LA PLATA, Md. – Pro Barton Wines of Warrenton, Pa., caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 11 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the $275,225 Stren Series Northern Division tournament presented by Evinrude on the Potomac River.
“Overall today was a great day,” said Wines, who has won over $13,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “The weather made it a perfect day to catch fish. High pressure was the key to me bringing in a five-bass limit today.”
“I was staying close and catching the bass in and around grass. That worked well so I am going to stick with the same plan tomorrow.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Jerrod Lloyd of Vineland, N.J. (five bass, 20-0); Michael Hall of Annadale, Va. (five bass, 19-6); Sparky Peterson of Laytonsville, Md. (five bass, 18-5); and Thomas Wooten of Huddleston, Va. (five bass, 17-15).
Terry Olinger of The Plains, Va., earned $268 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass.
Overall there were 724 bass weighing 1565 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 168 pros Wednesday. The catch included 118 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.
David Williams of Fredericksburg, Va., 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 15-10 while fishing with pro Chad Hicks of Rockville, Va., who is currently in 55th place.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Alan Hench of Lititz, Pa. (five bass, 13-14); Michael Baker of Laurel, Md. (five bass, 13-13); Teddy Bradley of Mishawaka, Ind. (five bass, 13-8); and Charlie Reed Jr. of Hayes, Va. (five bass, 12-10).
James Richardson of Harrison, Ohio, earned $138 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass.
Overall there were 480 bass weighing 899 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 158 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 41 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 Smallwood State Park located at 2750 Sweden Point Rd.in Marbury, Md. 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 40 Drury Drive in La Plata 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.