SHREVEPORT, La. – Danny Gulledge of Hamburg, Ark., will lead 20 of the nation’s top professional bass anglers into Friday’s semifinal round at the $210,000 EverStart Series tournament on the Red River with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 8 ounces.
Gulledge caught five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce Wednesday to place third on opening day. His Thursday catch of five bass weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces may have been lower than his previous weight, but it was heavy enough to lead the Pro Division on day two. 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 in cash and prizes and a top co-angler award of $6,000 cash.
“As far as being nervous about Friday, I’m not, because I’m competing against the fish, not the people,” said Gulledge, who caught the majority of his bass on crankbaits and tubes in 7 to 8 feet of water. “I’m excited about making the top 20.”
Opening day leader Newton Ford of Brandon, Miss., caught a total weight of 27 pounds, 12 ounces in two days to secure the No. 2 spot in the semifinal round. Mark Goines of Shady Point, Okla. (27 pounds, 4 ounces); Marvin Ettredge of Shreveport, La. (26 pounds, 6 ounces); and Patrick Hailstones of Cincinnati (23 pounds, 15 ounces) rounded out the top five pros.
Co-angler Chris Phillips of Little Rock, Ark., claimed the top spot in his division in his first tournament with a two-day total weighing 18 pounds, 7 ounces. He caught the majority of his bass fishing shallow water with a pig-and-jig.
“I didn’t catch the limit, but I caught three whoppers,” Phillips said. “I can’t express how excited I am. I am proud to be able to make it to day three.”
Finishing in second and third place were co-anglers Thomas Boschert of New Athens, Ill. (17 pounds, 4 ounces), and Kenny Moser of Alba, Texas (14 pounds, 15 ounces).
A 4-pound, 15-ounce largemouth landed Hailstones big bass honors and $750 in the Pro Division, while Murphy Downing of Hernando, Miss., landed co-angler big bass honors and $250 with a 5-pound, 5-ounce largemouth.
A total of 634 bass were caught Thursday including 51 five-bass limits. More than 96 percent of the bass were released alive.
Competition begins at 6 a.m. each morning at Clark’s Red River Marina in Elm Grove, La. The weigh-ins on Friday and Saturday will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 6235 Westport in Shreveport 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 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 – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series – where they could win as much as $260,000 and $40,000 in cash, respectively.
More than $2.8 million will be awarded to bass anglers through the 2002 EverStart Series.