TRENTON, Mich. – Ranger Pro Mike Trombly of Perrysburg, Ohio, caught five bass weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces Friday to lead day three of the Stren Series Midwest Division event on the Detroit River presented by Evinrude.
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 started off in the river today, but we had a strong wind from the south, so I decided to run out to the lake,” said Trombly, making his sixth Stren Series top-10 appearance. “From there, I was able to cull out all of my fish.”
Trombly ditched his plan to fish the river because southerly winds slow the river’s current – displacing fish that were concentrated in current breaks and eddies. Once on Lake Erie, he fished a Poorboy’s goby on a drop-shot rig and dragged a Mike’s Rx Baits tube in a “Crushed Oreo” color to catch his day-three limit.
Rounding out the top five pros are Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio (five bass, 19 pounds, 13 ounces); Joe Balog of Harrison Township, Mich. (five bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces); Stacey King of Reeds Springs, Mo. (five bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces); and Bryan Coates of Amherst, Ohio (five bass, 18 pounds, 3 ounces).
Dick Parker of Amherst, Ohio, 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, 8 ounces while fishing with Ranger Pro Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio, who is currently in 7th place.
“I’ve had a really great day and an awesome tournament,” said Parker, who had a top-10 finish on Lake Erie in July. “I just have to go out tomorrow and fish the best I can.”
Parker fished with Shaffer on both days one and two. The pair fished humps in 22 feet of water and topping out in 16 feet of water. Parker fished a melon-colored ISG 3-inch tube to catch his leading limit.
“The better humps were the ones that sloped off gradually,” he said. “The ones with the steeper drops didn’t produce as well.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Charles Hasty of Toledo, Ohio (five bass, 17 pounds, 3 ounces); Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind. (five bass, 16 pounds, 14 ounces); Mike Lawrence of Toledo, Ohio (five bass, 16 pounds, 6 ounces); and Kenneth Taylor of Shelby Township, Mich. (five bass, 16 pounds, 4 ounces).
Anglers will launch from Lake Erie Metropark located at 32481 W. Jefferson in Brownstown, Mich., at 6:45 a.m. Saturday and the weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 23800 Allen Road in Woodhaven, Mich. beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The event is hosted by the Elizabeth Park and Wayne County Parks. For more information, visit their Web site at www.waynecountyparks.org.
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 presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ 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 Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.