pro side and just under 2 pounds on the co-angler side, some of the competitors proved that there were bass to be caught. Co-angler Ken Baldwin of Needles, Calif., reeled in a whopper weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces that earned him a Big Bass Award while Clifford Pirch of Payson, Ariz., netted a 6-7 fish that earned the equivalent on the pro side. With few anglers bringing in limits, bagging a lunker like either of these today could be enough to grant passage into Friday’s semifinal round.
The leaders in the Pro Division heading into today’s competition are Art Ferguson III of St. Clair Shores, Mich., with 12 pounds, 3 ounces; Pirch with four fish weighing 10 pounds, 2 ounces; Tommy Dillon of Manhattan, Kan., with five fish weighing 9 pounds, 13 ounces; and 2003 All-American champion Tony Christian of Hull, Ga., with four fish weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces.
In the Co-angler Division the leaders are Baldwin with his single fish weighing 7-3; Mario Ringo of Arcadia, Calif., with three fish weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces; Kohigashi Kazuhiro of Hyougo, Japan, with three fish weighing 5 pounds; Bill Rogers of Jasper, Texas, with three fish weighing 5 pounds; and Bob Snyder of Marion, Ind., with three fish weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces.
Tournament logistics
The full field of 149 pros and 149 co-anglers will finish the opening round of competition today, combining the day’s catch weight with yesterday’s to determine advancement. Competitors in either division are vying for one of 20 semifinal-round spots. After the weigh-in this afternoon, weights are cleared for Friday’s competition. Co-anglers will fish for one more day with the winner crowned following Friday’s weigh-in. The top 10 pros based on Friday’s catch weight advance to Saturday’s final round, where weights are again cleared and anglers compete for position and prize money. The EverStart Series Championship will be broadcast to 55 million subscribers of the Outdoor Life Network on the “FLW Outdoors” television program Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. Central time and Nov. 9 at noon Central time. The final weigh-in Nov. 1 will also be broadcast live to Wal-Mart Stores nationwide.
The winning pro is guaranteed $25,000 cash plus an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat equipped with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries. If the winner is an original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive a $10,000 bonus for a top pro award of $76,900. The winning co-angler is guaranteed $10,000 cash and a fully rigged Ranger boat.
Thursday’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at Bull Creek Marina, located at 200 Odoms Bend Road in Gallatin.
For fans outside the Gallatin/Nashville area, you can follow the drama of EverStart Series Championship competition live every day on FLWOutdoors.com. Complete with live, streaming audio and results, FLW Live is your fastest and most complete option for catching all the bass action from Old Hickory Lake. Transmission begins every day at the start of weigh-in.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:07 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 53 degrees
Expected high temperature: 78 degrees
Water temperature at the ramp: 63 degrees
Wind: from the southeast at 6 mph
Relative humidity: 78 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny
Day-two links: