CLAYTON, N.Y. (July 30, 2011) – Bob Izumi of Milton, Ontario, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the EverStart Series Northern Division bass fishing tournament on 1000 Islands with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 58 pounds, 1 ounce. For his victory, Izumi earned $27,278 and a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor.
“It’s been a long time coming to win on (the United States) side,” said Izumi. “I think I’ve fished about 50 tournaments in the U.S., and my goal before I died was to win one. I finally got that done and I feel good.”
Izumi said he fished among a lot of competitor boat traffic the first day of competition but still managed to boat a good limit. On the second day of competition he aimed his boat for new water in search of isolated fish.
“I tried to get away from the crowd today and yesterday and just do my thing, and luckily I got the right bites,” Izumi said.
Izumi said he caught all of his tournament fish in 24 to 42 feet of water using a drop-shot rig tipped with a 3-inch watermelon pearl Gulp! Minnow or a 3-inch green pumpkin Gulp! Fry. His rig consisted of a ½- to 5/8-ounce weight on 10-pound-test Trilene Fluorocarbon and either a G. Loomis or Shimano Crucial drop-shot rod.
“The key was the heavier weight to get down deep,” Izumi said. “I was looking on my graph 98 percent of the day. I was looking for hooks, and when I would mark fish I would sit on them and try to catch them. I didn’t catch everything I saw, but it worked out.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: John McGoey, Omemee, Ontario, 15 bass, 57-1, $9,353
3rd: Cory Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, 15 bass, 56-8, $7,794
4th: Gregg Seal, Eldred, Pa., 15 bass, 56-5, $7,014
5th: Eric Foltin, Lebanon, Pa., 15 bass, 55-12, $6,235
6th: Jeff Hippert, Hamburg, N.Y., 15 bass, 55-10, $5,456
7th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, 15 bass, 54-14, $4,676
8th: Thomas Lavictoire Jr., West Rutland, Vt., 15 bass, 53-5, $3,897
9th: Kevin Short, Mayflower, Ark., 15 bass, 52-15, $3,118
10th: Jason Putman, Cicero, N.Y., 15 bass, 51-10, $2,338
Mike Desforges of Burlington, Ontario, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $206.
Casey Magargle of Turbotville, Pa., won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger boat with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 50 pounds, 7 ounces.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Ken Golub, Pittsford, N.Y., 15 bass, 48-2, $3,711
3rd: Larry Lafaver, Watertown, N.Y., 15 bass, 46-8, $3,299
4th: Anthony Savino, Marlboro, N.Y., 14 bass, 44-9, $2,887
5th: Nathan Knapp, Brooktondale, N.Y., 15 bass, 44-6, $2,474
6th: David Kelly, Goose Creek, S.C., 15 bass, 41-15, $2,062
7th: Gary Knight, Magnolia, Del., 15 bass, 41-8, $1,649
8th: Kevin Hesson, Polk, Pa., 15 bass, 39-13, $1,237
9th: Michael Bahnweg, Union Dale, Pa., 15 bass, 36-15, $825
10th: Doug Caldwell, Kane, Pa., 15 bass, 36-12, $660
Stephen Semelsberger Jr. of Mt. Airy, Md., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $137.
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 Angler of the Year title along with $5,000 for the pro and $2,000 for the co-angler. The top 40 pros and co-anglers from each respective division will qualify for the EverStart Series Championship that will be held on Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn., Oct. 27-30.
The next EverStart Series Northern Division tournament will be Aug. 18-20 at Lake Erie in Buffalo, N.Y., and is hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau.