TICONDEROGA, N.Y. – Scott Dobson of Waterford, Mich., will lead 20 of the nation’s top professional bass anglers into Friday’s semifinal round at the $210,000 EverStart Series tournament on Lake Champlain with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 6 ounces.
Dobson caught five bass weighing 18 pounds, 3 ounces Wednesday to place second and then turned up the heat Thursday with five more bass weighing 16 pounds, 3 ounces to lead the Pro Division. 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 top co-angler award of $6,000 cash.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there tomorrow,” said Dobson, who caught the majority of his bass on jerkbaits. “I have a long run tomorrow, so it’ll take longer. This lake is big and rough – it’s a huge body of water.”
Pro Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., caught 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 9 ounces over two days to secure the No. 2 spot in the semifinal round. Richard Doyle of Keeseville, N.Y. (10 bass, 32 pounds, 8 ounces); John Kitchens of Smyrna, Ga. (10 bass, 32 pounds, 3 ounces); and Robert Sherry of St. Charles, Ill., (10 bass, 32 pounds, 2 ounces) rounded out the top-five pros.
Co-angler Scott Green of Essex Junction, Vt., again claimed the top spot in his division with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 2 ounces. He caught the majority of his bass flipping a jig.
“I live pretty close to where my partner and I are going tomorrow,” Green said. “I’m very excited to know I can catch the fish we’ll be catching tomorrow, because I feel very comfortable in those waters.”
Finishing in second and third place were co-anglers Trevor Jancasz of White Pigeon, Mich., (10 bass, 28 pounds, 10 ounces) and Daniel Cramer of Van Wert, Ohio (nine bass, 27 pounds, 7 ounces).
A 5-pound, 7-ounce bass landed Rodney Ellis of Greentown, Ind., big-bass honors and $750 in the Pro Division, while John Van Stippen of Neenah, Wis., landed co-angler big-bass honors and $250 with a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass.
A total of 1,237 bass were caught Thursday including 184 five-bass limits. More than 97 percent of the bass were released alive.
Competition begins at 6 a.m. each morning at the Ticonderoga City Ramp in Ticonderoga, N.Y. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at Wal-Mart located at 1134 Wicker St. in Ticonderoga 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 up to $500,000 and $40,000 in cash, respectively.
More than $2.8 million will be awarded to bass anglers through the 2002 EverStart Series.