Down on the delta
Final EverStart Western begins
OAKLEY, Calif. – A lot of wide eyes were focused on big bass as the final tournament of the 2004 EverStart Series Western Division took off on the California Delta Wednesday morning. A total of 145 boats, each carrying a pro and co-angler competitor, hit the expanse of the delta with high expectations for big catches this week.
“There are so many big fish here,” said Art Berry of Ramona, Calif., who has a daunting 27-point lead in the Western Division pro standings and who finished in the top 20 last year at the delta. “I’m a little worried about this wind, though. We already have to deal with a 6-foot tide that moves the fish every 20 or 30 minutes, and that wind could really slow things down. But somebody will still come in with 30 pounds, I think.”
Berry added that he has been hooking some huge bass in practice, but that was with 90-degree temperatures and no wind. Temperatures dropped into the 60s Tuesday night, and 20-mph winds have been churning up the waterway. Plus, Berry’s biggest bite is coming later in the afternoon, which doesn’t bode well for him due to the 3 p.m. weigh-in. The key, he said, will be an angler’s ability to adjust to the moving tides and, thus, the fish.
Day-one weigh-in festivities begin at 3 p.m. Pacific time at Big Break Marina in Oakley. Thursday’s weigh-in will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m.
The full field will compete for two days to determine the top 20 pros and 20 co-anglers who will advance to Friday’s semifinal round based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for the semifinal round, and anglers compete for one day to determine who will advance to Saturday’s final round. Only the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers compete Saturday, and the winner is determined by the heaviest two-day weight.
The winning pro is guaranteed $8,500 cash plus an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger 519 VS equipped with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart Batteries, based on a 150-boat field. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive a $10,000 bonus from Ranger for a top pro award worth $60,400. If he is a qualifying participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, Ranger will award another $3,000 cash (or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant if not the winner), and Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup winnings if the angler’s boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard. Garmin will award the winning pro $1,000 if he uses only Garmin electronics and at least one unit is a qualifying unit.
The winning co-angler is guaranteed $4,500 cash based on a 150-boat field, and if he is a Ranger boat owner, Ranger will award him a new Ranger 519 VS for a total prize package worth $34,500. Co-anglers who make the final round of each regular-season EverStart Series event and wear an EverStart/Evinrude shirt and cap on stage are awarded points toward the EverStart Batteries and Evinrude Outboard Engines Co-angler Award. The co-angler receiving the most points by the end of the season receives a 2004 Evinrude 225HO Direct Injection outboard engine rigged on a Ranger boat equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries.
Wednesday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 6:06 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 55 degrees
Expected high temperature: 75 degrees
Wind: from the south-southwest at 12 mph
Maximum humidity: 51 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny