ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. – Jason Quinn of Lake Wylie, S.C., survived the opening-round cut from 150 to 20 pros to lead the field again Thursday at the $325,000 EverStart Series Championship presented by Conseco on Lake Martin near Alexander City, Ala., with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 21 pounds, 8 ounces.
Quinn led Wednesday’s competition with a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 11 ounces and followed that up Thursday with five more bass weighing 9 pounds, 13 ounces to sit in the No. 1 spot heading into Friday’s semifinal round.
Quinn caught a quick limit Thursday using a drop-shot rig and a Super Spook. “I stay in one area when I fish this place,” Quinn said. “It’s full of fish, and I expect a good bit of company Friday. There’s still no payday yet; finishing first is the same as finishing 20th. It really doesn’t matter until Saturday.”
Fishing in sunny conditions with only a slight hint of wind, Quinn outfished his nearest competitor, Ricky Shumpert of Lexington, S.C., by more than 2 pounds. Shumpert hauled in 10 bass weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces over two days. Shumpert, who caught most of his bass on a spinner bait, lost last year’s EverStart Series Championship by only an ounce.
Rounding out the top five pros are Felton Langley of Lafayette, Ala. (10 bass, 17 pounds, 15 ounces); Craig Workman of Fort Worth, Texas (10 bass, 17 pounds, 5 ounces); and Vince Ingle of Maryville, Tenn., (10 bass, 16 pounds, 7 ounces).
The 20 pros who advanced to Friday’s semifinal round will fish for one of 10 spots in Saturday’s final round, where the winner will be awarded $60,000 in cash and prizes, including an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger bass boat with Garmin electronics, a Minn Kota trolling motor and EverStart batteries.
Jon Carlile of Broken Arrow, Okla., topped the list of 20 co-anglers who advanced to Friday’s competition with a two-day total of eight bass weighing 12 pounds. Co-angler competition concludes Friday with the co-angler champion receiving $40,000 in cash and prizes, including an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger bass boat.
“This feels good. I hope to do the same thing Friday,” said Carlile, who used a finesse worm on a jig head to catch his bass. “If I win, I’m going to give most of the money to my church and spend the rest of it.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Roy Altman Jr. of Augusta, Ga. (eight bass, 11 pounds, 7 ounces); James Hill Jr. of Ozark, Ala. (eight bass, 11 pounds, 4 ounces); Warren Thomas of Lakewood, Wis. (six bass, 11 pounds, 3 ounces); and Pat Cox of Rochester, Ind., (10 bass, 11 pounds, 1 ounce).
A total of 713 bass weighing 920 pounds, 13 ounces were caught Thursday, including 62 five bass limits. One hundred percent of the bass were released alive.
The original field of 150 pros and 150 co-anglers was comprised of the top 50 anglers in final points standings in each of the three EverStart Series divisions – Eastern, Central or Northern. Anglers accumulated points over four regular-season events within a division, and every angler who received weight credit in a tournament earned points. Later this month, the EverStart Series champions will be featured on “FLW Outdoors” on the Outdoor Life Network, which reaches 55 million subscribers nationwide.
Anglers will take off from Wind Creek State Park Friday at 7:30 a.m. and Saturday at 6:30 a.m. Wind Creek State Park is part of the Alabama Bass Trail, which features accommodations, facilities and activities to complement every fishing outing from weekend getaways to the nation’s premier bass tournaments. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located on Highway 280 West in Alexander City at 4:30 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will also be at Wal-Mart beginning at 2:30 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins as well as enjoy the Family Fun Zone, located outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. With games, product giveaways and interactive displays, the Family Fun Zone offers enjoyment for fishing fans of all ages.
Designed as a pathway to the prestigious Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the 2002 EverStart Series will award $2.8 million over 12 regular-season tournaments in three divisions plus the season-ending championship. Anglers who finished in the top 10 in final points standings within their respective division are eligible to advance to the 2003 Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the world’s most lucrative bass-tournament series.
The EverStart Series and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour are administered by FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails are the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its five tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please peruse FLWOutdoors.com.