Cloutier ekes out victory on Mississippi

Minnesota native captures co-angler title by mere ounces

RED WING, Minn. – With the overall lead heading into the final day of EverStart competition on the Mississippi River, Scott Cloutier of Rochester, Minn., knew it was his tournament to lose. However, after only boating one bass during the finals, Cloutier thought he’d blown any chance he’d had of winning the first tournament title of his career.

Fortunately, what Cloutier had failed to take into account was the fact that the rest of the co-angler field had endured a rough day as well. So, when Cloutier finally approached the scales, the Minnesota native was as stunned as anyone to learn that he only needed a total weight of 2 pounds to win the entire tournament. But did he have it?

With Cloutier’s one and only fish sitting gingerly on the scales, EverStart Series Tournament Director Chris Jones finally barked out the total weight – 2 pounds, 2 ounces. Cloutier, despite all of his hand wringing, had won his first title by 3 measly ounces.

Suddenly, the tension etched on Cloutier’s face was instantaneously replaced with a huge smile.

“I’m a little choked up right now. But it feels awesome,” said Cloutier, who turned in a two-day total of 9 pounds, 8 ounces to capture the Northern Division title as well as $5,000 in cash and new Ranger boat valued at approximately $35,000. “I had two bites all day and I only landed one. I’m a little stunned I won with one fish. This was definitely too close for comfort.”

Cloutier said that he primarily used a Zoom fluke and a Stanley spinnerbait to land the majority of his catch.

“I was fishing shallow water, targeting the weeds,” he said. “Most of my fish came in 2 to 4 feet.”

Although Cloutier is considered a local, he admitted that the final day of competition was one of the most difficult of his career.

“This is one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on this body of water. And I fish this river almost every weekend,” he said. “The one fish I did catch today was caught at about 12:05 p.m., right before we headed back in. Overall, I think my experience really paid off. But having great pros also made the difference.”

In the end, all of the stress, headaches and hardship seemed to have been worth it.

“This is the best finish I’ve ever had,” said Cloutier. “I’ve come in second and third at other tournaments, but never first. It’s been nerve-wracking, but it’s also been a lot of fun.”

Cherkas grabs second place

Two bites. Two fish. And a $4,000 payday. That about summed it up for Peter Cherkas of Des Moines, Iowa, in today’s finals.

“I got two bites all day, but I got them both in the boat,” said Cherkas, who fished deep water, targeting bass with a variety of blue tube baits. “So I really can’t complain.”

Third place belonged to Scot Keefe of Hinesburg, Vt.

“Today was my best bite of the tournament,” said Keefe, who turned in a two-day weight of 8 pounds, 6 ounces to take home $3,500 in prize money. “I didn’t make any mistakes, I fished with great people, and I had a lot of fun. Overall, this is one of my best tournaments ever.”

Dave Norton of Burlington, Wis., used a total catch of 7 pounds, 15 ounces to net fourth place as well as a check for $2,500.

In fifth place was Troy Sprague of Lincoln, Neb. Sprague used a two-day catch of 4 pounds, 4 ounces to win $2,000 in prize money.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists are Dave Goodwin (sixth) of Batavia, Ill., with a total catch of 3 pounds, 8 ounces; Mark Grahn (seventh) of Wautoma, Wis., with a catch of 2 pounds, 10 ounces; Steven Emery (eighth) of Adrian, Mich., with a catch of 2 pounds, 8 ounces; Larry Peterson II (ninth) of Hudson, Wis., with a catch of 2 pounds, 7 ounces; and David Hoffman (10th) of Edwardsburg, Mich., with a catch of 2 pounds, 7 ounces.

EverStart Series Northern Division action resumes July 21 on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich.