OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., won $10,000 cash and a new Ranger 519VS Comanche bass boat Saturday as the winner of the EverStart Series Eastern Division event on Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee, Fla. Morgan caught five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces to emerge as champion of the first regular-season Eastern Division event of the year.
Anglers battled erratic Okeechobee weather for four days, braving a cold, windy Wednesday followed by sunny and warm weather Thursday and Friday. Anglers faced light rain Saturday morning, and the ensuing cold front was expected to be too little, too late for anglers looking for a repeat of Wednesday’s fat sacks. Morgan, however, triumphed over the weather thanks to his knowledge of early-January fishing on Florida waters.
“The changing weather played right into my hands,” said Morgan, who caught his bass Saturday fishing heavy, dense cover. “I know this area is really susceptible to cold fronts in early January because I have fished here several times. You either fish fast or you flip, and I chose to flip.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala. (four bass, 14 pounds, 5 ounces, $10,000); Tommy Williams of Shepherdsville, Ky. (five bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces, $9,000); Sandy Melvin of Boca Grande, Fla. (four bass, 11 pounds, 2 ounces, $8,000); and Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., (five bass, 10 pounds, 12 ounces, $7,500).
Co-angler Asa Godsey of Clewiston, Fla., claimed his first EverStart Series win with a five-bass catching weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces to lead the co-angler field. He used a spinner bait and a Zoom Trick Worm to earn $5,000 cash plus a new Ranger boat as the Okeechobee co-angler champion.
“That muscadine Zoom worm sure was an ugly worm, but I caught all but two fish on it,” said Godsey, whose 63rd birthday is Sunday. “There really are no words. I’m still shocked. I just do this for fun; I don’t do it for a living. I can’t believe it.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Rob Boswell of Winder, Ga. (five bass, 7 pounds, 14 ounces, $4,000); Lyle Burns of Bishop, Ga. (two bass, 6 pounds, 11 ounces, $3,500); Ernest Diaz of Fayetteville, Ga. (five bass, 6 pounds, 9 ounces, $2,500); and Ronald Klys of Gainesville, Fla., (three bass, 5 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,000).
Seventy bass were caught Saturday, including nine five-bass limits. One hundred percent of the bass were released alive.
A full field of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers took off from Okee-Tantie Marina in Okeechobee Wednesday to kick off the $256,825 event. The field was cut from 200 to 20 following Thursday’s competition. Weights were cleared for Friday’s semifinal round, and the top 20 pros and 20 co-anglers competed Friday for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s final round. Weights were again cleared for Saturday’s competition, and the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers competed for position and prize money.
The EverStart Series Eastern Division will visit Lake Martin in Alexander City, Ala., Feb. 26-March 1 for its second regular-season event. Four divisions – Eastern, Central, Northern and Western – comprise the $4.09 million 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 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.