EverStart Series to host event on Lake Eufaula

Southeast Division anglers set to face postspawn bite

After a short 20-minute fog delay at the day-one launch of the Stren Series Southeast on Lake Eufaula, brilliant springtime sun hit the water, paving the way for big catches. Photo by Rob Newell.

April 20, 2011 • MLF • Archives

EUFAULA, Ala. – The EverStart Series is headed to Lake Eufaula April 28-30 for the third of four stops in the Southeast Division. The tournament will feature as many as 300 pros and co-anglers competing for top awards up to $35,000 plus a Ranger boat with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard for the pro and a Ranger boat with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard plus $5,000 for the co-angler.

“There will be a few fish left on beds, but the majority of the fish will be postspawn,” said Everstart pro Randall Tharp of Gardendale, Ala. “There will be a lot of fish guarding fry. And the weights won’t be what you typically see when you think of Lake Eufaula.

“You’re looking at 15 pounds being a good stringer and somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 to 18 pounds a day to win,” Tharp added.

Tharp said he expects the majority of the fish to be caught anywhere from 2 inches of water to 8 feet. He added that he doesn’t think the fish will be moved onto the ledges at tournament time, but he predicts a few will have moved offshore into the 5- to 8-foot range.

“Topwater and swimming jigs will be real strong as well as ChatterBaits and spinnerbaits,” said Tharp. “Reaction-type lures are going to be the name of the game down there.”

Anglers will take off from Lakepoint State Park in Eufaula, Ala., at 6 each morning. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held at Lakepoint State Park beginning at 3 p.m. daily. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart located at 1252 S. Eufaula Ave. at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Pros will fish for a top award of $35,000 plus a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger 177TR with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.

The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn., Oct. 27-30.

The EverStart Series tournament on Lake Eufaula is being hosted by the Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW Outdoors on Facebook at Facebook.com/pages/EverStart-Series/196731477014096 and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWOutdoors.

About FLW Outdoors

FLW Outdoors is the largest tournament-fishing organization in the world, offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing at FantasyFishing.com, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.