JASPER, Texas – Pro angler Mark Goines of Shady Point, Ark., will turn 36 Monday, but he started his birthday celebration early by landing $50,000 in cash and prizes Saturday at the EverStart Series Central Division opener on Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
Goines, who was fishing his first tournament as a pro, caught five bass weighing 14 pounds to claim victory over 172 competitors. Throughout the competition, he successfully caught bass by pitching a smoke-colored tubebait to bushes in midlake pockets that are protected from the northern wind.
Goines made the semifinal round cut to the top 30 pros Thursday in 26th place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 4 ounces. He then made the final round cut to the top 10 Friday in first place with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces. Catch weights were cleared for all competitors at the start of the semifinal and final rounds.
“I didn’t sleep very much last night,” Goines said after winning $15,000 and a Mercury- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat. “I kept waking up and thinking `what if I win this thing.’ It’s really a dream come true. I came in to the tournament hoping to finish in the money. It never really crossed my mind that I would go all the way through to win.”
Second through fifth place in the Pro Division went to Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces worth $10,000; Adam Wright of Benton, Ark., with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces worth $9,000; Darrel Robertson of Jay, Okla., with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces worth $8,000; and Joel Barber of Brandon, Miss., with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces worth $7,500.
Bo Standley, 35, of Silsbee, Texas, claimed first place in the 172-person Co-Angler Division and collected $6,000 with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces.
“It feels great going out in the number one boat and being able to hold on for the win,” said Standley, who qualified for the final round in first place. “I feel very blessed.”
Jack Thomas of Highland Village, Texas, finished second in the Co-Angler Division and collected $4,000 with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 1 ounce. Rounding out the top five were Chris Darby of Mount Ida, Ark., with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces worth $3,500; Lyall Grant of Sam Rayburn, Texas, with four bass weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces worth $3,000; and Douglas Bailey of Jasper, Texas, with four bass weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces worth $2,500.
Kay Barton of Tuskahoma, Okla., finished 10th. Barton was the only woman to make the final-round cut.
A total of 81 bass were caught Saturday including 11 five-bass limits. All of the bass were released alive.
The tournament began Wednesday with 344 anglers taking off from the public boat launch near Twin Dikes Marina in Jasper to claim a piece of the event’s $185,000 purse. Kentucky Lake near Gilbertsville, Ky., will be the next Central Division EverStart Series stop May 2-5.
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 receive a fully-rigged Ranger boat and $25,000. The winning co-angler will receive a fully-rigged Ranger boat and $10,000. More than $2.5 million will be awarded to bass fishing enthusiasts during the 2001 EverStart Series season.