Abracadabra
Steve Miller pulls over 27 pounds of bass out of his bag of tricks, takes pro lead on day two
MANNING, S.C. – EverStart Series rookie pro angler Steve Miller was no joker out on Lake Santee Cooper today. He pulled in a serious 27 pounds, 3 ounces of bass to push his opening-round total to 42 pounds, 15 ounces. The weight fell just 1 pound short of Rick Gunter’s EverStart Series two-day record of 43 pounds, 15 ounces caught last year on Lake Okeechobee, Fla., and it put Miller into the Pro Division lead going into tomorrow’s semifinal round.
It was a hard-earned lead, one that left Miller trying to figure how best to take the money and run at the end of this huge-fish tournament. Unofficially, at least 16 fish weighing over 7 pounds were weighed in by pro and co-angler competitors for the Big Bass competition. Of those, at least five of them weighed over 8 pounds. With two days left of what should be terrific fishing – and everybody who made today’s top-30 cut starting from zero weight both days – the pro leader was left deliberating how he can maintain the big bass strike tomorrow and advance into Saturday’s do-or-die final round.
“I’ll look at the weather tomorrow and decide whether I go for a take-cover bait or maybe more of an open-water bait,” said Miller, a 51-year-old native of Mechanicsville, Va.
He believes the secret to his success today, which produced the second-largest stringer of the day, was a certain retrieve technique he used with his Berkley Power tube that was especially enticing to the big bass. He caught his five-fish limit by 11 a.m. by pitching tubes into tight cover in shallow water; however, he remained hush-hush about the exact nature of the secret technique.
“There is definitely something to it that I think is creating a bite,” he divulged reluctantly. “The biggest thing is I’m fishing an area with fish in it.”
Apparently there are a lot of areas on Lake Santee Cooper right now with lots of fish – big, bedding fish – in them. And with today’s increase in temperature, cloud cover and rising water levels, many of the anglers were having a field day sacking the big largemouth bass that continue to move up on the beds to spawn. Some 54 five-bass limits were brought to the scale.
Many competitors feel conditions will only continue to improve over the next two days.
“I’m going to tell you something, folks,” EverStart Series Tournament Director Jerry Stakely said to the sizable weigh-in crowd that braved the afternoon rain, “if you miss the weigh-in tomorrow and Saturday, you’re going to miss the best you’ve ever seen.”
Pro Mark Rogers of Naples, Fla., snuck in behind Miller into second place for the opening round. He weighed in 25 pounds, 6 ounces of bass, pushing his two-day total to an impressive 42 pounds, 14 ounces. Equally remarkable is the fact that Rogers is already the points leader in the EverStart Eastern Division standings.
Rounding out the top five pros were Jamie Horton (third place) of Centerville, Ala., with nine bass weighing 40 pounds, 1 ounce; Raymond Rumpf (fourth) of Quakertown, Pa., with eight bass weighing 39 pounds, 7 ounces; and David Tanner (fifth) of Gainesville, Fla., with 10 bass weighing 38 pounds, 9 ounces.
It seemed that today was “Target Rick Gunter Day” for the pros. Glen Chappelear of Acworth, Ga., who zeroed yesterday, rebounded hard and came in with today’s heaviest weight – 29 pounds, 3 ounces – and climbed up to 26th place. His five-fish weight today fell just 1 pound, 2 ounces short of the EverStart Series one-day weight record of 30 pounds, 5 ounces, also held by Gunter from the 2000 Lake Okeechobee tournament.
In the Big Bass competition, Larry Inman of Greensboro, N.C., took home $750 for catching in the largest of many big fish caught by the pros. His Big Bass weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces.
However, bragging rights to the overall biggest bass of the day belonged to the Co-Angler Division.
Geeter grabs co-angler lead, first-ever husband-and-wife pair makes semifinals
David Geeter of Augusta, Ga., took the Co-Angler Division lead after the opening round with a two-day total weight of 33 pounds, 2 ounces. Remarkably, his 23-pound, 14-ounce total weight today was achieved with only four fish. The impressive stringer, which outweighed runner-up Tee Watkins’ total catch (18 pounds) by 5 pounds, 14 ounces, was anchored by two huge largemouths. One weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and the other weighed 7 pounds even.
Needless to say, it was a fun day for Geeter.
“When I go fishing, I go to have fun,” he said. “I fish against the conditions, not against the other competitors. I’m thrilled to death to be leading the tournament, but at this point 30th place is just as good as first. Believe me, I will be whaling the next two days.”
He will have to. One of the competitors he’s up against is Watkins, who hails from East Point, Ky. Watkins put on a strong third-place performance at Lake Eufaula, Ala., earlier this month and is continuing his hot streak here at Lake Santee Cooper. He placed fifth yesterday and moved up to second place today with his 18-pound stringer.
“The man makes a living out of the back of the boat,” said Stakely. “Every one of the pros who draws him says, `Oh, man!'”
Watkins, who is catching his fish this week primarily on a spinnerbait, attributes his steady performance from the back of the boat to his ability to remain patient and versatile on the water.
“I told (my pro partner) today, `I don’t know if I’m getting more patient, or just getting older,'” he said.
Perhaps more patient than most was co-angler Al Reed of Tequesta, Fla. He hauled in the day’s biggest bass in both divisions and took home the $250 co-angler Big Bass award. The fish weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and tied the mark – set yesterday by pro David Tanner of Gainesville, Fla. – for biggest bass caught all year by either a pro or co-angler.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Gary Fint (third place) of Frankfort, Ky., with a two-day total weighing 25 pounds, 8 ounces; Greg Lineberry (fourth) of Galax, Va., with a two-day total of 24 pounds, 2 ounces; and yesterday’s leader, Roy Altman Jr. of Augusta, Ga., who dropped to fifth place today with a two-day weight of 23 pounds, 3 ounces.
Also notable was the first-ever appearance of a husband-and-wife pair in an EverStart Series semifinal round. Abbie and Judy Israel of Clewiston, Fla., both reached the top 30 – Judy placed 15th with a two-day total of 16 pounds, 13 ounces while her husband Abbie placed 20th with a two-day weight of 15 pounds, 6 ounces. Judy Israel, the only female to make the cut, also ranks second overall in terms of all-time EverStart Series top-10 appearances.
The top 30 pros and co-anglers will start from zero Friday and fish for one day to determine the top 10 anglers who will advance to Saturday’s final round. The winning pro will receive $15,000 cash and a new Ranger boat, and the winning co-angler will collect $6,000 cash.
Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6:30 a.m. at the John C. Land III Boating and Sportfishing Facility located near Summerton. Friday’s weigh-in begins at 2:30 p.m. at the facility, and Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 481 West Boyce Street in Manning at 3:30 p.m.
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