Motown showdown

EverStart Series Northern Division season kicks off on Detroit River

TRENTON, Mich. – Should I stay or should I go? That is the question EverStart Series anglers had to ask themselves in the days leading up to the kickoff of 2005 Northern Division competition, which got under way Wednesday morning when the field of 167 boats took off onto the Detroit River.

There are three options facing these competitors, who are in search of the renowned smallmouth bass bite this Northern fishery has to offer. Some will head north from the launch at Elizabeth Park Marina in Trenton, Mich., near Detroit to make the relatively long run to Lake St. Clair; some will first head south before making the shorter trip to the massive waters of Lake Erie; the rest will stay close to home base and test their skills on the Detroit waterway itself.

The decision won’t be easy, as much hangs in the balance of this tournament. Pros are competing for a top award worth as much as $60,000, while co-anglers are vying for a top award worth as much as $35,000. In addition, all competitors are fishing for valuable points that could earn them a berth into the season-ending $1 million EverStart Series Championship – slated to take place on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala., Nov. 2-5. The top 40 pros and 40 co-anglers from each EverStart division qualify.

And whereas the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and three of the five EverStart Series divisions have already wrapped up competition for 2005, things are just getting heated up in the Northern Division. It all starts here, this week on the Detroit River.

By the looks of the early flights that sped off at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time today, the majority of the field is going to test the waters of St. Clair, more than 20 miles upriver. And though it’s a shorter distance to Erie, anglers have miles and miles of water to cover once they get there.

Despite having had a slow three days of prefishing, Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, is bucking the trend. The EverStart Series and Wal-Mart FLW Tour pro, who has already qualified for the EverStart Series Championship through the Central Division, said he’ll be on the hunt for the big smallie bite on Erie.

“I think a lot of the guys will be going to St. Clair; there are a lot of good fish being caught,” Tutt said. “But I’m going to the big lake … I’m going for the win.”

Though he has only had about 15 or fewer bites and caught only 10 to 12 a day during practice, Tutt said he plans to go for broke on Lake Erie. “I’m getting way fewer bites, but they’re bigger ones.” And those that chose to make the shorter trip to Erie today will have more fishing time and calm conditions working in their favor; the big waters of this Great Lake can get ugly in a hurry when the wind blows.

“Hopefully I’ll have 25 pounds before those guys even get started,” Tutt said with a laugh. He added that he is also rooting for his father, Sid Tutt, on the co-angler side – no offense intended to his day-one partner, Tim Longenbaugh of Columbia City, Ind.

But dock talk surrounding the opening-day takeoff indicated the St. Clair-bound should definitely be in the running for the money, because the bite there has been consistent and strong. Those who stay on the Detroit River will have the longest fishing days of all, so each strategy has a distinct advantage. And anglers fishing St. Clair or the river have the potential to hook a few largemouths as well, though Tutt said he believes this tournament will definitely be won on a smallmouth pattern.

Tutt said, regardless of who goes where, he expects to “see some good sacks today” in the 20- to 24-pound range. He predicts it will take 33.1 pounds to make the cut Thursday, the gateway to the finals.

Many anglers are expected to fish in 15 to 25 feet of water using drop-shots or tubes.

Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will begin at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time at the Elizabeth Park Marina, which is located at 202 Grosse Ile Parkway in Trenton, and takeoffs will begin at 6:30 a.m. daily at the same location. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 7555 Telegraph Road in Taylor beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Wednesday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 6:14 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 66 degrees

Water temperature at launch: 76.7 degrees

Wind: forecasted WSW at 5 to 10 mph

Maximum relative humidity: 62 percent

Day’s outlook: sunny and calm with a high of 88 degrees