JASPER, Texas – Scott David of Goodrich, Texas, emerged as the opening day leader at the $185,000 EverStart Series Central Division opener on Sam Rayburn Reservoir Wednesday with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 13 ounces.
During the tournament 172 pros and 172 co-anglers will have to contend with unusually high water that could make fishing some areas of the reservoir difficult. In March, high water on Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma prompted Operation Bass to reschedule the tournament, making Sam Rayburn the season opener.
Jim Carnell of Muskogee, Okla., finished opening day in second place with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces. He was followed by Billy Ficke of Waco, Texas, with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces; Harmon Davis of Marlow, Okla., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces; and Cody Bird of Granbury, Texas, with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces.
In the Co-Angler Division, Gale Stearns of Calvert City, Ky., leads with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces followed by Byron Hilton of Humble, Texas, with two bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces and Jake McKee of Houston, Texas, with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce.
One of Hilton’s bass-a 9-pound, 11-ounce largemouth-landed him $250 as the co-angler big bass. Big bass and $750 in the Pro Division went to Tommy Ellis of Paris, Tenn., for a 9-pound, 2-ounce largemouth.
A total of 888 bass were caught Wednesday including 86 five-bass limits. More than 97 percent of the bass were released alive.
On Saturday, the winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Mercury-or Yamaha-powered Ranger bass boat, and the winning co-angler will collect $6,000. More than $2.5 million could be awarded during the 2001 season.
For a shot at victory, anglers in both divisions must secure one of 30 slots available in Friday’s semifinal round by catching the heaviest two-day total of bass in the opening round. During the semifinal round, anglers start from zero and compete for one day to determine the top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers who will compete in Saturday’s finale. Catch weights are again cleared for the final day of competition, and the winner of each division is determined by the weight of that day’s catch.
Competition begins at 7 a.m. each morning at the public boat launch near Twin Dikes Marina in Jasper. Weigh-ins Thursday and Friday will also be held at the boat launch starting at 3 p.m. each day. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 800 West Gibson Road in Jasper at 4 p.m.
The 4-year-old EverStart Series now includes three divisions-Eastern, Central and Northern-with four events each plus a year-end championship. Tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from each division will earn a spot in the championship, which will be held Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will go home with a Mercury-or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat and $25,000. The winning co-angler will receive a Mercury-or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat and $10,000. More than $2.5 million will be awarded to bass fishing enthusiasts during the 2001 EverStart Series season. The series also provides a pathway to the $4.4 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour-bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.
Sponsors of the EverStart Series are ALPO Pet Foods, BFGoodrich Tires, Black and Decker, Chevy Trucks, CITGO, Coleman, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Frito-Lay, Fujifilm, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Mercury Marine, Minn Kota, Pepsi, Plano Tackle Systems, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers Cruncher Bar, Timex, US Bank, Visa, Wal-Mart, Weed Eater, Wrangler and Yamaha Outboards.