EverStart Series Central Division Continues on Pickwick Lake, Alabama
OutdoorHub 04.24.13
Post-spawn Patterns Expected for TVA Fishery Event
The EverStart Series is headed to Pickwick Lake May 2-4 when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the second of four stops in the Central Division.
“Normally at this time of the year the bass should be wrapping up the spawning phase,” said Walmart pro Mark Rose of West Memphis, Ark., who has more than $1.6 million dollars in career earnings and three victories in FLW competition on Pickwick Lake. “But there are still a lot of fish up on the beds. By the time the tournament rolls around we should start to see some strong post-spawn patterns happening.
“The water levels are really a big factor,” Rose continued. “It’s up high in the bushes right now. If they keep the levels up, there will be a lot of shallow fish caught. I don’t think that the real deep fish will be out on the river ledges quite yet, but we may be there in the kind of in-between period. There may be a shad spawn happening around that time as well. You can never really tell what’s going to be happening until you get there.“
Rose said that topwater baits, buzzbaits and plastic frogs should produce solid stringers of bass that will be guarding their fry. He said that he also expected Carolina rigs to produce in this event, and that umbrella rigs may play a factor.
“It’s really hit or miss,” Rose said of the controversial rig. “If they are still in the spawning phase, it may be a factor. However, if the spawn is pretty much over with, I don’t think it will produce anything special.”
Rose predicted the winning angler will bring right around 50 pounds to the scales in this three-day cumulative-weight event.
Anglers will take off from McFarland Park located at 200 James M. Spain Drive in Florence, Ala., at 6 a.m. each day. Weigh-in will be held at the takeoff location on Thursday and Friday beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at Walmart located at 3100 Hough Road in Florence beginning at 3 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 Pickwick Lake is being hosted by the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism Bureau.
