REDDING, Calif. – Pro Mark Meddock of Woodland, Calif., caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 40 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Stren Series Western Division event on Lake Shasta. Meddock won $50,000 in cash and prizes, including a Ranger 519VX powered by a Yamaha or Evinrude outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries.
Meddock, fishing his first season as a pro, waited until the last day of the event to catch the tournament’s heaviest five-bass limit – 22 pounds, 14 ounces. His limit Saturday included a monster 6 1/2-pound spotted bass. Meddock held off local pro Jeff Michels of Lakehead, Calif. – Friday’s leader – who weighed in a two-day total of 10 bass for 38 pounds, 1 ounce to finish second and earn $10,000.
“I caught 20 to 30 keepers each of the first two days,” Meddock said, “but I switched to a bigger bait for the final round and only caught 10 keepers yesterday and seven today. I was getting bigger fish on the bigger bait, which was a Huddleston 8-inch rainbow-colored swimbait. Those big spotted bass would hammer it. Every fish I weighed in this week was a spotted bass. My fish came out of 10 to 20 feet of water. I just looked for rocky points and humps.”
Meddock finished 16th in the first Western Division event of the season on Lake Havasu and finished 51st at the second event on Clear Lake. With this win, he is a virtual lock to make the Stren Series Championship.
Rounding out the top five pros were Dave Nollar of Redlands, Calif. (10 bass, 36 pounds, 8 ounces, $8,900); Bill Townsend of Redding, Calif. (10 bass, 26 pounds, 6 ounces, $7,900); and Jim Riley of Shasta Lake, Calif. (10 bass, 23 pounds, 15 ounces, $7,400).
Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., won the Co-angler Division with 10 bass weighing 31 pounds. He bested second place by nearly 13 pounds. He earned $35,000 in cash and prizes for the victory.
“I drew Dave Nollar yesterday, and we both were in second place coming into today,” Lucas said. “So I was paired with him again today, and I new I could do well. He was doing exactly what I wanted to do – throwing finesse worms in deep water. I caught 20 to 30 fish each day and most were keepers. I had a 6-pound spotted bass today.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Dan Powers of Weaverville, Calif. (10 bass, 18 pounds, 3 ounces, $4,000); Charles Bean of Brentwood, Calif. (10 bass, 18 pounds, $3,460); J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif. (10 bass, 18 pounds, $2,460); and Cliff Gregory of Quartz Hill, Calif. (10 bass, 17 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,960).
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 Western Division of the season will be held May 3-6 on the California Delta near Bethel Island, Calif.
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, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Stratos Owners Tournament Trail. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.7 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.