Kreiger climbs into lead of $185,000 EverStart tour event on Kentucky Lake
Rhodes and Daniel tie for top spot in Co-Angler Division
GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Koby Kreiger of Osceola, Ind., used a 17-pound, 2-ounce stringer to vault into first place heading into the all-important final round of competition on Saturday. After two fourth-place finishes in the first two days of the EverStart Tour event on Kentucky Lake, Kreiger appeared to put all of the pieces of the fishing puzzle together during today’s competition.
“Today went pretty well,” said Kreiger, who is also in first place in the 2001 overall point standings in the EverStart Eastern Division. “I’m pretty consistent down here this time of year. I’m just running the small pockets and trying to concentrate on largemouths. We’re coming into a full moon and there are still a lot of fish coming up into the shallows to spawn.”
Kreiger, who is using a Zoom lizard and centipede, said he is concentrating on fish in 3 feet of water or less.
“I’ve been doing some sight fishing and some casting in shallow water,” he said. “But I think I may have figured out something in the last hour-and-a-half on the water today. Tomorrow I think I’m going to be looking for willow trees in the small pockets.”
Kreiger said that he is cautiously optimistic about his chances tomorrow.
“Tomorrow I know that I’ll catch (a limit of) five fish. But I don’t know how big it’s going to be. It could be 20 pounds, it could be 5 pounds,” he said. “Overall, I’m pretty happy. I’ve had a good practice and I’ve been catching about 10 to 15 keepers every day. Hopefully, tomorrow I can win.”
Day-one leader Carl Svebek of Sam Rayburn, Texas, turned in another stellar performance as well. Buoyed by a 16-pound, 3-ounce stringer, Svebek grabbed hold of second place heading into tomorrow’s finals.
“Everything is going like clockwork,” he said. “I’m not getting a lot of bites. But the bites I am getting are quality bites.”
Stephen Johnston of Hemphill, Texas, took over third place with a catch of 15 pounds, 4 ounces. Craig Powers, who was in 22nd place after day two, used a 14-pound, 12-ounce catch to grab the fourth spot heading into tomorrow’s finals. Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., finished in fifth place with a catch of 14 pounds, 11 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 finalists: John Kramer (sixth) of Labadie, Mo., with a catch of 14 pounds, 5 ounces; Harmon Davis (seventh) of Marlow, Okla., with a catch of 13 pounds, 4 ounces; Bill Smith (eighth) of Prestonburg, Ky., with a catch of 12 pounds, 13 ounces; Shawn Penn (ninth) of Benton, Ky., with a catch of 12 pounds, 5 ounces; and Rhett Fornof (tenth) of South Jordan, Utah, with an identical catch of 12 pounds, 5 ounces. Fornof qualified in tenth place by virtue of a tiebreaker.
Co-angler Division tightens up
Richard Rhodes of Calvert City, Ky., and Ed Daniel of Benton, Ill., recorded identical catches of 6 pounds, 4 ounces to grab a share of the lead in the Co-Angler Division heading into tomorrow’s finals.
Rhodes, who caught two of his three fish in the waning moments of competition, said he was pleased with his overall performance.
“It feels great. It’s been a long road getting here,” said Rhodes, who technically took over the top qualifying spot by virtue of his performance on days one and two. “I was pretty lucky. I caught my last two fish in the last 28 minutes.”
Although Rhodes has fished well throughout the tournament, he said he was far from confident heading into the first day of competition.
“I never thought I would make it this far,” he said. “I thought I’d get shot out of the tournament on the first day.”
Rhodes, who has been using a Carolina rig for most of the tournament, credited his pro partners for boosting him into the top 10.
“I’ve had three partners and they’ve all been great,” he said. “I learned a lot from the back of the boat this tournament. The pros have been doing their job and I know it’s my job to pick up the scraps. And that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Daniel, who had never made the top 30 in an EverStart tournament, let alone a top-10 finish until this event, said he was in disbelief after the semifinal results were announced.
“It’s kind of hard to believe,” said Daniel, who has fished in only three EverStart tournaments – all on Kentuckyh Lake – during his career. “It’s shocking really.”
Like Rhodes, Daniel also gave a lot of credit to his partners.
“I’ve had three really good partners who didn’t do anything to put me at any kind of disadvantage,” said Daniel. “It’s worked out very well so far.”
J.H. Alphin of Chandler, Texas, grabbed the third spot heading into tomorrow’s finals with a 6-pound catch. Tony McManus of Madisonville, Ky., used a 5-pound, 7-ounce catch to land fourth place. Wesley Burnett of Hot Springs, Ark., winner of the 2000 EverStart Series Challenge, took the fifth spot with a catch of 5 pounds, 6 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10: Ken Keys (sixth) of Evansville, Ind., with a catch of 5 pounds, 2 ounces; Timothy Gill (seventh) of Bloomington, Ind., with a catch of 5 pounds, 1 ounce; Clark Morris (eighth) of Gentry, Ark., with a catch of 4 pounds, 7 ounces; Jerry Wade (ninth) of Indianapolis, Ind., with a catch of 4 pounds, 4 ounces; and Scott Jones (tenth) of Louisville, Ky., with a catch of 3 pounds, 11 ounces.
Anglers in both divisions will start over with zero pounds at the beginning of tomorrow’s final round of competition. Tomorrow’s takeoff is scheduled to take place at 6 a.m. at Moors Resort located on Moors Camp Road in Gilbertsville, Ky.
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