FLORENCE, Ala. – Greg Hamblin of New Albany, Miss., fished the Stren Series Southeast Division all year for one reason: the fourth and final event on his home lake at Pickwick.
After his fifth-place finish at Santee Cooper in April, Hamblin announced, “We’re going to my house next.” And he meant it.
Hamblin parlayed his local knowledge into a $5,000 victory on Pickwick Lake today by sacking up 17 pounds, 7 ounces behind pro winner Randy Haynes for a four-day winning total of 50 pounds, 8 ounces.
“It feels great,” Hamblin said. “This is my first year in the Strens. I got off to a bad start at Seminole, but I’ve gained ground ever since. And I kept my eye on the prize: getting here on my home turf in June. To win is a dream come true.”
Since Hamblin fishes Pickwick quite a bit, he was able to convince a couple of his pros to sample his spots this week, and they worked.
“I had 16-12 on day two, and most of those fish came off places I know about,” Hamblin said. “That helped put me in the place I needed to be to fish with Randy today, and he’s one of the best out here.”
Hamblin’s key lures during the week were jigs and Carolina rigs.
His jigs were 1/2-ounce Stanley Pro-Model jigs, and he tipped his Carolina rig with Zoom G-Tail worms in black with a pearl tail.
Hamblin said his $5,000 check is going to go toward house repairs.
“We had some bad tornadoes come through Mississippi a few weeks ago, and they tore my roof up,” he said. “This money couldn’t have come at a better time, because now I can get the roof fixed before the insurance money gets here.”
Kennedy, Back finish second, third
Finishing runner-up in the Co-angler Division was Perry Kennedy of Florence, Ala., with a four-day total of 48 pounds, 4 ounces worth $3,529.
“I’ve lived in a lot of places, but I moved to Florence just because of Pickwick’s fine fishing and the great community we have here,” Kennedy said of his hometown.
Kennedy’s best lures this week included a ¾-ounce football head jig and a DD-22 Suspend Plus 4 crankbait in lavender-shad and sexy-shad colors.
Doug Back of Jackson, Miss., finished third with a four-day total of 47 pounds, 14 ounces worth $2,868.
Fahnestock grabs fourth, points title
Aaron Fahnestock of Enterprise, Ala., capped off another phenomenal year on the Stren Series with a fourth-place finish at Pickwick totaling 47 pounds, 11 ounces worth $2,206.
It’s phenomenal for Fahnestock because, with this finish, he won the Co-angler of the Year in the Stren Series Southeast Division with a total of 763 points.
Fahnestock’s other Stren Series finishes this year included a 14th at Seminole, 14th at Eufaula and ninth at Santee Cooper.
Even more amazing is the fact that Fahnestock happens to be the reigning 2007 Stren Series Southeast Division Co-angler of the Year, making him the first co-angler to win back-to-back points titles.
Rest of the best
Kenneth Owens of Wise, Va., rounded out the top five co-anglers at Pickwick with a four-day total of 43 pounds, worth $1,765.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Stren Series event on Pickwick Lake:
6th: Scotty Gasaway of Dennis, Miss., four-day total of 41-11, $1,676
7th: Daniel Costley of Memphis, Tenn., four-day total of 40-9, $1,587
8th: Larry Breckenridge of Dothan, Ala., four-day total of 39-6, $1,501
9th: Ty Solis of Albany, Ga., four-day total of 38-8, $1,410
10th: Shayne Anderson of Iuka, Miss., four-day total of $1,324