TRENTON, Mich. (July 20, 2005) - Pro Mike Desforges of Burlington, Ontario caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces to lead day one of the EverStart Series Northern Division event on the Detroit River near Trenton. A field of 165 pros is competing for $10,000 plus a Ranger 519VX powered by a Yamaha or Evinrude outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Garmin electronics and EverStart Batteries. Ranger also awards an additional $10,000 to the winner if he is a qualified Ranger owner. "I'm on some good fish," Desforges said. "I'm fishing deep, open-water humps with a drop-shot tube rig." Desforges' limit consisted entirely of smallmouth bass, the largest one being a nice 4-pound, 11-ouncer.
Most of the pros caught their fish from Lake Erie, where the wind plays a large factor in their success rates. "The wind was real nice today," Desforges added. "It allowed us to get out there and move quickly and stay on our fish. Some guys are probably hoping for more wind, but I'm hoping it will be flat again tomorrow."
Rounding out the top-five pros are Bryan Coats of Amherst, Ohio (five bass, 21 pounds, 9 ounces); Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio (five bass, 21 pounds, 4 ounces); Scott Emery of Livonia (five bass, 20 pounds, 3 ounces); and Kota Kiriyama of Irvine, Calif. (five bass, 20 pounds, 11 ounces).
Shaffer and Art Ferguson III of St. Clair Shores each caught a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass to tie for the day's Snickers Big-Bass award in the Pro Division. Each pro earned $287.50 for his catch.
Pro anglers caught a total of 602 bass weighing 1,786 pounds, 14 ounces on the first day of the event.
David Lawson of Richmond, Ky., caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds to lead the Co-angler Division. Lawson threw tube baits to catch his bass.
Rounding out the top-five co-anglers are Mike Krikke of Hudsonville (five bass, 19 pounds, 8 ounces); Charles Hasty of Toledo, Ohio (five bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces); Kevin Webb of Xena, Ohio (five bass, 18 pounds, 2 ounces) and Arthur Gene Hall of Angola, Ind. (five bass, 16 pounds, 7 ounces).
Tom Beale of Rochester Hill earned $250 for catching the Snickers Big Bass in the Co-angler Division. The big bass weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces.
Co-anglers caught a total of 439 bass weighing a total of 1,227 pounds, 15 ounces on the first day of the event.
Elizabeth Park located at 200 Grosse Isle Parkway in Trenton hosts the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins at 6:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 200 North Cooper Road in Henderson beginning at 4 p.m.
EverStart Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 10 pros and co-anglers - based on two-day accumulated weights - advance to the final round. Anglers start at zero Friday, and pro and co-angler winners are determined Saturday based on two-day accumulated weights.
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