It’s Charlie’s party
Co-angler Reed wins second Stren title of season; two teenagers make top five at Hudson River
CATSKILL, N.Y. – From the back of the boat, the Stren Series Northern Division is all Charlie Reed Jr.’s. Everybody else is just fishing in it.
On a tough-fishing week at the Hudson River, the co-angler from Hayes, Va., was the most consistent of them all. He never posted a goose egg all four days, and he led wire to wire to win his second Northern Division title of the season.
Reed caught one bass weighing 2 pounds, 1 ounce in Saturday’s finals, but it was plenty enough to give him the $5,000 victory. He finished with a four-day total of 16-15.
“I’ve really been fortunate with my draws. (His pro partners) made it so simple for me,” Reed said. “All I have to do is put the bait out there and soak it.”
Reed fished with pro winner Pete Gluszek on Saturday, and that paid off when Gluszek pulled up his bait and let Reed fish for his winning keeper.
Reed caught a big co-angler stringer Wednesday – 7 pounds, 11 ounces – on a spinnerbait, but he switched over to dragging Senkos the last few days. That proved to be the winning approach from the back of the boat.
“Today, I didn’t catch my fish until 1:30,” Reed said. “(Gluszek) possibly jeopardized winning the tournament in order to get me a fish. That’s just a class act.”
Reed also won the 2007 Northern Division opener at the Potomac River in July. Consequently, he has a big lead in the standings race with 550 points.
High schoolers make a run
Mark Condron of Wilton, Conn., finished second with a four-day total of 14 pounds even. He caught two bass weighing 3-12 Saturday.
Cody Kupferschmidt of Gravenhurst, Ont., finished third with a total of 13 pounds, 5 ounces. He caught one bass weighing 2-15 in the finals.
Both co-anglers are 17 years old. Condron earned $2,776 and Kupferschmidt $2,255.
Rest of top five
Howard Hammonds of Portersville, Pa., finished fourth and earned $1,734 with a four-day total of 13 pounds, 2 ounces. He caught two bass weighing 3-5 Saturday.
Larry Perry of Hurricane, W.Va., took fifth and won $1,388 with a total of 12-10.
Click here for final results and payouts.
Coming up
The next Northern Division event, the fourth and final of the year, is scheduled for Lake Gaston at Bracey, Va., Oct. 3-6. This event was originally scheduled for Kerr Lake in North Carolina, but due to that lake’s low water levels, it has been moved to Gaston. The dates remain the same.