Dreary Lake Erie
Stren Series anglers start final day of competition amidst downpour
CLEVELAND – Shortly after 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning, the top-10 Stren Series finalists made their way past Gordon Park Marina to kickoff the fourth and final day of Northeast Division competition on Lake Erie. And what a competition it has been.
Over the past three days, anglers have experienced gusting winds from three distinct directions, seen conditions ranging from bluebird skies to sweltering humidity to dense cloud cover and witnessed the tournament leaderboard scrambled around like a geriatric shuffleboard game.
So why not bring on the rain?
However, with seemingly every condition now in the books, anglers will now undergo their most difficult test as they hit the open expanse of Lake Erie – a vast 241-mile body of water that ranks among the largest lakes Stren Series anglers will fish all year. With many finalists scheduled to make extremely long runs – some as much as 150 miles roundtrip – the inclement weather could force some major, last-minute strategy changes for the field.
After all, you can have the tournament winning area mapped out on your GPS unit, but if you can’t quite get there because of the weather, then what’s the point?
But with the lion’s share of a total tournament purse worth more than $262,000 on the line in today’s competition, anglers will, more than likely, do their best to ignore the driving rain and generally miserably conditions and focus solely on procuring a tournament title.
Tournament highlights
The Stren Series event, which runs July 19-22, represents the second of four regular-season Northeast Division events. The winning pro in today’s competition could earn as much as $64,500 in cash and prizes if various contingency awards are met, and the winning co-angler could earn as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are satisfied.
The tournament title, which will be awarded after today’s weigh-in, will go to the pro and co-angler who record the largest combined stringer over the final two days of competition.
In addition, the top-10 finalists will also be vying for valuable year-end standings points that could earn them a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship, scheduled to take place Nov. 1-4 in Decatur, Ala.
Currently, Kevin Bishop of Hilton, N.Y., has the overall lead in the Pro Division after netting a semifinal five-fish limit weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces. Meanwhile, Stephen Semelsberger, Jr., of Mount Airy, Md., holds the top spot in the Co-angler Division after securing a 19-pound, 8-ounce sack in yesterday’s competition.
Stren Series action on Lake Erie concludes at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. (EDT) at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, located at 3606 Mayfield Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Fans who cannot attend today’s weigh-in in person can view it live on FLWOutdoors.com by clicking here.
Saturday’s conditions:
Sunrise: 6:12 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 70 degrees
Expected high temperature: 76 degrees
Water temperature: 75-78 degrees
Wind: from the north-northeast at 11 mph
Maximum humidity: 75 percent
Day’s outlook: morning thunderstorms, cloudy conditions throughout the day