Bowen bowls over co-anglers in first-ever Stren event

Local wins $5,000 with old-school bait on Columbus Pool

COLUMBUS, Miss. – With age comes wisdom, and a local co-angler used his “old school” bait to teach a bass-fishing class on his home waters of the Tombigbee Waterway this week in the Stren Series Central Division.

The Caledonia, Miss., co-angler was fishing in his first-ever FLW Outdoors event this week when the Stren Series visited the Columbus Pool for only the second time in its history. Ready to rock the field with a 6-inch Zoom lizard, plenty of flipping prowess and local knowledge was Bowen, who earned $5,000 for the win after sacking 27 pounds, 7 ounces of bass over the four-day event.

“I’ve been throwing that thing for years,” Bowen said of his not-so-secret weapon. “A lot of people don’t really like to use them anymore, and I seem to have a knack for making it work.”

Add to the ranks of the converted Bowen’s day-one partner, local pro Gene Brown, who finished the tournament as runner-up on his end of the boat. Bowen put on a fishing clinic for Brown on day one, catching 3 1/2 more pounds than his driver on the Columbus Pool. After that, Brown said he “went back to the old school” to start flipping the bait.

Bowen fished Columbus Pool the first two days, when he sacked 15-13 and 3-12, respectively, before catching identical weights of 3-15 on days three and four on the Aberdeen Pool north of the tournament site.

“This is the first time I’ve won one like this,” he said, adding that he will likely fish another FLW Outdoors event in the future and that he “already has plans for (the money), I can tell you that.”

Abbott runner-up

Ron Abbott of Lafayette, Ind., finished second among the co-angler finalists with a four-day total of 25-9, worth $3,177.

Abbott led the event on day two, but otherwise was always one or two steps behind Bowen, constantly making up the deficit that Bowen’s immense bag from day one created. He bagged a limit for 12-8 on day one, added a 7-10 limit on day two, only managed one fish for 1-13 yesterday and contributed to his total another four bass today that weighed 3-10.

Abbott traveled to Columbus last Saturday with two other co-angling Lafayatte natives – Steve Anderson and Todd Kuipers – to put in some serious practice time.

When asked how he was able to remain so competitive throughout the event, Abbot said, “We’ve been out in this heat for about seven days, and I think that says it all.”

Abbott fished a wide array of soft plastics all week, including a black-and-blue Senko with a 1/32-ounce weight.

Carter claims third

Danny Carter of Hernando, Miss., placed third with a total weight of 23-6, worth $2,582.

“I had four great partners,” he said. “Each one had a different style of fishing.”



Carter hauled in a heavy sack weighing 11-9 on day one, but couldn’t match it in the remaining days, coming closest yesterday when he bagged 7-11.

“I took (my pro partner) to a spot where I had my best day,” he said. “It kind of went downhill after that.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-angler finalists at the Stren Central finals at Columbus, Miss.:

4th: Mark Guin, Crossett, Ark., 13 bass, 21-14, $1,986

5th: Steven McFarland, Mountain Home, Ark., 12 bass, 21-5, $1,589

6th: Paul Brunson, Mountain Home, Ark., 13 bass, 19-5, $1,509

7th: Greg Loveday, Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 15-10, $1,429

8th: Randy Webster, Brilliant, Ala., 10 bass, 15-10, $1,352

9th: Darrell Durham, Saint Peters, Mo., 10 bass, 13-10, $1,270

10th: Ryan Valentine, Jonesboro, Ga., 10 bass, 13-9, $1,192

The final Stren Series Central event of 2007 is slated for Sept. 19-22 on Lake of the Ozarks.