HENDERSON, Nev. – Pro Sean Minderman of Post Falls, Idaho, collected $48,900 in cash and prizes, including $7,000 and a new Ranger 519VS Comanche equipped with Garmin electronics and powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, as the winner of the $185,200 EverStart Series Western Division event on Nevada’s Lake Mead. He caught four bass weighing 8 pounds, 3 ounces for the win, besting second-place finisher Mike Folkestad of Yorba Linda, Calif., by 1 pound, 15 ounces.
While competitors enjoyed perfect weather during the tournament, with sunny skies and highs in the 60s each day, Lake Mead bass proved difficult to catch. But Minderman overcame the challenging conditions using a Clearwater tube bait in 5 to 8 feet of water to capture his first EverStart Series win.
“I was casting around the base of old house foundations,” said Minderman, who also led after the semifinal round. “This is the biggest win I have ever experienced. It is an incredible feeling.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Folkestad (three bass, 6 pounds, 4 ounces, $6,800) Brent Ehler of Redlands, Calif. (three bass, 5 pounds, 15 ounces, $6,100); Art Berry of Ramona, Calif. (three bass, 3 pounds, 15 ounces, $5,400); and James Soden of Oakley, Calif. (two bass, 3 pounds, 1 ounce, $4,900).
Folkestad also received a $1,500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
Co-angler Ray Coleman of Henderson, Nev., earned $26,400 in cash and prizes, including a new Ranger 519VS Comanche, for his winning catch of four bass weighing 6 pounds. Coleman topped the co-angler field thanks to a Roboworm he fished in 8 to 12 feet of water.
“I had a really great day of fishing [Saturday],” said Coleman, who was fourth after the semifinal round. “I feel truly fortunate to win this EverStart event.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Adam Hodge of Cucamonga, Calif. (three bass, 2 pounds, 14 ounces, $2,400); Rusty Rath of Page, Ariz. (two bass, 2 pounds, $1,950); Bernie Gaunt of Sacramento, Calif. (one bass, 15 ounces, $1,660); and Jeff Dean of Lake Havasu City, Ariz. (one bass, 11 ounces, $1,520).
A total of 34 bass were caught Saturday, and 100 percent were released alive.
One hundred and nineteen pros and 119 co-anglers took off from Callville Bay Resort in Las Vegas Wednesday to kick-start the second-ever EverStart Series Western Division tournament. Thanks to the tournament series’ western expansion, anglers from the West can now compete alongside Central, Northern and Eastern division competitors for a share of a $3.88 million EverStart Series purse. The field was cut to the top 20 pros and 20 co-anglers following Thursday’s competition, and anglers started at zero Friday and competed for one of 10 slots in Saturday’s final round. Weights were cleared again for Saturday’s competition, and anglers competed for position and prize money.
Each division stages four regular-season tournaments leading up to the no-entry-fee $335,975 EverStart Series Championship, which will be held on Old Hickory Lake near Gallatin, Tenn., Oct. 29-Nov. 1. The next Western Division tournament will be held April 23-26 on Clear Lake near Clearlake, Calif.
In EverStart Series competition, pros supply the boats, control boat movement and fish from the front of each boat against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back of each boat and compete against other co-anglers.
FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing, administers the EverStart Series. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League. FLW Outdoors will award as much as $20 million through 175 tournaments in 2003.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. FLW Outdoors is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.