Winding up at West Point

EverStart Series Southeast Division ends regular season at Georgia-Alabama border

VALLEY, Ala. – The EverStart Series Southeast Division started it’s fourth and final stop of the 2005 regular season this morning on West Point Lake on the Alabama-Georgia border.

This will be the last opportunity for anglers to make the top 40 in the points standings to qualify for the no-entry-fee EverStart Championship to be held on Pickwick Lake in November.

This will also be the last chance for pros to knock off pro J.T. Kenney of Frostburg, Md., from the top of the points standings. Kenney, who has been red hot in 2005, currently leads the FLW Tour points race as well as the EverStart Southeastern Division points race.

The last time the EverStart Series visited West Point Lake was in March 1999. Bill Chapman of Salt Rock, W.Va., won that event with a final-day weight of 13 pounds, 10 pounds.

West Point Lake provided some tough fishing in 1999, and anglers are looking forward to a much improved West Point this time around. Pros are reporting that keeper bass (14-inch size limit for largemouth; 12-inch size limit for spotted bass) are easier to come by than they were six years ago.

“I think you’ll see a couple of bags over 20 pounds,” said Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla. “I’m not saying I’ll be one of them, but there are several good patterns going on right now.”

Anglers will be facing postspawn conditions this week. While there are a still a few fish on bed and guarding fry, most have retreated to postspawn locations where they are munching on shad before heading out to deeper summertime haunts.

The day-one weigh-in will begin at 3 p.m. ET at Southern Harbor Marina near Lanett, Ala.

Wednesday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:40 a.m.

Water temperature: 75 degrees

Air temperature: 57 degrees

Expected high: 85 degrees

Wind: light and variable

Day’s outlook: sunny and warm