Hail Herron
Co-angler Michael Herron earns his first EverStart win on the Columbus Pool
COLUMBUS, Miss. – He had it won before he ever weighed in a bass.
That’s what happens when you enter the final day with a 3-pound, 6-ounce lead, as Michael Herron of Paris, Texas, discovered as he soundly defeated the co-angler field at the EverStart Series Central Division event on the Columbus Pool.
His margin of victory over second-place co-angler Mark Guin of Crossett, Ark., was a whopping 5 pounds, 11 ounces, and for the win he earned $5,000 cash plus a Ranger boat.
Herron fished with pro winner Matthew Mize on day four and brought in four bass that weighed 4 pounds, 14 ounces, quite a bit less than his day-one sack of 7 pounds, 9 ounces but still plenty enough to take the win, his first. In fact, Herron claimed victory in only his third career EverStart event and claims he entered the tournament just to split the costs with friend and fellow co-angler Gilbert Herald.
“I just fished slow, took it easy and kept my confidence up,” Herron said after crediting his pro partners with his success. “I thought I’d be 2 or 3 pounds shy (of the win).”
After throwing a Senko on day one, Herron fished a Brush Hog behind his pro partners the remainder of the tournament but fished a little bit deeper water than they did. He said he was catching his bass in 3 to 4 feet of water.
“I fished slow with a Brush Hog and they bit,” he said. “They had moved out of the grass and moved off to the break.”
Unnerving for Herron was the long runs through the locks that most pros made this week. Timing was crucial, as competitors had to pay strict attention to the lock schedule or risk getting caught up for hours. Locking through too late resulted in disqualification for many pros this week who did not make it back in time for check-in.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been on a river system and the first time I ever locked,” Herron said. “It kept me scared to death the whole time I was fishing. We came in with only one minute and 20 seconds left yesterday. I was on needles.”
Guin, Taylor round out top three
Second-place co-angler Mark Guin entered the final day in fourth and moved up to second when he improved his catch by nearly 2 pounds. After catching 2 pounds, 8 ounces yesterday, he caught one solid keeper today that weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces for a two-day total weight of 6 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him $4,000.
Mansfield, Mo., angler Mark Taylor also improved his catch today, bringing in two bass weighing 3 pounds, 3 ounces to finish third with 4 pounds, 9 ounces over two days. Taylor, who has found success in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, is an EverStart Series rookie. He earned $3,460 for third.
Graf, Gift zero but hang on to top five
Steve Graf of Natchitoches, La., entered the final day in second, but fell to fourth after coming up empty on day four. His 4-pound, 3-ounce catch from day three, however, still earned him $2,460 as the fourth-place co-angler.
In fifth was Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., who caught 3 pounds, 13 ounces yesterday but nothing today. Gift is no stranger to the top of the leaderboard, however, as he is the reigning Central Division points champ in the Co-angler Division.
Best of the rest
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers on the Columbus Pool:
6th: Michi Oba of Tokyo, one bass, 3-2
7th: Tom Medlock of Licking, Mo., two bass, 2-7
8th: David Kendrick of Altus, Ark., one bass, 1-10
9th: Mike Shaw of Hemphill, Texas, one bass, 1-0
10th: Brett Turner of Eros, La., zero bass
Coming up
The EverStart Series Central Division will next visit Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo., April 20-23.
The next EverStart Series stop is a Western Division event on Lake Mead near Henderson, Nev., April 6-9.