Clark wins co-angler title at Seminole

Tennessee co-angler dominates in just his second EverStart Series event

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – In January, Cal Clark of Pulaski, Tenn., fished his first EverStart Series event as a co-angler at Lake Okeechobee and finished second.

Well, apparently second was not quite good enough for Clark and he looked to improve – by one spot – which he did at Lake Seminole by winning the EverStart event in dominating fashion.

Throughout the week Clark amassed weights of 11 pounds, 3 ounces, 14 pounds, 15 ounces and 17 pounds, 10 ounces to win with a three-day total of 43 pounds, 12 ounces – over 13 pounds ahead of second place.

His pro partners for the week included Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury, Danny Long and Straight Talk pro JT Kenney.

“This is great,” said a relieved Clark. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

Clark’s primary lures for the week were a Senko, a Lake Fork Magic Shad in green pumpkin and a ¾-ounce Revenge spinnerbait.

“I’d cast the Magic Shad out there and just sort drag it along, trying to feel for any grass underwater,” he said. “Sometimes I’d work it fast, other times I would just let it sit.”

“I have to thank my fishing team partner Chad Aaron (Lawrenceburg, Tenn., pro) for this as well,” Clark added. “He’s a best friend and has taught me a lot about fishing. I practiced with him here and that was a tremendous help here in figuring out what to do.”

In addition to his win, and his new Ranger 177TR boat, Clark now leads the Co-angler of the Year standings with his second and first place finishes.

Short second



Jim Short of Ocean Pines, Md., finished second with a three-day total of 30 pounds, 11 ounces.

Short’s primary weapon all week was a Zoom Speed worm in the regular and magnum sizes, featuring the colors junebug silver and green pumpkin, topped with a 3/-16-ounce weight and tied to 14- and 17-pound test fluorocarbon.

“The key was slow, slow, slow,” Short said. “When thought you were fishing slowly you had to slow down even more. And I would just creep it through the pad stems, forcing them to eat. It was almost like they didn’t want to eat, but if you bothered them enough with the worm, they would eventually pick it up.”

Johns third

Bradley Johns of Jacksonville, Fla., finished third with a three-day total of 29 pounds, 14 ounces.



Jones brought a finesse game to Seminole, using a spinning rod and 8-pound test line to cast Senkos (junebug) and lightly-weighted Trick Worms (watermelon red) to catch his fish.

Sward, Menard round out top five

Justin Sward of Birmingham, Ala., finished fourth with a three-day total of 28 pounds, 6 ounces. He cast Carolina rigs and straight-tailed worms to sandy spots on the flats for his success.

And Chad Menard of Rogersville, Ala., rounded out the top five with a three-day total of 28 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top-10 co-anglers in the EverStart Series event on Lake Seminole:

6th: Robert Wood of Jupiter, Fla., three-day total of 24-9, $2,500

7th: James Brooks of Inverness, Fla., three-day total of 24-4, $2,000

8th: Joe Ventrello of Orlando, Fla., three-day total of 24-1, $1,500

9th: Justin Jones of Apex, N.C., three-day total of 21-11, $1,000

10th: Charles Stevenson of Albany, Ga., three-day total of 21-5, $800