GREENVILLE, Miss. – The 2001 EverStart Series will stop on Lake Ferguson June 6-9 for the circuit’s third Central Division tournament featuring top bass anglers from across the country competing for a share of $185,000.
The event will feature anglers from 19 states fishing for a first place award of $50,000 in cash and prizes in the Pro Division and $6,000 in the Co-Angler Division. Central Division points leader Joel Barber of Brandon, Miss., will also be looking to extend his razor thin lead over Jim Eakins of Nixa, Mo., in the season’s points race. Fujifilm angler Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., is also a contender for the points title. Barber has 382 points to Eakins’ 381 points and Strader’s 380 points. A win on Lake Ferguson is worth 200 points.
“We are expecting an exciting event in Greenville,” said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director. “We have several anglers that are still in the running for the points title, and there are plenty of quality bass to catch in Lake Ferguson. This event could be a turning point for some anglers.”
Anglers will compete on Lake Ferguson for four days starting June 6. A full field of up to 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 presented by Conseco 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 4-year-old 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.
Washington Street Ramp is the site of each day’s 5:30 a.m. take-off on Lake Ferguson June 6-9. Weigh-ins for the first three days of competition will also be held at the ramp starting at 2:30 p.m. each day. The final weigh-in on Saturday, June 9, will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 1746 Highway 1 South in Greenville at 3:30 p.m.
Sponsors of the 2001 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.
There are still a limited number of pro and co-angler openings for the Lake Ferguson tournament. To enter, call Operation Bass at 270-362-4880 for more information.