A Mississippi marvel
EverStart anglers kick off first Northern Division tournament of 2002 season on Mississippi River, vie for share of $210,000 total purse
RED WING, Minn. – The season opener for the EverStart Northern Division circuit commenced early this morning as 330 of the nation’s top anglers made their way past Treasure Island Resort Marina for the open waters of the Mississippi River shortly after a 6 a.m. takeoff. However, with extraordinarily humid conditions in the forecast, a tough culling rule and reports of a difficult and sporadic bass bite – the June 26-29 event could be as challenging as any EverStart tournament in recent memory.
“The day before yesterday, I barely caught anything pre-fishing,” said EverStart pro Kevin Vida. “And I spent all day yesterday fishing (by accident) in the no-fish zone. Basically, I’m going to wind up pre-fishing again today.”
“The fishing has been a little tough so far,” agreed EverStart angler Marcos `The Latino Fisherman’ Padilla of East Windsor, N.J. “We’ll just have to see what happens today.”
Another test for the anglers is the addition of a modified no-culling rule – mandated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Because anglers will be sharing a border with Minnesota and Wisconsin, they must adhere to the fishery regulations of each state. And by Wisconsin rules, anglers are permitted to throw fish back only if they have not placed them in their livewells first. In fact, once a fish is placed in a livewell, it must count as part of an anglers five-fish limit.
Anglers acknowledged that the rule would undoubtedly add a new and complex layer of strategy to this week’s tournament fishing.
“We’re going to have to make a lot of tough decisions out there because, once you have five fish in the livewell, that’s it,” said EverStart pro Chad Grigsby. “You’re done fishing for the day.”
While conditions might be difficult, there is also plenty of incentive for the field. In the Pro Division, anglers will be competing for a top prize of $15,000 and a brand new Ranger boat valued at an additional $35,000. In the Co-angler Division, non-boaters will be battling for a first-place award of $6,000.
EverStart action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. at Treasure Island Casino, located at 5734 Sturgeon Lake Road in Welch, Minn.
Vital statistics:
Sunrise: 5:27 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees
Expected high temperature: 84 degrees
Water temperature: 69 degrees
Wind: calm
Relative humidity: 88 percent
Day’s outlook: party cloudy
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Photos
Day-one pairings