Pro field strong, standings winner to be determined
HENDERSON, N.C. – It’s the last day of the last tournament of the year for the EverStart Series Eastern Division and, naturally, nothing is decided yet. Arlie Napier of Middlesboro, Ky., has dominated the Pro Division over the last two days of the tourney, but he faces stiff competition in the final round at Kerr Lake. If that’s not enough, the Eastern Division standings title all depends on one man, Frank Poirier of Hopewell, Va.
Napier has been sitting on a mess of bass all week long, and his confidence is high for today. The young pro already has four EverStart and one FLW Tour top-10 finishes under his belt, including one second-place finish on each circuit, but he has yet to take home a win in a big tournament. He is hungry.
But one look at some of the other pro finalists today and one thing becomes clear: It’s anybody’s tournament to win – especially if they’re locals.
Joel Richardson (boat 5) of Kernersville, N.C., is a past FLW winner with a strong track record on Kerr Lake. Seven of his 15 top-10s in Operation Bass tournaments came on Kerr, including a third-place performance in the 1998 EverStart event and a first and second place in two Red Man Piedmont Division tourneys in 1997.
David Wright (boat 6) of Lexington, N.C., has also won two Red Man Piedmont Division tourneys at Kerr, in 1998 and 1999, plus he has two FLW top-10s.
Another Lexington, N.C., native, Robert Walser (boat 8), won this EverStart tournament here in 1999 and also the Red Man Piedmont event in 2000. In all, he has four EverStart and one FLW top-10 finishes.
Two years ago, Wally Szuba (boat 9) of Cary, N.C., placed fourth at the EverStart tournament here and sixth at the Red Man Kerr Lake Regional.
Mark Inman (boat 2) is from Henderson. While this is his first full year on the tour, his father lives on the lake and he admitted yesterday that he is reaching his peak these last few days.
Then there’s William Smith (boat 10) of Moncks Corner, S.C., who had to borrow money and a boat just to enter an EverStart event on Lake Santee Cooper last year. He won that tourney, and has been strong on the circuit in 2001.
Frank Poirier (boat 3) says he’s “not a full-time fisherman.” However, seven EverStart Eastern Division top-10 finishes and one victory might indicate otherwise. His resume includes three top-10s at Kerr Lake in the Red Man Piedmont Division. For extra motivation, Poirier is in the unique position where, if he places first or second today, he wins the 2001 division points title over Mark Rogers of Naples, Fla.
In other words: Look out, Arlie Napier.
On the co-angler side, Bruce Bowersock (boat 3) of Lake Worth, Fla., won the last Eastern Division event at Lake Eufaula, Ala. Then there is the ever-present Tee Watkins (boat 4) of East Point, Ky., who many competitors openly suggest should be fishing as a pro. And, as always, look out for the local, Bob Scott (boat 2) of Lexington, N.C., who qualified in second place yesterday.
The weather over North Carolina has lightened up from yesterday. Cloud cover remains, but the rain has stopped for now. The forecast calls for a slight chance of isolated thunderstorms and, more likely, a lot of big bass.
Today is the fourth and final day of EverStart competition at Kerr Lake. All competitors restarted the day with zero weight. The winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Ranger boat while the winning co-angler will receive $6,000.
The final weigh-in begins at 3:30 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 200 North Cooper Road in Henderson.
Day-four vital statistics
Sunrise: 5:57 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 68 degrees
Expected high temperature: 80 degrees
Water temperature: 78 degrees
Wind: From the southwest at 7 mph
Relative humidity: 100 percent
Day’s outlook: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of a thunderstorm
Day-four related links:
Editor’s note: In the May 31 story “Kentucky pro cranks his way into lead at $185,000 tourney,” we inadvertently reported that pro Sean Stickler caught the heaviest five-fish stringer of day two with 18 pounds, 7 ounces. In fact, pro Ronald Wolfarth of Locust, N.C., caught the heaviest stringer on day two with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 10 ounces. OperationBass.com regrets the error.