OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Despite a chilly first two days of competition, Billy Bowen, Jr., of Ocala, Fla., caught eight bass weighing 21 pounds, 9 ounces to end up first going into the semifinal round. Thursday morning, bright blue skies and warmer temperatures made reflexes sharp and fish active.
Bowen caught five bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces despite extreme cold Wednesday to lead the Pro Division. He then turned up the heat Thursday with three more bass weighing 7 pounds to retain his lead.
Friday the top 20 pros and co-anglers will start from zero and fish for one day to determine the top 10 anglers advancing to Saturday’s final round for a shot at a top pro award of more than $50,000 cash and a top co-angler award of $6,000 cash. If the winning pro’s boat is equipped with a fixed-mount GARMIN Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder, he or she will receive a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN.
“I try not to think about the money,” said Bowen, who caught his bass using the same trusty 4-inch Gambler Craw that produced for him on opening day. “I’m just going to keep doing the same thing that I’ve been doing, only in a different area. If it works, I’ll be in good shape.”
The $210,000 tournament features 165 pros who supply boats and control boat movements during competition and 165 co-anglers who fish from the back deck of each boat.
Pro Jason Quinn of Lake Wylie, S.C., caught seven bass weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces over two days to secure the No. 2 spot in the semifinal round. Russ Bringer of Pompano Beach, Fla., (seven bass, 16 pounds, 6 ounces) and Pat Fisher of Stone Mountain, Ga., (eight bass, 16 pounds, 5 ounces) qualified third and fourth respectively. James Crabtree of Elizabethtown, Ky., (four bass, 15 pounds, 15 ounces) rounded out the top-five pros, thanks to Thursday’s remarkable three-bass catch weighing 15 pounds that rescued him from 82nd place.
Co-angler David Bowersock of Lake Worth, Fla., retained the top spot in his division with a two-day total of four bass weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces. Finishing second and third were co-anglers Ed Sankowski of Riverview, Fla., (five bass, 9 pounds, 13 ounces) and Al Reed of Tequesta, Fla., (three bass, 9 pounds, 4 ounces).
An 8-pound, 3-ounce largemouth landed Kenneth Strickland of Oak Ridge, N.C., big bass honors and $750 in the Pro Division while Jamey Way of McLeansville, N.C., recovered from an opening day shutout to claim co-angler big bass honors and $250 with a 7-pound, 1-ounce largemouth.
Competition begins at 7 a.m. each morning at Okee-Tantie marina located at 10430 Highway 78 West in Okeechobee. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 2101 South Parrott Ave. in Okeechobee starting at 4 p.m.
Now in its fifth season, the EverStart Series features three divisions-Eastern, Central and Northern-with four events each plus the $325,000 EverStart Series Championship. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division will be invited to the Championship for a shot at top pro awards of more than $60,000 in cash and prizes and top co-angler awards of more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. The top 10 pros and co-anglers from each division also receive priority entry into the 2003 Wal-Mart FLW Tour where they could win up to $260,000 and $40,000 in cash respectively.
More than $2.8 million will be awarded to bass anglers through the 2002 EverStart Series. The series also provides a pathway to the $5.1 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour-bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.