HENDERSON, N.C. – The $2.5 million 2001 EverStart Series will wrap up competition in the Eastern Division May 30-June 2 on Kerr Lake with 330 of the nation’s top bass anglers fishing for a share of $185,000.
Eastern Division points leader Koby Kreiger of Osceola, Ind., will also be looking to solidify his lead over Mark Rogers of Naples, Fla., in the season’s points race. Kreiger has 576 points to Rogers’ 571 points. Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., and Billy Bowen Jr. of Ocala, Fla., are also in the running with 570 and 564 points respectively. A win on Kerr Lake is worth 200 points.
“The Eastern Division has been closely contested all season,” said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director. “It seems fitting that the points race has come down to the final regular season tournament.”
Anglers will compete on Kerr Lake for four days starting May 30. The full field of 165 pros and 165 co-anglers will compete for two days during the opening round. After the opening round, the field will be cut to the top 30 pros and top 30 co-anglers. These competitors will start from zero and compete for one day in the semifinal round to determine the top 10 anglers in each division who will advance to the final round. Anglers will again start from zero for the final day of competition, and the winner of each division will be determined by the weight of that day’s catch. The winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat. The winning pro will also receive a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN if he or she was using a fixed-mount GARMIN sonar product. The winning co-angler will receive $6,000.
EverStart Series tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from the Eastern, Northern and Central divisions will earn a spot in the EverStart Series Championship Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will receive a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat and $25,000. The top co-angler will win a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat and $10,000. The top 10 anglers from each division will also qualify to compete in the 2002 Wal-Mart FLW Tour where they could win up to $250,000 in a single event.
To accommodate the growing demand for high-profile, big-money bass tournaments, the EverStart Series added a Northern Division to its 2001 schedule. The series also increased the value of each regular season purse by nearly $20,000 and added a no-entry-fee championship that will award anglers $325,000. More than $2.5 million will be awarded in 2001 through 13 events. The 4-year-old EverStart Series also provides a pathway to the $4.45 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour-bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.
Satterwhite Point in Henderson is the site of each day’s 5:30 a.m. take-off on Kerr Lake May 30-June 2. Weigh-ins for the first three days of competition will also be held at Satterwhite Point starting at 2:30 p.m. each day. The final weigh-in on Saturday, June 2 will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 200 North Cooper Road in Henderson at 3:30 p.m.
For more information about EverStart Batteries, visit www.everstartbatteries.com.
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