First time a charm for Treadaway

Alabama co-angler wins EverStart event on first trip to Florida

DECATUR, Ala. – Before the EverStart Series Southeast event this week, Rodney Treadaway of Decatur, Ala., had never fished Lake Okeechobee and had never fished an EverStart tournament.

So when he has crowned the Co-angler Division champion of his first EverStart on his first trip to Okeechobee, no one was more shocked than Treadaway himself.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Treadaway, when he was awarded a Ranger boat, motor and trailer for amassing a three-day winning total of 37 pounds, 10 ounces. “I’m in a whirlwind right now.”

For years Treadaway had threatened to visit Okeechobee for an extended winter fishing trip, but never made it happen.

“I have several good friends who work for Gambler Lures, including Val Osinski,” Treadaway recounted. “They told me this was the year to come down because the fishing has been so good. So I made it a plan.

“I work at a tackle shop in Athens, Ala., called West End Outdoors,” Treadaway continued. “When I told some of the guys at the shop my plans to fish Okeechobee, they told me there was an EverStart tournament down there the very same week, and they suggested that I enter it.

“And here I am,” Treadaway laughed, “the winner of the tournament! Can you believe that?”

During the week, Treadaway shared a boat with pros Leon Williams, Boo Woods and Brandon McMillan.

“I really have to thank my pros,” Treadaway said. “They were all true professionals and put me on fish. I could not have won without them.”

His lure choices included a Gambler Big E-Z (June-bug), a Gambler 7-inch ribbon-tail worm (watermelon-red) and a B.B. cricket.

He rigged the Big E-Z on an 1/8-ounce screw-in weight, the ribbon tail on a 3/16-ounce screw-in weight and the B.B. cricket on a 1-ounce tungsten.

“No particular lure was really any better than the other one,” Treadaway said. “I rotated all three based on what my pros were doing.”

Bozeman second



Gerald Bozeman of Sylvester, Ga., finished second with a three-day total of 37-3 worth $4,500.

On day one, Bozeman went to work on Okeechobee with his confidence bait – an 8-inch Zoom lizard in June-bug-red rigged on an 1/8-ounce weight – and boated 21 pounds, 3 ounces.

Today he fished with pro winner Brandon Medlock and topped the same 8-inch lizard with a 1-ounce weight.

Brown third

Bill Brown of Vero Beach, Fla., finished third with a three-day total of 35 pounds, 3 ounces worth $4,000.

Brown caught a monster limit on day one weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces on a Zoom Swimmin’ Fluke tied to 30-pound-test Power Pro braid.

“I caught them on the Swimmin’ Fluke the first two days,” Brown said. “But today I had to go to a Yamamoto Senko and just dead-stick it in the holes to get a bite.”

Fugh, Smith round out top five



Galen Fugh of Hixson, Tenn., finished fourth in the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 30 pounds, 1 ounce for $3,500. He favored a watermelon-red Zoom Speedworm for his catches.

Josh Smith of Germantown, Ohio, finished fifth in the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 29-14 worth $3,000.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the EverStart Southeast on Lake Okeechobee:

6th: Kevin Thomas of Miramar, Fla., three-day total of 29-12, $2,500

7th: Fred Martin of North Little Rock, Ark., three-day total of 29-9, $2,000

8th: Ron Buck of Port St. Lucie, Fla., three-day total of 27-6, $1,500

9th: Lisa Opel of Hernando, Fla., three-day total of 24-12, $1,000

10th: Ray Elmore of Calhoun, Ga., three-day total of 23-9, $800

The next stop on the EverStart Southeast schedule will be Lake Guntersville Feb. 24-26.