Friend or DeFoe

Tennessee’s Ott Defoe leads at Eufaula EverStart event with 41 pounds

EUFAULA, Ala. – Lake Eufaula has been a friend to some and a foe to others this week at the EverStart Series Eastern Division event. For Ott DeFoe of Knoxville, Tenn., the big lake on the Alabama-Georgia border has been a big friend. Eufaula has lent DeFoe 41 pounds of bass to take the lead going into the day-three finals.

DeFoe continued to fish a crankbait in waters less than 10 feet deep today to catch five bass weighing 21 pounds, 3 ounces.

“I’ve got about three or four primary places that are producing fish,” DeFoe said. “One place in particular has been producing quality fish. They are all prespawn fish that are getting ready to move up.

“I really didn’t mean to catch that much today,” he added. “I would pull up to a spot just to check it, and the first bite I’d get would be a 4-pounder. I only caught six fish and I hope I didn’t catch too many.”

Beaver still deep

Rodger Beaver of Leesburg, Ga., added another 19 pounds, 7 ounces to his two-day total today for 40 pounds, 13 ounces, which puts him in second.

Beaver continues to catch fish from prespawn staging areas in 15 feet of water with a 1-ounce LedgeBuster spinnerbait featuring a “blood blade” – a red blade with a unique V-shaped design.

“I’m still catching fish on my outside places – the first drops out by the main lake,” he said. “I think the fish are just getting there because I fished these same places last week without a bite, and today I got bites on the first cast in a couple of them.”

Big bass moves Kennedy to third

Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., reeled in 19 pounds, 4 ounces today, including the day’s Pro Division big bass weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces. He now sits in third place with a two-day total of 37 pounds.

Kennedy is catching numbers of keeper bass on a crankbait but has figured out a little something else for his quality fish.

“I have caught my big fish the last two days a little differently,” he said. “I have not done it very long either day, but when I do, I catch a big one. That’s how I caught the 8-2 today. I think I’ll do it longer tomorrow.”

Kreiger moves up

Proving that some fish are moving shallow, Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., brought in five bass weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces to push his two-day total to 36 pounds, 1 ounce and move him into fourth place.

Kreiger caught all of his fish in water less than 2 feet deep on a 1/4-ounce Rat-L-Trap and 3/8-ounce Rabbit Dog spinnerbait.

“It’s a big spawning flat,” he said. “I went there yesterday at about 10:30, caught four and lost the next six or seven. I started there this morning and caught them pretty quick. I think there are plenty of quality fish in the area; my partner had 15 pounds out of there today, too.”

Yesterday’s leader Rusty Smith of Somerset, Ky., brought in four bass for 11 pounds, 8 ounces today for a two-day total of 33 pounds, 12 ounces, which puts him in fifth place.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 in the Pro Division are Patrick Hailstone of Cincinnati, Ohio, in sixth place with a two-day total of 32 pounds, 15 ounces; Gary Alverson of Soddy Daisy, Tenn., in seventh with a two-day total of 32 pounds, 7 ounces; Alex Ormand of Bessemer City, N.C., in eighth with a two-day total of 31 pounds, 13 ounces; Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla., in ninth with a two-day total of 31 pounds, 8 ounces; and Val Osinski of Pompano Beach, Fla., in 10th with a two-day total of 31 pounds, 7 ounces.

Patton leads co-anglers

Bennie Patton of Dunnville, Ky., leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 9 ounces.

Patton caught four bass today that weighed 18 pounds, 8 ounces.

“I had a fantastic day,” he said. “Every fish I caught was big one. I caught two on a Rattlin’ Rogue jerkbait and two on a Tom Mann spinnerbait. I’ve only got one of those spinnerbaits, so I hope I don’t lose it.”

Robert Mulleins of Cumberland, Va., is in second with a two-day total of 25 pounds, 4 ounces.

Whopping stringer for Carman

The big fish story of the day goes to Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky. Carman did not catch the big fish of the day, but he caught the biggest stringer of the entire tournament: 22 pounds, 13 ounces.

The tremendous catch vaulted Carman into third place with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 14 ounces.

“I was an incredible day,” Carman said. “I quit fishing at 10 o’clock. I culled once and just put my rods down and ate lunch. I wanted my pro, Gerald Beck, to make the cut so I just got out of his way.

“I was fortunate in that I figured out what the fish wanted right away,” he added. “I caught all my fish on a jig.”

Joseph Webster of Fulton, Miss., is in fourth with a two-day total of 21 pounds, 5 ounces.

John Crosby Jr. of Macon, Ga., is in fifth with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 13 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top five in the Co-angler Division are Mike Freeman of Oxford, Ala., in sixth with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 13 ounces; Beecher Strunk of Somerset, Ky., in seventh with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 8 ounces; Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., in eighth with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 1 ounce; Dave Dickens of Sarasota, Fla., in ninth with a two-day total of 19 pounds, 5 ounces; and Butch Zaldo of Boone, N.C., in 10th with a two-day total of 19 pounds, 4 ounces.

The day-two big-bass award in the Co-angler Division was shared by Robert Russell of Smyrna, Tenn., and Robert Reed of Crofton, Md., both catching bass weighing 6 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top-20 cut on both sides has been made. All the anglers start from zero tomorrow. The tournament will resume at 6 a.m. CST at the Lakepoint Resort Marina.