The EverStart Series is headed to the Detroit River July 25-27 for a tournament presented by Mercury when as many as 300 pros and co-anglers take to the water for the final stop of the 2013 season in the Central Division.
“The anglers are going to have a few different options,” said Chevy pro Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., who won when the FLW Tour visited the Detroit River in 2012. “The lower end of the Detroit River is right in the mouth of Lake Erie. So, you can either fish the river, Lake Erie, or make a 30-minute run up the river and go into Lake St. Clair.
“Erie fishes a little too big for me,” Nixon continued. “And you really can’t catch over 13 or 14 pounds a day consistently in the river, so I like to go up the river and fish in St. Clair.
“(Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair) are two totally different fisheries,” said Nixon. “On Erie, guys are going to be targeting the reefs, ridges and rocks, and the fish are quite a bit deeper. There really isn’t much structure on St. Clair, but you can find the massive schools of smallmouth.”
Nixon said that the majority of tournament anglers would mainly be throwing three different baits.
“It’s typical smallmouth fishing,” Nixon said. “Guys will be throwing tubes and drop-shotting. If the conditions get right, you can catch them on a deep-diving crankbait, too. If you really get into the fish and they stop biting, you might want to pick up a swimbait as well. I like to throw a 5-inch Yamamoto Swimbait rigged with a 1/2-ounce Yamamoto jig head. I’ve had them come up off the bottom and bite that when it toughens up. Those are pretty much the only four baits that I keep rigged up there.”
Nixon estimated that the winning angler would need an 18- to 21-pound-a-day average to earn the victory.
“They’re going to catch big stringers wherever they choose to fish,” the Chevy pro said. “That’s just the way it is up there. Whether it’s Erie or St. Clair, it’s usually a 20-pound average to win any tournament.”
Anglers will take off from Elizabeth Park Marina located at 202 Grosse Ile Parkway in Trenton, Mich., 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 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich., 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 the Detroit River is being hosted by the City of Trenton Parks and Recreation Department.
For complete details and updated information visit the FLWOutdoors website. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the EverStart Series on Facebook at Facebook/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter/FLWFishing.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit the FLWOutdoors website and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.By: Joe Opager, Communications Specialist
