Semifinal showdown
EUFAULA, Ala. – It’s Friday. The weather has warmed up, everybody restarts at zero, and the bass are still biting for today’s semifinal-round action in the EverStart Series Eastern Division event on Lake Eufaula.
The field has been cut to 30 competitors apiece for both the Pro and Co-Angler divisions. The top 10 qualifiers from each division after today’s competition will advance to Saturday’s final round.
In the Pro Division, it’s a toss-up as to who to watch out for today. The leader, Jeff Turner of Plainfield, Ill., has boated the most weight over the first two days, bringing in 41 pounds, 4 ounces, and plans to keep fishing the same way he did in the opening round – with spinnerbaits and buzzbaits in shallow water. But the entire field is having a field day plucking big bass off the beds on Lake Eufaula this week, so it’s anybody’s game.
On the co-angler side, Billy Coleman of Holly Hill, Fla., and Mike Birge of Florala, Ala., both look strong. Coleman leads after the opening round and Birge has been a model of consistency over the first two days, placing third twice.
Another co-angler to keep your eye on is Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla. She has poured it on in EverStart tournaments over the last two years and is making another run at it this week. In 1999, she placed second in the Co-Angler Division at EverStart Lake Eufaula in her first trip to the Alabama impoundment. If she advances to the top 10 tomorrow, it would be her fourth final-round appearance on the EverStart Series and would put her into second place in terms of career co-angler top-10 finishes.
Weigh-in begins today at 3 p.m. at Lake Point State Park located at 104 Lake Point Drive just north of Eufaula. The final round starts tomorrow, when the winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Ranger boat. The winning co-angler will receive $6,000.
Day-three vital statistics
Sunrise: 6:07 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 62 degrees
Expected high temperature: 73 degrees
Water temperature: 63 degrees
Wind: From the Southwest at 5 mph
Relative humidity: 97 percent
Day’s outlook: Cloudy with rain