SHREVEPORT, La. – The $2.8 million 2002 EverStart Series Central Division opened Wednesday on the Red River with 330 bass anglers representing more than a dozen states. Pro angler Newton Ford of Brandon, Miss., took the lead with a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces.
Ford, in his third season fishing the EverStart Series, caught his limit by midday using mostly spinner baits.
“I caught my first four in near lock four, and then I came up and caught one in near lock five,” he said. “I’d much prefer a day-four lead, but you’ve got to start somewhere. My wife told me, if I didn’t do well, I couldn’t fish next year, so it was a command performance. She was joking, I hope.”
Ford said he felt confident about the tournament’s remaining days.
“I feel like I can catch enough to make the cut,” he said.
The $210,000 tournament features 165 pros who supply boats, control boat movements during competition and fish for a top award of more than $50,000 in cash and prizes and 165 co-anglers who fish from the back deck of each boat for a top award of $6,000 cash. If the winning pro’s boat is equipped with a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder, he will receive a $1,000 bonus from Garmin.
Marvin Ettredge of Shreveport, La., caught five bass and finished opening day in second with a total weight of 16 pounds, 8 ounces. Danny Gulledge of Hamburg, Ark. (five bass, 15 pounds, 1 ounce); Wesley Burnett of Hot Springs, Ark. (five bass, 14 pounds, 5 ounces); and Jeff Pate of Heflin, La., (five bass, 13 pounds, 15 ounces) rounded out the top five pros.
Co-angler Thomas Boschert of New Athens, Ill., leads his division with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 3 ounces followed by Chris Phillips of Little Rock, Ark., (five bass, 10 pounds) in second and Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo., (four bass, 9 pounds, 7 ounces) in third.
“It’s nice for a fellow who doesn’t have much vacation time to come down here, jump in a boat and let somebody else take you to the fish,” Boschert said. “These pros put in a lot of time, work and labor, and people don’t realize how hard it is. For us to come down here and go with them is a good opportunity to get experience and have a good time.”
Though understandably proud of his day-one success, Boschert knew better than to get overly confident.
“I’m not going to let it go to my head,” he said. “It’s just another day fishing, and hopefully I can catch more Thursday.”
A 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth landed Burnett big bass honors and $750 in the Pro Division while a 5-pound, 2-ounce largemouth landed Ken Keys of Evansville, Ind., big bass honors and $250 in the Co-angler Division.
For a shot at victory, anglers in both divisions must secure one of 20 slots in Friday’s semifinal round with their two-day, opening-round total. Anglers then start from zero and compete for one day to determine the top 10 pros and co-anglers who will fish in Saturday’s finale. Catch weights are cleared for the final day, and the winners are determined by that day’s catch.
Competition begins at 6 a.m. each morning at Clark’s Red River Marina in Elm Grove, La. Thursday’s weigh-in will also be held at the marina starting at 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 6235 Westport Road in Shreveport beginning 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 presented by Conseco. 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 as much as $260,000 and $40,000 in cash, respectively.