OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., survived the opening-round cut Thursday at the $256,825 EverStart Series Eastern Division event on Lake Okeechobee near Okeechobee, Fla., with a division-leading total of 10 bass weighing 42 pounds, 12 ounces after the return of typical Okeechobee weather conditions.
Warmer weather was welcomed by many anglers who had struggled somewhat on a brisk opening day Wednesday. With overnight lows staying in the mid-40s and high temperatures in the 70s Thursday, anglers had to cope with changing Okeechobee fishing conditions.
Browne adjusted to the change by using a top-water plug to land five bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces. Added to his five-bass, 26-pound, 3-ounce catch from Wednesday, the limit was enough to give him the lead over No. 2 contender Doug Vest of Okeechobee by a 4-pound, 12-ounce margin.
“I had enough fish by 9 a.m. to make the cut,” said Browne, who also led the field on day one. “I feel like I can catch a decent string Friday. I just have to keep catching them; there are a lot of variables. I’ve got a little hot spot.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Vest (10 bass, 38 pounds); Mickey Bruce of Buford, Ga. (10 bass, 36 pounds, 10 ounces); Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn. (10 bass, 34 pounds, 14 ounces); and David Goshorn of Haleyville, S.C., (10 bass, 34 pounds, 1 ounce).
Robert Russell of Smyrna, Tenn., leads the Co-angler Division into the semifinal round thanks to his two-day total of seven bass weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces.
“I took it easy today,” said Russell, who caught his bass flipping a tube. “I’m learning to be patient in the (Okeechobee) grass. Patience is the key.” Russell also led his division in Wednesday’s competition.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Frank Defrancisco of Galena, Ohio (seven bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces); Ronald Klys of Gainesville, Fla. (eight bass, 18 pounds, 10 ounces); Thomas Henderson of Roselind, Fla. (eight bass, 18 pounds, 2 ounces); and Richard Angel of Surf City, N.C., (seven bass, 16 pounds, 2 ounces).
Mike Hawks of Woodlawn, Va., claimed Pro Division big-bass honors Thursday with an 8-pound, 13-ounce bass that earned him $750. Kelly Alexander of Jacksonville, Fla, took the co-angler big-bass award and $250 thanks to a 7-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Following Thursday’s competition, the field was cut to the top 20 pros and 20 co-anglers based on their opening-round accumulated weight. These anglers will start at zero Friday and fish for one of 10 spots in Saturday’s final round, where they will again start from zero.
Eight hundred and sixteen bass were caught Thursday, including 75 five-bass limits. More than 99 percent of the bass were released alive.
Anglers will take off Friday and Saturday at 7 a.m. from Okee-Tantie Marina in Okeechobee. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will begin at 4 p.m. and will take place at the Wal-Mart store located on S. Parrott Avenue in Okeechobee. The community is invited to attend the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins.
The winning pro will take home a guaranteed cash award of $10,000 plus a new Ranger 519VS Comanche equipped with Garmin electronics and powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard. If the winner is the original owner of a Ranger boat, he will receive an additional $10,000 cash bonus from Ranger for a total of $61,900 in cash and prizes. Ranger will also award an additional $3,000 to the winner if he is a Ranger Cup participant, and Garmin will award $1,000 to the winner if his boat is equipped with a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder.
The winning co-angler is guaranteed $5,000 cash. If the winning co-angler is a registered Ranger owner, he will also receive a new Ranger 519VS Comanche for a total of $27,800 in cash and prizes.
Four divisions – Eastern, Central, Northern and Western – comprise the 2003 EverStart Series. Each division stages four regular-season tournaments leading up to the no-entry-fee $335,975 EverStart Series Championship, which will be held on Old Hickory Lake near Gallatin, Tenn., Oct. 29-Nov. 1.
To accommodate tremendous demand, EverStart Series Eastern, Northern and Central division fields have been expanded from 175 pros and 175 co-anglers to 200 pros and 200 co-anglers wherever facilities will allow. Payback in each of the expanded tournaments has also increased from $239,325 to $256,825. The extra cash is spread through the bottom three-quarters of the field, and 10 more places were added to the payout, giving 51st through 60th each $650 on the pro side and $250 on the co-angler side.
In EverStart Series competition, pros supply the boats, control boat movement and fish from the front of each boat against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back of each boat and compete against other co-anglers.
FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing, administers the EverStart Series and five other tournament trails. FLW Outdoors will award as much as $20 million through 175 tournaments in 2003.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please browse this Web site.