Kicking Butts

Flash Butts takes lead at EverStart Series Southeast event

VALLEY, Ala. – Shallow-water anglers took charge at the EverStart Southeast event on West Point Lake Thursday.

Many of the pros who made the top-10 cut combed West Point’s shoreline to collect stray spawning bass, fry guarders and fish looking for an easy-to-catch topwater bait.

Among those pros is Flash Butts of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., who brought in the tournament’s biggest limit, 18 pounds, 10 ounces, today to take the lead with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 12 ounces.

Butts is sight-fishing in stained water and said his vast improvement today was due to a location change.

“I think there is one smaller wave of fish coming up for this approaching full moon,” Butts said. “I’m fishing in stained water, and the fish are hard to see. It seems like every time I make another trip through the pocket, I find one that I didn’t see before, so I think more fish are moving in.”

Kennedy second

Steve Kennedy of Auburn, Ala., qualified for the top 10 in the second position with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 10 ounces.

“I’m still having to mix it up, both shallow and deep, to catch them,” Kennedy said. “Yesterday I caught my big fish deep, but today I caught the bigger ones shallow.”

Kennedy patrolled his deeper spots this morning and only caught two keeper largemouths. He still had those two fish in his livewell at 1 p.m., when he scrambled back to shallow water and finished a limit, which included a 5-pound bass.

“I’ve got a shallow largemouth pattern working, but it doesn’t happen until later in the afternoon,” he said. “Tomorrow I’m going to start deep again, but if it’s not happening, I’m going shallow a lot sooner than I did today.”

Powers third

Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn., continued his topwater game plan today to catch 12 pounds, 9 ounces for a two-day total of 30 pounds, 5 ounces for third place.

“I folded the hooks over on my bait at 11 o’clock this morning,” Powers said. “Each time a big one would come up there and smash it, I’d think, man, I’m going to look like a bonehead if I don’t have enough to make the cut.”

Powers thinks his topwater bite will hold strong over the next couple of days, but says he will have to luck into a couple of big ones to win.

“I’m afraid the big ones are leaving the bank,” he said. “I think I can catch 12 or 13 pounds a day over the next couple of days, but I’m going to need some big bites to win.”

Godsey fourth

Asa Godsey of Clewiston, Fla., is in fourth with a two-day total of 29 pounds, 15 ounces. Godsey also took the big-bass award in the Pro Division for a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass that won him an extra $675.

Godsey reported fishing Senkos in 3 feet of water to catch his fish over the last two days.

“These are postspawn fish that are still hanging around the bedding areas,” he said. “I’m catching them off stumps and shallow wood.”

Although Godsey has been fishing close to the takeoff, he has three other areas that he is saving for the finals.

“I went to check one of them today and caught a 3-pounder immediately,” he said. “So I left and came back in early, because I knew I had enough to make the cut.”

Gagliardi fifth

Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., sight-fished today to collect 11 pounds, 2 ounces and qualify for the top 10 in the fifth position with a two-day total of 27 pounds, 1 ounce.

Rest of the best

The following pros rounded out the top-10 cut in the EverStart Southeast on West Point Lake:

6th: Mike Keel of Auburn, Ala., with a two-day total of 24-3

7th: Tony Wood of Bowdon, Ga., with a two-day total of 23-11

8th: Jared Parmer of Roanoke, Ala., with a two-day total of 23-7

9th: Rick Couch of Ocala, Fla., with a two-day total of 22-15

10th: Michael Johnson of Talking Rock, Ga., with a two-day total of 22-14

Mitchell leads co-anglers

Richard Mitchell of Appling, Ga., leads the Co-angler Division of the EverStart Southeast on West Point with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 2 ounces.

“I have to give all the credit for my catch the last two days to the pros I fished with,” Mitchell said. “Chris (Jones) always talks about the level of professionalism, ethics and sportsmanship found out here on the EverStart Series, and my pro partners the last two days were the epitome of all that.”

Mitchell fished with Lynn Callahan of Lafayette, Ala., on day one and Robert Boyd of Russellville, Ala., on day two.

“Lynn has a lot of brush piles out here, and every time we pulled up to one, he explained exactly where the pile was located and where to cast,” Mitchell said. “And Boyd went above and beyond his role as a professional today. He knew I had a chance to make the cut, and he actually let me catch several sight-fish that he very easily could have caught. One of them took an hour to catch.

“I’m just totally impressed with the caliber of anglers out here,” Mitchell added.

James Barnick of Pembroke Pines, Fla., is in second in the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 19 pounds, 3 ounces.

Barnick was also extremely complimentary of his pro partners.

“I had two really great partners, Patrick Hailstone (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Mike Squires (Newnan, Ga.)” Barnick said. “They were both concerned that I catch fish. They deserve the credit, because catching fish out here is one thing, but finding them is the hard part and they did that.”

Barnick reported catching his fish on topwaters in the morning and Senkos in the afternoon.

Matthew Parker of Whitesburg, Ga., is in third place with a two-day total of 16 pounds, 12 ounces.

Johnny Pittman of Somerville, Ala., is in fourth place with a two-day total of 16 pounds.

Ronald Mueller of Prosperity, S.C., is in fifth place with a with a two-day total of 15 pounds, 13 ounces.

Big bass

Tony Haymon of West Palm Beach, Fla., scored the Co-angler Division big-bass award for a 6-pound, 15 ounce bass.

Rest of the best

The following co-anglers rounded out the top-10 cut in the EverStart Southeast on West Point Lake:

6th: Tommy Gunn of Cusseta, Ala., with a two-day total of 15-8

7th: Tim Vanegmond of Gay, Ga., with a two-day total of 14-2

8th: Michi Oba of Tokyo, Japan with a two-day total of 13-14

9th: James Chapman of Cedartown, Ga., with a two-day total of 13-13

10th: John Crosby of Macon, Ga., with a two-day total of 13-3

The top 10 pros and co-anglers will start from zero tomorrow. The takeoff begins at 6:30 a.m. at Southern Harbor Marina.