EUFAULA, Ala. – Gain pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., caught a five-bass limit Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Southeast Division tournament on Lake Eufaula with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 60-3. For his victory, Kreiger earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 519VX Ranger boat powered by Evinrude. He also earned $4,500 in Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha bonuses for a total of $69,500 in winnings.
“I can’t complain right now,” said Kreiger, who has already won one Stren Series event on Lake Eufaula in 2004. “I tried to stay very consistent all week. My goal was to at least make a top-10. I didn’t think I was around enough fish to win this. I had to go look for more fish each day. I would fish until I got a limit in the mornings, then I would spend the rest of the day practicing for the next day.”
“Fortunately, I found this spot I spent all day in today that was holding the quality fish I needed to win. Everything seemed to work out perfectly.”
“I am going to go home for a little while then it’s off to Knoxville for the FLW Tour stop.”
Kreiger opened the tournament in 17th place Wednesday with five bass weighing 14-7 that he caught on crankbait. On Thursday he added another five-bass limit weighing 13-4 using the same crankbait to land in sixth place. He then caught five more bass weighing 13-5 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in sixth place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Ryan Ingram of Phoenix City, Ala. (20 bass, 57-15, $9,832); Rodger Beaver of Dawson, Ga. (20 bass, 57-14, $8,849); Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C. (19 bass, 56-6, $7,866); and Ryan Worthington of Middleburg, Fla. (20 bass, 54-14, $6,883).
John Cox of Debary, Fla., and Joseph Kremer of Osteen Fla., tied for the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division – a 7-pound, 8-ounce bass – that earned them the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $295.
Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss., won the Co-angler Division and $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger boat, with a four-day total of 15 bass weighing 42-15.
“This is great, I’m happy to be here,” said Hults, who’s Brother Chris also cleared the top-10 in this event. “I didn’t really feel comfortable about my lead until about 2 p.m. today when I caught one of my big kicker fish. After than I felt a lot better.”
“The bite seemed to be a little slower today but I just kept fishing and it all worked out.”
Hults caught five fish weighing 13-9 Wednesday while fishing with pro Larry Jones of Acworth, Ga., to open the tournament in second place. He then caught five bass weighing 16-3 Thursday using a lipless crankbait while fishing with pro Travis Adams of Danielsville, Ga., to capture the lead. On Friday he added only two more bass weighing 5-1 to make the top 10 cut in first place while fishing the same crankbait and flipping soft-plastics with pro Shane Cole of Empire, Ala. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a three-bass catch weighing 8-2 while fishing with pro Jesse Draime of Long Beach, Miss.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C. (12 bass, 36-15, $3,947); Donald Roberts of Riverside, Ala. (nine bass, 30-1, $3,207); Chris Hults of Vancleave, Miss. (14 bass, 29-6, $2,467); and Adam Saucerman of Mill Creek, W.Va. (nine bass, 29-2, $1,974).
Roberts also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – an 8-pound, 9-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $148.
The next Stren Series Southeast Division event, hosted by the Clarendon County Chamber of Commerce, will be held April 11-14 on the Santee Cooper Lakes in Manning, S.C. Boats will launch from John C. Land III Landing in Summerton, S.C., and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 481West Boyce Street in Manning, S.C.
After four qualifying events are complete in each of the Stren Series’ five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2008 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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing’s biggest prize – $1 million.
The top 40 co-anglers from each Stren Series division will also advance to the championship, where they will fish for as much as $70,000. The highest-finishing co-angler from each division at the championship will then advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
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.