DETROIT – Cold blustery conditions greeted 283 anglers from more than a dozen states and Canada Wednesday as they took to the Detroit River to start the final regular season tournament of the 2001 EverStart Series. When the field returned for weigh-in, pro Koby Kreiger of Osceola, Ind., held the lead with five smallmouth bass weighing 19 pounds, 9 ounces.
“This is my job,” said Kreiger, who described the cold, rainy weather conditions as miserable. “A lot of the guys get distracted by the conditions and lose focus on what they need to do, but I have the mindset that I’m going to fish no matter what the weather. I guess that gives me a little bit of an advantage.”
The former college place kicker used crankbaits and tubebaits in the Detroit River to land his limit. He says he didn’t catch many fish throughout the day, but he did have one bass that registered 4 pounds, 12 ounces. That’s just 1 ounce short of the day’s big bass caught by second place angler Barry Bucciarelli of Romulus, Mich., who ended the day with five smallmouth bass weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces.
With four EverStart Series top-10 finishes this season, including a Central Division win on Kentucky Lake, Kreiger is no stranger to the leaderboard. In fact, since 1997, he has 15 top-10 finishes in EverStart Series, Wal-Mart FLW Tour and Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competition. Should he win this tournament, he will receive $15,000 cash and a Mercury- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat with a Minn Kota trolling motor.
Mike Trombly of Perrysburg, Ohio, with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 3 ounces; Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., with five bass weighing 18 pounds; and David Reault of Livonia, Mich., with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces rounded out the top five pros.
In the Co-angler Division, Cary Lodl of Scribner, Neb., led with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces followed by Jim Templin of Lindenhurst, Ill., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 7 ounces and Troy White of Green Bay, Wis., with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces. If Lodl holds on to his lead, he stands to win $6,000 cash.
Big bass honors in the Co-angler Division belonged to Daniel Shuga of Botkins, Ohio, for a 5-pound, 5-ounce fish.
A total of 270 bass were caught Wednesday including 19 five-bass limits. More than 98 percent of the bass were released.
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 round one. 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 cleared again 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 Elizabeth Park Marina. Weigh-ins Thursday and Friday will also be held at the marina starting at 3 p.m. each day. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 2155 North Telegraph Road in Monroe, Mich., at 4 p.m. Originally planned for Lake Erie Metropark, takeoff and weigh-in proceedings were moved to Elizabeth Park Marina due to unusually low water levels at the Metropark.
The 4-year-old EverStart Series now includes three divisions-Eastern, Central and Northern-with four events each plus a year-end championship presented by Conseco. 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.