MANNING, S.C. – Billy Bowen Jr. of Ocala, Fla., claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot Friday going into the final round of the $185,000 EverStart Series tournament on the Santee Cooper Lakes with five bass weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce.
Bowen, who finished 18th at the season opener on Lake Okeechobee in Florida and again on Lake Eufaula in Alabama, will be competing Saturday against nine other finalists in the Pro Division for a top award of $15,000 and a new Ranger boat. All the finalists start on equal footing as weights from previous rounds of competition are erased, and the winner is determined by the weight of Saturday’s catch. The original field of 165 pros was whittled to the top 30 Thursday and cut again to the top 10 Friday.
“The biggest thing about the final round is that I’ll have the area to myself,” said Bowen, a newcomer to the EverStart Series. “I have a lot of confidence, and today’s weight helped. I’ll just have to work hard and put them in the boat.”
Bowen caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 4 ounces to make the semifinal round cut in 23rd place Thursday. Most of his bass during the first two days of competition were caught in Lake Marion using a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait, but Friday’s clear skies prompted him to start pitching a 1/2-ounce Ninja jig to trees and bushes. Bowen credits this tactical change for his success on a day when the bite slowed considerably.
Rounding out the top five pros were Vince Ingle of Maryville, Tenn., with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 12 ounces; Ricky Shumpert of Lexington, S.C., with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces; David Lauer of South Bend, Ind., with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces; and Koby Kreiger of Osceola, Ind., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces.
David Geeter of Augusta, Ga., proved that his opening round performance was no fluke as he retained his place on top of the Co-Angler Division with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces. He first claimed the top spot Thursday with a two-day total of six bass weighing 33 pounds, 2 ounces. Geeter caught the majority of his bass Friday in Lake Moultrie using a handcrafted spinnerbait.
Al Reed of Tequesta, Fla., qualified in second place with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces followed by Mitch Pierson of Newton, N.J., with four bass weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces.
Like their pro counterparts, co-anglers start from zero Saturday and compete for one day to determine the winner. The winning co-angler will receive $6,000.
A total of 137 bass were caught Friday including 11 five-bass limits. All of the bass were released alive.
Saturday’s action begins at 6:30 a.m. at the John C. Land III Boating and Sportfishing Facility located near Summerton. The final weigh-in begins at 3:30 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 481 West Boyce Street in Manning.
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 Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will receive a Ranger boat and $25,000. The winning co-angler will receive a Ranger boat and $10,000. More than $2.5 million will be awarded to bass fishing enthusiasts during the 2001 EverStart Series season. The series also provides a pathway to the $4.4 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour-bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series.