TRENTON, Mich. – Kevin Vida of Clare, Mich., landed more than $50,000 in cash and prizes including a Ranger boat powered by Evinrude or Yamaha Saturday with five smallmouth bass weighing 22 pounds, 15 ounces in the final regular-season EverStart Series Northern Division tournament, held on the Detroit River.
Vida, a Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League standout who moved up to the EverStart Series last year, topped 153 Pro Division anglers after four days of competition and two elimination rounds. He made the top-20 cut Thursday in fifth place with a two-day, opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 12 ounces. He then caught five more bass weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces Friday to make the top-10 cut in fifth place. Catch weights were cleared for all competitors following each cut.
Faced with strong winds and rough water, Vida caught his bass in the mouth of the Detroit River using green pumpkin tubes to claim victory over pro anglers from more than a dozen states. This was Vida’s second EverStart Series victory in as many seasons on tour.
“I feel like I fished a perfect tournament,” Vida said. “Coming into the tournament I was confident that I could make the top 10 and possibly win. It’s just great. This never gets old.”
Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio (five bass, 21 pounds, 1 ounce, $10,000); Dan Mansky of Youngstown, Ohio (five bass, 20 pounds, $9,000); Mike Trombly of Perrysburg, Ohio (five bass, 19 pounds, 15 ounces, $8,000); and Butch Dobransky of Canton, Ohio, (five bass, 18 pounds, 11 ounces, $7,500) rounded out the top five pros.
In the 153-competitor Co-angler Division, Aaron Jakub of Lincoln, Neb., claimed first place and $6,000 with five smallmouth bass weighing 18 pounds, 12 ounces. He entered the final round in the No. 2 spot after landing five bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces in the semifinal round and 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 8 ounces in the two-day opening round. Catch weights were cleared at the start of each round.
“When we got to our spot, I couldn’t stand up,” said Jakub, who is a rookie on the EverStart Series. “We were fishing in seven-foot waves, so I had to kneel all day.”
Jakub caught his winning limit of smallmouth bass by dragging a melon-colored tube along the edge of a hump located in Lake Erie about 45 miles from the launch site.
Co-anglers Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind., (five bass, 18 pounds, 11 ounces, $4,000) and Kenneth Taylor of Shelby Township, Mich., (five bass, 17 pounds, 8 ounces, $3,500) finished second and third, respectively.
All of the 92 bass caught Saturday were released alive.
The tournament began Wednesday with 306 anglers taking off from Elizabeth Park in Trenton, Mich., to claim a piece of the event’s $210,000 purse. The series’ next event will be the $325,000 EverStart Series Championship presented by Conseco Nov. 6-9 on Lake Martin near Alexander City, Ala.
Now in its fifth season, the EverStart Series features three divisions – Eastern, Central and Northern – with four events each plus the 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 – 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.
Sponsors of the 2002 EverStart Series are Wal-Mart, ALPO Pet Foods, BFGoodrich Tires, Castrol, Chevy Trucks, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, Fujifilm, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepsi, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, U.S. Bank, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards.
FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing tournaments, manages the EverStart Series. The organization operates 170 tournaments through the EverStart Series, Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and Ranger M1 tournament. FLW Outdoors will award anglers up to $22 million in 2002.