CLEWISTON, Fla. – Rufus Johnson, 27, of Strawberry Plains, Tenn., will lead 30 of the nation’s top professional bass anglers into Friday’s semifinal round of competition at the $185,000 EverStart Series tournament on Lake Okeechobee with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 11 ounces.
Johnson caught five bass weighing 20 pounds Wednesday to finish in first place then turned in five bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces Thursday to finish the opening round on top of the 165-angler Pro Division. Friday the top 30 pros and co-anglers will start from zero and fish for one day to determine the top 10 anglers who will advance to Saturday’s final round for a shot at top awards of $15,000 cash and a new Ranger boat in the Pro Division and $6,000 cash in the Co-Angler Division.
“This year’s tournament is bigger and better,” said Johnson, who is fishing his third year on the EverStart Series. “There is a little more competition out here this year, so I’m on cloud nine. I’m king for another day.”
Johnson caught the majority of his bass on a crankbait while fishing the mouth of a bay where bass are staging on the edge of shallow water.
Pro Roger Crafton of Boca Grande, Fla., caught 10 bass weighing 30 pounds, 15 ounces over two days to secure the No. 2 spot in Friday’s competition. Rounding out the top five pros were Pat Kelly of Loxahatchee, Fla., with 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 14 ounces; Scott Browning of Franklin, N.C., with 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 11 ounces; and Frank Poirier of Hopewell, Va., with eight bass weighing 28 pounds, 9 ounces.
In the 165-person Co-Angler Division, James Kimball, 60, of Okeechobee, Fla., also retained the top spot with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces. He caught the majority of his bass using a 3/16-ounce finesse jig.
“I’m doing something a lot different than most of the guys,” said Kimball, who is fishing his first EverStart tournament. “But it’s working so far.”
Finishing in second and third place in the Co-Angler Division were Ralph Mulleins of Cumberland, Va., with eight bass weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces and Carl Dillard of Columbia, S.C., with 10 bass weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce.
Big bass and $750 in the Pro Division went to Browning for an 8-pound, 6-ounce largemouth. Big bass and $250 in the Co-Angler Division went to Dillard for a 7-pound, 9-ounce largemouth.
A total of 998 bass weighing 2,044 pounds, 4 ounces were caught Thursday including 110 five-bass limits. More than 98 percent of the bass were released alive.
Competition begins at 7 a.m. each day at Roland Martin’s Marina located at 920 East Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston. Friday’s weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. at the marina, and Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 1005 West Sugarland Highway at 4 p.m.
The 4-year-old EverStart Series now includes three divisions – Eastern, Central and Northern – with four events each plus a year-end championship. Tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from each division will earn a spot in the championship, which will be held on Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will go home with a Ranger boat and $25,000 cash. The winning co-angler will receive a Ranger boat and $10,000 cash. The 2001 EverStart Series will award more than $2.5 million to bass fishing enthusiasts while also providing a pathway to the $4.4 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.