Quick Bites: EverStart Championship, Day 1
2002 EverStart Series Championship
Lake Martin, Alexander City, Ala.
Wednesday, opening round
Stylish and practical … Jason Quinn bears a passing resemblance to a pirate with his unconventional arsenal of heavy ear jewelry and long ponytail, but he is making a name for himself as the captain of Lake Martin. The pro from Lake Wylie, S.C., who amassed five bass worth 11 pounds, 11 ounces to lead his division Wednesday, likes the deep-water, spotted-bass fishing he and his competitors are facing here this week. “This is a lot like home. I like the deep, offshore structure. I think this lake suits me,” he said, adding that he caught his fish on day one in roughly 25 to 30 feet of water. And he’s not kidding. The last EverStart competition here, in February 2000, Quinn finished in second place. It was the only other top-10 performance of his EverStart career – so far. And what about those hoop earrings? Ever accidentally hooked one on a cast? “Not yet,” he laughed. “But if I ever happen to run out of baits, I might be able to use one to catch some fish.”
He loves that spinner bait … Second-place pro Ricky Shumpert doesn’t know anything about fishing at Lake Martin – or so he says. But that’s hard to believe given that he was one of only three anglers to weigh in more than 10 pounds Wednesday. Add to that the fact that he finished in fourth place here on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour in 2001 and grabbed second place at last year’s EverStart Championship up at nearby Pickwick Lake, it seems apparent that the sultan of Santee Cooper, S.C., might know more about Alabama bassing than he’s letting on. But, he swears, it’s more of a coincidence than anything else. Frustrated in practice early this week by a lack of quality bites on plastic baits in nearby Elkahatchee and Wind creeks, Shumpert switched over to a spinner bait, his favorite lure, and a buzzbait and started chunking and winding. “I didn’t get more bites, but I got a bigger bite,” he said. “At 2 o’clock I caught my best spot(ted bass). That’s when I decided that I like Lake Martin now.” Tomorrow, while many of his cohorts are twitching soft lures on light line off humps in 30 feet of water, Shumpert said, “I’m just going to go back and do what I do. I’m going to head back to the bank and burn a spinner bait in 2 feet of water.”
Shiver me timbers … The biggest obstacle for anglers today was the testy wind. Gusting at times up to 20 mph, it blew boats around and gave anglers fits as they worked their trolling motors overtime in an effort to stay over offshore structure and fish deep. Pro Greg Pugh, a local favorite from Cullman, Ala., could only muster one bass worth 2 pounds, 3 ounces. “That wind was really hurting us this morning,” he said. Even pro Al Gagliarducci of Agawam, Mass. – despite catching a fifth-place, five-bass stringer weighing a respectable 9-4 – took exception to being knocked around by Mother Nature. “Man, I hope this wind dies down tomorrow,” he pleaded.
Quick number
6-7: Weight, in pounds and ounces, of Don Oswalt’s big bass in the Pro Division Wednesday. That one largemouth was Oswalt’s only keeper of the day, and it landed him in contention to make the cut in 30th place.
Sound bite
“I just enjoy the people and have a good time. If I catch a fish, it’s a bonus.”
– Co-angler leader Ed Clark, a retired machinist, describing his approach to tournament fishing. He’s been competing in various tourneys for 31 years, but this is his first season on the EverStart Series.
Quick links, Day 1:
Quinn captains his way to first place at EverStart Championship
Photos
Results
Tomorrow’s pairings
Press release