Top Ten-saw Delta
Teasing spots and punching mats in Mobile
MOBILE, Ala. – Some call it the Mobile Delta; others refer to it as the Tensaw Delta. Which ever you prefer, it will be the playing field for the top-10 pros and co-anglers who survived round one to fish the final round of the Stren Series Championship on Saturday and Sunday.
With two days of competition complete and 190 boats already eliminated, productive patterns are beginning emerge in Mobile.
For some leaders, catching fish on the Delta means running far from it.
Day-two leader Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Ala., and fourth place pro Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark., are running far up the Alabama river to catch spotted 
bass in current breaks along the bank.
Other leaders, like second place pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., and third place pro Mike Jackson of San Mateo, Fla., are going toe-to-toe with largemouths in the Delta’s creeks and backwater sloughs by flipping and pitching soft plastics into thick mats of vegetation.
It’s interesting to note how the leaders’ fishing backgrounds mold their overall approach. Vinson and Bohannan are from areas where spotted bass are prevalent.
Vinson cut his fishing teeth teasing spotted bass with little worms on the Alabama and Coosa Rivers near Montgomery, Ala.
Bohannan also has a lot of experience catching spots in his home state of Arkansas.
Lane and Jackson, however, hail from Florida where shallow, natural lakes are filled with thick, matted surface vegetation and big 1-ounce weights are needed to “punch” through the mats.
With the weights going back to zero today, it will be interesting to see how these two completely different fishing strategies play out over the next two days.
Will teasing spots or punching mats go the distance?
The days three and four weigh-ins of the FLW Stren Series Championship will begin at 4 p.m. at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center, located at One S. Water St. in Mobile.
The Convention Center doors will open at noon on both days to begin the Family Fun Zone where fishing fans will be treated to interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family.
The first 100 children 14 and under who visit the Family Fun Zone will receive a free pair of Solar Bat sunglasses on Saturday.
On Sunday, the first 200 children 14 and under will be treated to a free rod and reel combo.
The weigh-ins and Family Fun Zone activities are free and open to the public both days.
Saturday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:14 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 60 degrees
Expected high temperature: 74 degrees
Water temperature: 68-72 degrees
Wind: NNE 5 to 10 mph