Carman wins Co-angler Division by 13-5
22-pound-plus stringers propel Kentucky co-angler to EverStart Eastern win
If you are down on your fishing luck these days, you may want to consider looking up Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky., for a shot of good fortune. After weighing in two 22-pound-plus stringers over the last two days, Carman brought in 13 pounds, 14 ounces to put an exclamation point on his Lake Eufaula EverStart co-angler domination.
Carman’s two-day total came to 36 pounds, 5 ounces. Add that to the weight of his first two days and this co-angler has reeled in over 60 pounds of Lake Eufaula bass.
“I’ve never caught so many big fish in my life,” he exclaimed on stage today. “This has been unreal.”
Carman’s secret during the previous days of competition was a 3/4-ounce Rattle Back jig fished in submerged timber.
“I’d throw it out there and feel for a limb,” he said. “When I felt the jig coming up over a limb, I’d just shake it and rattle it on the branch, and those big bass couldn’t stand it.”
Today, however, Carman was paired with Koby Kreiger who was fishing shallow. But Carman’s good fortune continued as he adapted with a buzzbait and a floating worm to compound his lead.
Later in the day, Kreiger took Carman to his deep timber spot where he was able to cull a couple of times with a jerkbait.
Mueller finishes second
Ronald Mueller of Prosperity, S.C., finished second with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 10 ounces.
Mueller fished a Lucky Craft Stacey jerkbait behind his pros all week.
“Most of my bites were coming in about 6 to 8 feet of water,” he said. “I was fortunate in that all of my pro partners fished the same kind of water where I could keep throwing the jerkbait.”
Rest of the best
Rounding the top in the Co-angler Division were Mike Freeman of Oxford, Ala., in third with a two-day total of 23 pounds, 1 ounce; Wayne Colonna of Tallahassee, Fla., in fourth with a two-day total of 22 pounds, 8 ounces; Joseph Webster of Fulton, Miss., in fifth with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 15 ounces; John Crosby Jr. of Macon, Ga., in sixth with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 8 ounces; Bennie Patton of Dunnville, Ky., in seventh with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 7 ounces; Robert Mulleins of Cumberland, Va., in eighth with a two-day total of 14 pounds, 1 ounce; Thomas Griggs of Madison, N.C., in ninth with a two-day total of 11 pounds, 8 ounces; Bruce Dale of Jamestown, Ohio, 10th with a two-day total of 11 pounds, 7 ounces.