EUFAULA, Ala. (March 15, 2006) – Pro Johnny Crews of Lakeland, Fla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds to lead day one of the Stren Series Southeast Division event on Lake Eufaula.
Pros are competing for as much as $64,500 and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the Stren Series Championship will also earn a spot in the new $2 million 2007 Forrest Wood Cup where they will compete against top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and Ranger owners’ tournaments for bass fishing’s first $1 million top award.
Anglers launched in some fairly brisk weather Wednesday morning, with temperatures only in the high 30s. However, the mercury was climbing, with highs reaching the 60s. Dock talk prior to the event was that this would be a sight-fishing tournament, with some big strings of bass caught from the beds.
“I wasn’t sight-fishing, but I was catching bass on the beds,” Crews said. “They dropped the water out last night, so the fish that were up real shallow were very spooky. When I pulled up on them, I could see little dirt puffs where they were spooking, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to sight-fish.
“Instead, I backed off and just made long casts to them and worked my bait across the sandy areas. I’d kill it and let them pick it up then.” While Crews wouldn’t reveal the type of lure he was throwing, he did admit that it was a soft-plastic rigged primarily Texas style, although he threw it on a jighead some as well.
One of Crews’ bass was a big 7-pound, 4-ouncer he caught in an area where he’d shaken off some fish during practice. The big fish earned him $750 for the day’s big-bass award in the Pro Division. Crews said he culled eight or nine small keepers during the day.
Rounding out the top five pros are Sam Bass of Section, Ala. (five bass, 20 pounds, 13 ounces); Patrick Pierce of Jacksonville, Fla. (five bass, 19 pounds); Billy Bowen Jr. of Ocala, Fla. (five bass, 18 pounds, 13 ounces); and Ken Ellis of Bowman, S.C. (five bass, 17 pounds, 9 ounces).
Aaron Fahnestock of Enterprise, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 19 pounds, 4 ounces.
Fahnestock was plenty forthcoming with his pattern. He was fishing various soft-plastic baits in colors imitating all sorts of forage. Some bass took a liking to the colorful, bluegill-like profile of a Zoom Fluke in blue glimmer. Others preferred a lure ruddier in appearance, such as a watermelon red Senko or YUM Dinger. Still others fell for the flash of a spinnerbait burned across the shallows. The key, according to Fahnestock, was changing colors to keep showing the bass something different.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Birge of Florala, Ala. (four bass, 13 pounds, 13 ounces); Curt Fannin of Prestonsburg, Ky. (three bass, 12 pounds, 5 ounces); Mike Mahady of Kennesaw, Ga. (five bass, 12 pounds, 5 ounces); and Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss. (four bass, 12 pounds, 2 ounces).
Birge earned $250 for the Snicker’s Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division, thanks to a 6-pound, 15-ounce bass.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of three rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 20 pros and co-anglers – based on two-day accumulated weights – advance to day three. Anglers start at zero Thursday and compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
The final regular-season Stren Series Southeast Division event will be held April 19-22 on the Santee Cooper lakes near Manning, S.C.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.