TICONDEROGA, N.Y. – Jeff Limbaugh of Sikeston, Mo., claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot Friday going into the final round of the $210,000 EverStart Series tournament on Lake Champlain with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces.
Limbaugh will compete Saturday against nine other finalists in the Pro Division for a top award of $50,000 including $15,000 cash and an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat. If his boat is equipped with a fixed-mount GARMIN Fishfinder or combination GPS/Sounder, he will also receive a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN.
Finalists start on equal footing as weights from previous rounds are erased, and the winner is determined by the weight of Saturday’s catch. The original field of 166 pros was whittled to the top 20 Thursday and cut to the top 10 Friday.
“I was fortunate because I had five good fish, and the other guys had five good fish, but mine just happened to weigh more than theirs did,” Limbaugh said. “Fishing on Lake Champlain will make a hero or a zero out of you. If the wind catches me Saturday, I may not catch any fish.”
Limbaugh caught his bass Friday using a Brush Hog and a jig near the boat ramp. In the opening round, he caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 10 ounces to make the opening-round cut in 19th place.
Chris Parker of Manchester, Conn. (five bass, 18 pounds, 13 ounces); Steven McGahan of Gales Ferry, Conn. (five bass, 18 pounds, 10 ounces); Kevin Bishop of Hilton, N.Y. (five bass, 18 pounds, 6 ounces); and Marcel Veenstra of Newtown, Pa., (five bass, 17 pounds, 2 ounces) rounded out the top five pros.
Mitch Pierson of Newton, N.J., claimed the top co-angler spot Friday with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 8 ounces. He survived the semifinal round cut from 166 to 20 co-anglers Thursday in 11th place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 10 ounces.
“I have a saying: ‘There’s no place like Lake Champlain,'” said Pierson, who caught most of his bass on a Berkley Power Worm. “Everybody talks about retiring and moving to Lake Okeechobee in Florida, but when I retire, I’m moving to Lake Champlain!”
Dan Luman of Manchester, Conn., qualified in second with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces followed by Stan Wehr of Huntingburg, Ind., with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces.
Like their pro counterparts, co-anglers start from zero Saturday with the winner determined by the day’s heaviest catch. The winning co-angler receives $6,000 cash.
A total of 178 bass were caught Friday including 31 five-bass limits. All of the bass were released alive.
Saturday’s action begins at 6 a.m. at Ticonderoga City Ramp in Ticonderoga, N.Y. The final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 1134 Wicker St. in Ticonderoga at 4 p.m.
Now in its fifth season, the EverStart Series features three divisions – Eastern, Central and Northern – with four events each plus the $325,000 EverStart Series Championship presented by Conseco. The top 50 pros and co-anglers from each division will be invited to the Championship for a shot at top pro awards of more than $60,000 in cash and prizes and top co-angler awards of more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. The top 10 pros and co-anglers from each division also receive priority entry into the 2003 Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series – where they could win as much as $500,000 and $40,000 in cash, respectively.
More than $2.8 million will be awarded to bass anglers through the 2002 EverStart Series.