EverStart Series looks to Chesapeake Bay
Final stop of Northern Division set for Sept. 12-14
NORTH EAST, Md. – The EverStart Series is headed to the Chesapeake Bay Sept. 12-14 when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the final stop in the Northern Division.
In the final stop of the Northern division, Joseph Wood of Westport, Mass., will be looking to lock up the Strike King Angler of the Year and a 2014 Forrest Wood Cup berth. Wood and his fellow anglers will be up against the Chesapeake Bay, a body of water that FLW hasn’t visited since 2009.
Adrian Avena, FLW Tour pro and a frequent visitor to the Chesapeake Bay, said that the fishery does not experience much fishing pressure due to it’s location.
“The Chesapeake is one of the best bass fisheries in the country right now,” Avena said. “The grass has really started to grow strong in there the last five or six years and there have been more and bigger largemouth every year.
“The biggest thing about the Chesapeake is that it fishes small, like the Potomac,” Avena continued. “The locals should dominate in this tournament. This time of year the grass is starting to die off, and you’ll have to find the healthy green grass to find the population of fish.”
For those tournament anglers who dread the task of breaking down the huge and treacherous grass flats, Avena said that other patterns could come into play as well.
“This tournament could easily be won fishing boat docks alone. There is an almost unlimited supply of boat docks and pilings.”
Avena said that a broad range of baits should perform well on the Chesapeake. “When the tide is down and the grass is matted you can pick it apart with a worm or a frog and when the tide is up you can power-fish over the grass with a Chatter Bait, spinnerbait or swimbait. For flipping pilings, you can throw a jig or a worm. I like to flip a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver. One of the main forages there are blue crabs and you want to try to match that. Anything blue, or with a little white in it, is good.”
Avena estimated that about 18 pounds per day would win the tournament. “The pressure will be a big factor over a multi-day tournament, and the weights will drop off quickly,” said Avena.
Anglers will take off from the Anchor Marina located at 36 Iroquois Drive in North East, Md., at 6 a.m. each day. Weigh-in will be held at the takeoff location on Thursday and Friday beginning at 3:00 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 75 North East Plaza beginning at 4:00 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Pros will fish for a top award of $40,000 plus a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard if Ranger Cup guidelines are met. Co-anglers will cast for a top award consisting of a Ranger Z117 with 90-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $5,000 if Ranger Cup guidelines are met.
The EverStart Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western. Each division consists of four tournaments and competitors will be vying for valuable points in each division that could earn them the Strike King Angler of the Year title, which allows them to fish the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup.
The EverStart Series tournament on the Chesapeake Bay is being hosted by the Cecil County Tourism Office.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the EverStart Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.