HEMPHILL, Texas (June 20, 2007) – Pro Stephen Johnston of Hemphill, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 13 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the $275,225 Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Toledo Bend.
Rounding out the top five pros are Tim Reneau of Seguin, Texas (five bass, 23-3); Tommy Martin of Hemphill, Texas (five bass, 22-7); Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas (five bass, 20-12); and James Stricklin Jr. of Jasper, Texas (five bass, 20-12).
Johnston and Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas, earned $121.50 each for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 8-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Overall there were 424 bass weighing 1,008 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 136 pros Wednesday. The catch included 46 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 519VX Ranger powered by Evinrude or Yamaha if contingency guidelines are met, and valuable points toward qualifying for the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. After four qualifying events are complete in each of the circuit’s five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the championship. 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.
Wesley Schubert of Conroe, Texas, leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 15-5 while fishing with pro Ron Festavan of Downsville, La.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Blake Martin of Hemphill, Texas (five bass, 14-6); John Moon of Brookeland, Texas (five bass, 13-11); Bob Propst of Cedar Hill, Texas (five bass, 12-0); and Jacob Brown of Cylde, Texas (five bass, 11-15).
John Ellender Jr. of Hemphill, Texas, earned $128 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 8-pound, 4-ounce bass.
Overall there were 225 bass weighing 557 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 108 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 14 five-bass limits.
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.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Frontier Park & Marina located at 360 Frontier Drive in Hemphill. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 155 San Antonio Ave. in Many, La., 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 two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. At the conclusion of Friday’s weigh-in, the field is cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weights. These anglers continue competition Saturday, with the winners determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
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 241 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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.