FLORENCE, Ala. – Pro Brian Rand of Mattawan, Mich., hauled in 10 bass weighing 22 pounds, 2 ounces over two days to lead 20 EverStart Series Central Division pros who advanced to Friday’s semifinal round on Alabama’s Pickwick Lake. The $253,325 event, the second in the Central Division schedule, kicked off Wednesday with 198 pros and 198 co-anglers fighting for a semifinal-round berth.
The sunny weather conditions that anglers enjoyed in practice returned Thursday after a dreary, rainy Wednesday that wreaked havoc on several anglers’ fishing holes. Rand took advantage of the more favorable conditions and caught a 10-pound, 9-ounce limit by sight-fishing for spawning bass with a Poor Boy’s jig.
Rand said he feels the change from rainy to sunny weather is a double-edged sword. “It helps in one way, because I can see the fish, but it hurts because where I’m fishing, there are a lot of game fishermen because it’s sunny,” said Rand, who finished 11th in 2002 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division points standings. “But the fishing is getting better every day. I picked off the easy ones that I could see. The better fish are still there; it’s just a matter of if I can catch them.”
According to Rand, his sight-fishing pattern was a rarity among pros who made the cut. “I can guarantee there’s not another person sight-fishing,” he said. “There’s only one creek in the river system that’s warm enough, and I found it.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Clay Fritts of Florence (eight bass, 21 pounds, 14 ounces); Jonathan Newton of Rogersville (nine bass, 21 pounds, 5 ounces); Troy Eakins of Nixa, Mo. (10 bass, 20 pounds, 10 ounces); and Steven Lake of Lowell, Ark. (six bass, 20 pounds).
Brent Skrzekut of Hammond, Ind., leads the top 20 co-anglers heading into the semifinal round thanks to his two-day catch of nine bass weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces. Skrzekut caught four bass Thursday weighing 10 pounds, 2 ounces to lead second-place contender Robert Garner of Florence by 2 pounds, 11 ounces.
“You have to fish slowly because there’s a lot of pressure on the lake,” said Skrzekut, who caught his bass on a Baby Brush Hog. “There are lots of people fishing the obvious spots, which is normal. The fish are seeing a lot of lures. I’m just being super-patient; I’m finesse fishing, going slow and going small. Instead of whizzing by an area I’ll sit there, make a couple of casts and fish as best as I can. This feels great; it’s overwhelming. A lot of people at home are happy for me, and it makes me feel good.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Garner (10 bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces); Jimmy Brown of Little Rock, Ark. (nine bass, 13 pounds, 14 ounces); Mark Schuman of Greenwood, Ark. (10 bass, 13 pounds, 12 ounces); and Guy Lindstrom of Horseshoe Bend, Ark. (seven bass, 12 pounds, 14 ounces).
Eakins claimed $750 as Thursday’s Pro Division big-bass award winner thanks to a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass. Tim Hollifield of Byhalia, Miss., earned co-angler big-bass honors and $250 with a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass.
A total of 740 bass were caught Thursday, including 53 five-bass limits. One hundred percent were released alive.
Friday and Saturday’s takeoffs will be held at McFarland Park in Florence at safe light each morning, and the semifinal- and final-round weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 3100 Hough Road in Florence at 4 p.m.
Weights will be cleared for Friday’s competition, and the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers will advance to Saturday’s final round based on Friday’s total weight. Weights are again cleared for Saturday’s competition, and anglers compete for the heaviest one-day weight.
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.
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. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League. 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 peruse FLWOutdoors.com.
FLW Outdoors is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.