DENISON, Texas – Pro James Fredieu of Saint Martinville, La., caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces to lead day one of the Stren Series Central Division event on Lake Texoma.
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.
“I focused on main-lake points throwing a crankbait,” said Fredieu, a six-year FLW Outdoors veteran. “After the wind died down, I switched to a Zoom finesse worm.”
Fredieu plans to go with the same game plan tomorrow to secure a spot in the top-20 cut.
“With the weight I had today, all I need to do is bring in about 7 pounds,” he said. “After that, I’m going to look for some new water. I want to save those fish for day three.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Darryl Folse of Addis, La. (five bass, 15 pounds, 11 ounces); Spencer McAlester of Denison, Texas (five bass, 15 pounds, 8 ounces); Larry Caldwell of St. Peters, Mo. (five bass, 14 pounds, 7 ounces) and Jeremy Guidry of Opelousas, La. (five bass, 14 pounds, 1 ounce).
Tim Reneau of Seguin, Texas earned $625 for the Snicker’s Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass.
Bill Rogers of Jasper, Texas, 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 16 pounds, 12 ounces while fishing with pro Paul Whitman Jr. Mineloa, Texas, who is currently in 82nd place.
“I had a limit by 10 a.m.,” said Rogers, who has 15 top-10 finishes competing in FLW Outdoors events. “I fished a green-pumpkin finesse worm rigged on a small jighead on deep ledges all day.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are K.D. Moore of Euless, Texas (four bass, 12 pounds, 11 ounces); Rich Parker of Kaufman, Texas (five bass, 12 pounds, 2 ounces); Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas (five bass, 11 pounds, 9 ounces); and Terry Alsup of Ardmore, Okla. (five bass, 10 pounds, 14 ounces).
Rogers and Cedar Park, Texas resident David Stewart both earned $112.50, splitting the Snicker’s Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division. Each brought a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass to the scale to claim their share of the prize.
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Highport Marina located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas. Thursday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 401 Highway 75 North in Denison, Texas beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
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.
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 and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.5 million through 235 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse 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.