Vegas teen keeps up with pros

Friday, April 8, 2005 | 9:24 a.m.

Fishing on his home lake in his first tournament as a professional, Joshua Dix hauled the catch limit of five bass Wednesday in the start of the EverStart Series Western Division event on Lake Mead.

Even though his total catch weight of 7 pounds, 9 ounces did not place Dix among the top five for the day, he was in the large minority of anglers who were able to haul in five fish to the Callville Bay Marina.

"I lost one that would have helped me out," Dix said. "I would have been close to nine pounds, but that's fishing. If you're catching them, then you're going to lose some. If you ain't losing 'em, you ain't catching 'em."

The top 10 professionals and co-anglers with the highest combined weight Wednesday and Thursday advanced to the final round, which started this morning and ends Saturday.

Total weight today and Saturday will determine the champions from the two categories. The final weigh-in Saturday is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Henderson Wal-Mart, 300 E. Lake Mead Parkway.

Dix, an 18-year-old Foothill High graduate who is an assistant superintendent for a construction company, said his knowledge of the lake and its 22-foot rise in one year might have offset any tension he might have felt competing as a pro for the first time.

"I might know a couple of spots that nobody else knows," he said. "But there's still a lot of pros out here who have worked harder than me, so far. And there's a lot more water.

"I don't know if it's helped me or hurt. I guess it's helped me out. I know what the coves look like now. A lot of people who haven't been here when the water was down don't know what they look like and they fish them wrong."

The $6.2 million EverStart Series is comprised of Southeast, Northeast, Central, Northern and Western divisions, each with four events.

Every angler who receives weight credit in an event also earns points, with 200 going to the winner, 199 for second, etc. Based on season-end points, the top 40 pros and co-anglers advance to the $1 million series championship, Nov. 2-5, on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala.

The Lake Mead entry fee for professionals, who provide the boat and determine where it maneuvers on the water, was $750. Co-anglers, whose fee was $300, occupy the rear of boats.

The winning pro earns about $60,000 in cash and prizes, and the value of the best co-angler's award is roughly $35,000.