McMillan Wins Everstart Series Southeast Division Event On Lake Seminole
Clark wins co-angler title
BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Brandon McMillan continues his dominance in tournament competition , as the Clewiston, Fla., pro weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win the EverStart Series Southeast Division event on Lake Seminole with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 51 pounds, 11 ounces. For his victory, McMillan earned $35,000 and a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor.
“Today was perfect timing for me to catch that shad spawn,” said McMillan. “The weather was overcast, breezy and foggy and that kept the shad around for another 20 minutes. I was fishing on the sand bars near Spring Creek, and just swinging a 4×4 Bass Jigs 3/8-ounce white swimjig. I was just swimming it through that grass early this morning, and the overcast weather allowed me to get the extra key minutes that really helped me to catch them.
“I had 11 bites today, and caught eight fish,” McMillan went on to say. “I was fishing anywhere from 21/2 to 41/2 feet of water. I would fish the sand bars in the morning, then go throw a worm real slow for the rest of the day. I also caught a few using a Gambler EZ Swimmer, white, with a big paddletail for good vibration. I figured coming in that it was going to take around 50 to 55 pounds to win this tournament, and I’m happy I was able to get there.”
McMillan said he would enjoy his victory, but he’s already thinking about the next EverStart Southeast division tournament at Santee Cooper.
“I believe fishing at Santee Cooper is going to be a little tougher than usual,” he continued. “The fish are on the beds right now, so by the time we get down there they’ll be moving deeper, and that will make it a little tougher than it normally does there. I’m looking forward to it, though. It should be a very competitive tournament.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Rodger Beaver, Dawson, Ga., 15 bass, 51-10, $12,000
3rd: J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 15 bass, 49-10, $10,000
4th: Shaye Baker, Tallassee, Ala., 15 bass, 49-8, $9,000
5th: Brandon Medlock, Lake Placid, Fla., 15 bass, 49-2, $8,000
6th: Darrell Davis, Dover, Fla., 15 bass, 49-1, $7,000
7th: George Kapiton, Inverness, Fla., 14 bass, 44-1, $6,000
8th: Keith Pace, Monticello, Ark., 14 bass, 43-13, $5,000
9th: Joseph Kremer, Osteen, Fla., 14 bass, 43-9 $4,000
10th: Ty Solis, Albany, Ga., 14 bass, 38-1, $3,000
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Gary Fleming caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – an 8-pound, 2-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $300.
Cal Clark of Pulaski, Tenn., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger 177TR with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 43 pounds, 12 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Jim Short, Ocean Pines, Md., 13 bass, 30-11, $4,500
3rd: Bradley Johns, Jacksonville, Fla., 15 bass, 29-14, $4,000
4th: Justin Sward, Birmingham, Ala., 14 bass, 28-6, $3,500
5th: Chad Menard, Rogersville, Ala., 10 bass, 28-2, $3,000
6th: Robert Wood, Jupiter, Fla., 10 bass, 24-9, $2,500
7th: James Brooks, Inverness, Fla., 11 bass, 24-4, $2,000
8th: Joe Ventrello, Orlando, Fla., 10 bass, 24-1, $1,500
9th: Justin Jones, Apex, N.C., 6 bass, 21-11, $1,000
10th: Charles Stevenson, Albany, Ga., 7 bass, 21-5, $800
Johnny Pittman caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a 7-pound, 9-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $200.
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 the Ouachita River in Monroe, La., Nov. 1-4.
The next EverStart Series Southeast Division tournament will be presented by Evinrude, April 19-21 at Santee Cooper in Summerton, S.C., and is hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.