With only three bass that weighed 5 pounds, 2 ounces on the final day of competition Christopher Carmell of Moyock, N.C., was able to hold on and win the EverStart Series Northern Division on Kerr Lake. His three-day total of 13 bass weighed 36 pounds, 1 ounce and earned him $26,749 for his victory.
Pulling all his fish from one area, the Kerr Lake veteran Carmell found the sweetest hole of all with his Lowrance Structure Scan. It was at the mouth of Nutbush Creek had a couple of stumps with a big log running through the middle and a little grass around it that produced the winning pattern for him. Describing the 19-foot hole as an ambush point he said the fishing was fast and furious for the first two days of competition.
“I had my limit by 8 a.m. on the first two days of the tournament,” said Carmell. “Today I struggled, I think I may have caught too many from the hole yesterday . . . but maybe not, I was still able to win. On Thursday I caught a decent sack and then moved off the area because I didn’t want to burn all my fish. On the second day I caught another early limit, left the area and then went back about 1 o’clock and that’s when I caught my 5 ½-pounder that pretty much solidified the tournament for me. It really was one of spots you dream about.”
Catching all his fish on Reaction Innovations 10 inch worms in green pumpkin and a 3/8 inch triple color jig, Carmell, who lost the 2005 BFL regional by ounces, said that the win felt good. He was just waiting for an opportunity to redeem himself.
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Nick Gainey, Charleston, S.C., 14 bass, 35-11, $9,171
3rd: George Lambeth, Thomasville, N.C., 15 bass, 34-13, $7,642
4th: Brian DiVito, Trafford, Pa., 12 bass, 33-3, $6,878
5th: Snapple pro Jacob Powroznik, Prince George, Va., 15 bass, 32-6, $6,114
6th: Chris Johnston, Peterborough, Ontario, 15 bass, 31-12, $5,350
7th: Tom Wilkinson, Oxford, N.C., 15 bass, 29-7, $4,585
8th: Bill Chapman, Salt Rock, W. Va., 15 bass, 29-1, $3,821
9th: Cavin Young, Prince George, Va., 12 bass, 28-5, $3,057
10th: Joseph Wood, Westport, Ma., 11 bass, 22-15, $2,293
Mike Hoskings of Spotsylvania, Va., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – a 6-pound, 4-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $202.
David Martinez of Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 23 pound, 4 ounces. For his efforts Martinez won a Ranger 177TR with an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: George (Jack) Boyce, Fuquay Varina, N.C., 13 bass, 23-2, $3,639
3rd: Chris Girouard, Epson, N.H., 12 bass, 21-15, $3,235
4th: David Ball, Cedar Grove, N.C., eight bass, 17-6, $2,831
5th: Lee Williams, Durham, N.C., eight bass, 17-1, $2,426
6th: Thomas Shafer, Pine City, N.Y., nine bass, 16-15, $2,022
7th: Dean Majors, Durham, N.C., seven bass, 16-3, $1,617
8th: William Tager, Gunpowder, Md., eight bass, 15-9, $1,213
9th: Billy Carroll, Fayetteville, N.C., eight bass, 14-15, $809
10th: Joe Wilkerson, Falls Church, Va., seven bass, 14-4, $647
Stephen Kocell of Waxhaw, N.C., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s EverStart Series Big Bass award of $134.
