Towel, anyone?
Norman leads in washout on Mississippi River
RED WING, Minn. – In a relentless, driving rain that did not let up for most of the fishing day, rookie pro Harvey Norman of Delaware, Ohio, took the lead on opening day of the EverStart Series Northern Division event on the upper Mississippi River in Minnesota.
Norman edged out second-place Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., with a leading five-bass weight of 13 pounds, 2 ounces.
The leader said today’s rain didn’t impact the fishing much other than soaking his head and shoes. While he lost some six or seven bass, the ones he did catch in shallow water during brief light spells in the precipitation gave him plenty of room to breathe.
“I’d prefer the sun to come out and for it to get high and hot, but it doesn’t seem to affect them too much,” Norman said.
Most of the bass are in a postspawn phase in the river. Norman said he caught the bulk of his fish on reaction baits and didn’t round out his limit until the last hour of competition. Fishing the southern end of Lake Pepin, he and his traveling partner, pro Ed Huber of Westerville, Ohio, caught largemouths exclusively. Huber placed fourth with a limit just a pound lighter than Norman.
“We’re on a really good pattern,” said Norman, who’s fishing his first EverStart event as a pro. “We’re sharing spots. I caught my three best fish in the last hour, but (Huber) had his in the first hour and a half. I’m getting reaction strikes more than anything else. The average size of the fish here are extremely fat and healthy.”
The top five
Rose, a multiple finalist on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, landed the second spot with a limit weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces.
Third place went to Bill Lowen of Addyston, Ohio, for a limit weighing 12 pounds, 5 ounces.
Huber tied for fourth with pro Aaron Larocque of Wabasha, Minn., who both weighed in limits worth 12 pounds, 2 ounces.
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 pros after day one at the Mississippi River are Chris Novack of Willington, Conn., with 12 pounds, 1 ounce (6th place); Ron Gerstenmaier of Uniontown, Ohio, with 11-11 (7th); Jason Leuenberger of La Crosse, Wis., with 11-10 (8th); Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wis., with 11-9 (9th); and Mike Felderman of Galena, Ohio, with 11-9 (10th).
All 10 of the top pros caught limits.
Ashley dominates co-anglers
Fishing with local pro Jim Moynagh, David Ashley of Markleville, Ill., took a decisive, 3-pound lead in the Co-angler Division with a limit weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce.
“I had a great partner,” Ashley said. “It was just fast and furious in the morning. I was fishing with a top-water and I had my limit by 10 o’clock.”
Second place went to co-angler Trot Schwab of Elk River, Minn., for five bass weighing 9 pounds, 2 ounces.
Chris Hoenshell of Laughlintown, Pa., placed third with four bass weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Thomas Bryant Jr. of Summerfield, Fla., in fourth place with four bass weighing 8 pounds, 5 ounces and Nelson Sergent of Laurinburg, N.C., in fifth place with four bass weighing 8-4.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers after day one at the Mississippi River are Jason Putman of Kirkwood, Mo., with four bass weighing 8 pounds even (6th place); Louis Woods of Winneconne, Wis., with three bass weighing 7-15 (7th); Robert Huffine of Carlisle, Pa., with four bass weighing 7-14 (8th); Steve Miller of Plymouth, Minn., with four bass weighing 7-12 (9th); and Peter Cherkas of Des Moines, Iowa, with four bass weighing 7-10 (10th).
Anglers endure late-return penalties
While the rain didn’t play a big role in terms of the fishing, it seems to have had an effect on a number of competitors’ watches. Some 33 anglers, some who had top-20 weights, suffered penalties after returning to weigh-in several minutes late. The penalty for late check-in is 1 pound per minute.
Day two of Northern Division competition at the Mississippi River begins as the full field of 190 boats takes off from Treasure Island Marina in Welch, Minn., at 6 a.m. Central time Thursday for the second half of the opening round. Following tomorrow’s action, both fields will be cut to the top 20 anglers apiece based on two-day total weight.