Anyone’s game

Opportunity abounds for EverStart field at Detroit River

TRENTON, Mich. – With workable conditions following the first-round whackfest EverStart Series Central Division anglers enjoyed at the Detroit River, day two promises more big catches and plenty of weigh-in drama.

Ohio pro Jared Rhode grabbed the day-one lead with 21-7, but with fellow Buckeye Michael Trombly trailing by only 6 ounces, and with just 3 pounds, 5 ounces separating first and 10th places, this shootout is definitely up for grabs.

Today’s sunrise was quickly overtaken by clouds that could produce early rains, followed by mostly overcast skies. This will keep temperatures a few degrees lower than yesterday and decrease light penetration. Easterly winds will remain light, so all things considered, the bite should be strong.

Following the day-one trend, most boats will head upriver to Lake St. Clair, while a smaller contingent braves the bigger water – and bigger waves – of Lake Erie to the south. Typically, Erie sees rougher conditions than St. Clair, while the latter affords anglers more time fishing than running.

Yesterday, Rhode caught his fish by working St. Clair rock flats with tubes and dropshots. He got his leading bag on a first-flight schedule, so he’s hoping his longer day-two yields even greater opportunity.

“I’d like to think I can do it again today,” Rhode said. “I have an extra hour and a half, so I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can get back to my fish and hopefully, there are still plenty there.”

Rhode’s bait selection will be mirrored by many today, with gobies, leaches and small baitfish imitators topping the dropshot choices. Other productive options will include stickbaits, crankbaits and swimbaits. Iowa pro Jay Lamb nabbed a limit of 14-10 on day one and hopes to capitalize on more quality bites today.

“I had a fish about 5 pounds pull off yesterday so that would have put me in the 17 1/2- to 18-pound range,” he said. “I’ll be targeting grass in 13-18 feet with a dropshot goby and a dropshot darter. The fish are kind of suspended and they’re up off the grass, so when they’re coming through, they’ll see that bait (above the grass) and eat it.”

Jason Tiedeman, of Youngstown, Ohio will start today by using pink flukes and shad color stickbaits to search for fish. Once he finds a concentration, he’ll work the spot by swimming a tube or throwing a spinnerbait. He’ll spend his day in St. Clair.

“Right now, Erie’s water is dirty and I feel more confident with what I have going on in St. Clair,” he said. “This gives me more time to work and cover more water.”

Arkansas pro Travis Fox starts the day in 30th place with 16-2. After a busy day one, he’s looking forward to working through more day-two action to weed out five good fish.

“I think we’re going to catch a lot of keepers today,” he said. “Yesterday, we probably had 40 or so keepers and we stopped measuring them after we each had about 15 pounds. There’s a lot of fish biting, so hopefully (my partner and I) will both have limits in the first half hour or so.

“I’m going to throw a crankbait to start off and then I’ll probably dropshot. I’m fishing St. Clair – out in the middle of the lake, targeting structure.”

Logistics

Anglers will take off from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Isle Parkway in Trenton, Mich., at 6 each morning. Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 2 p.m. daily. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart located at 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich., starting at 3 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Pros will fish for a top award of $35,000 plus a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger 177TR with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.

The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn., Oct. 27-30.

The EverStart Series tournament on the Detroit River is being hosted by Wayne County Parks.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:08 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 64 degrees

Expected high temperature: 82 degrees

Wind: ENE 5-8 mph

Humidity: 49 percent

Day’s outlook: Mostly cloudy