Fishing News - 7/24/01
From Operation BASS
Sandusky Bay Next Stop For EverStart Series
Sandusky, Ohio (July 24, 2001) - The newly expanded EverStart Series will hold its third Northern Division tournament Aug. 22-25 on Lake Erie's Sandusky Bay.
Up to 330 top bass anglers from the United States and Canada will compete in the event for a share of $185,000, including first place awards of $50,000 in cash and prizes in the Pro Division and $6,000 in the Co-Angler Division. The winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat with GARMIN Electronics plus a $1,000 bonus if one of the firm's fixed-mount sonar products was used.
"We added a Northern Division to our 2001 schedule to accommodate growing demand in the region," said Jerry Stakely, EverStart Series tournament director. "Our first Northern Division tournament was held in June on the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wis., and the second tournament was held at Thousand Islands on Lake Ontario near Clayton, N.Y. We are looking forward to our visit to Sandusky and another great event."
In addition to a new division, the EverStart Series increased the purse at each regular season event by $20,000 and introduced a no-entry-fee championship with a $325,000 purse for the 2001 season. More than $2.5 million will be awarded this year.
The 4-year-old EverStart Series, which serves as a pathway to the $4.45 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour, includes three divisions-Eastern, Central and Northern-with four events each plus the year-end championship. The top 10 anglers from each division will qualify to compete in the 2002 Wal-Mart FLW Tour where they could win up to $250,000 in a single event. Top EverStart competitors may also qualify for the Ranger M1 Millennium tournament in Mobile, Ala., Feb. 27-March 2, 2002, where they can win up to $1 million in the world's richest freshwater tournament.
EverStart Series rankings are based on a points system that awards 200 points for a win, 199 points for second, 198 points for third and so on. Points will be awarded during all four qualifying events per division. Anglers will compete on Sandusky Bay for four days starting Aug. 22. A full field of up to 165 pros and 165 co-anglers will compete for two days during the opening round. After the opening round, the field will be cut to the top 30 pros and top 30 co-anglers. These competitors will start from zero and compete for one day in the semifinal round to determine the top 10 anglers in each division who will advance to the final round.
Anglers will again start from zero for the final day of competition, and the winner of each division will be determined by the weight of that day's catch.
EverStart Series tournament winners and the top 50 pros and top 50 co-anglers from the Eastern, Northern and Central divisions will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship presented by Conseco Nov. 7-10 on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. There, the winning pro will receive a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat with GARMIN electronics and $25,000. The top co-angler will win a Yamaha- or Mercury-powered Ranger boat with GARMIN electronics and $10,000.
Bickely's Boat Dock in Sandusky is the site of each day's 6 a.m. take-off on Sandusky Bay Aug. 22-25. Weigh-ins for the first three days of competition will also be held at Bickely's starting at 3 p.m. each day.
The final weigh-in on Saturday, Aug. 25, will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 5500 Milan Road in Sandusky at 4 p.m. Sponsors of the 2001 EverStart Series are ALPO Pet Foods, BFGoodrich Tires, Black and Decker, Chevy Trucks, CITGO, Coleman, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Frito-Lay, Fujifilm, GARMIN, Kellogg's, Land O'Lakes, Mercury Marine, Minn Kota, Pepsi, Plano Tackle Systems, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers Cruncher Bar, Timex, US Bank, Visa, Wal-Mart, Weed Eater, Wrangler and Yamaha Outboards.
There are still a limited number of pro and co-angler openings for the Sandusky Bay tournament. To enter, call Operation Bass at 270-362-4880 or visit www.everstartseries.com for more information. For more information
about EverStart Batteries, visit www.everstartbatteries.com.
