Trombly wins Stren Series event on Detroit River

Hasty wins co-angler title, $5,000

TRENTON, Mich. (Aug 18, 2007) – Pro Mike Trombly of Perrysburg, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Northern Division tournament presented by Yamaha on the Detroit River with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 79-00. For his victory, Trombly earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 519VX Ranger boat powered by Yamaha.

“I am so excited about this win,” said Trombly, who has amassed more than $193,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I fished Lake Erie this week because I have more experience there. The fish roam more on Lake St. Clair, and I didn’t want to go searching for them.”

Trombly caught his bass this week on Lake Erie near rock piles throwing a tube.

Trombly opened the tournament in ninth place Wednesday with five bass weighing 20-01. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 19-02. He then caught five bass weighing 19-06 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in fifth place.

Rounding out the top five pros are Brian Hensley of Edwardsburg, Mich. (20 bass, 78-03, $9,481); AC Campbell of Mineral Springs, Pa. (20 bass, 77-04, $8,534); Mike Crisp of Union Grove, Wis. (20 bass, 76-13, $7,585); and Chip Harrison of Bremen, Ind. (20 bass, 76-06, $6,637).

Hasty caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – a 6-pound, 3-ounce that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $285.

Overall there were 49 bass weighing 172 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 10 pros Saturday. The catch included nine five-bass limits.

Charles Hasty of Toledo, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division with a four-day total of 15 bass weighing 67-01.

“I didn’t think I had what I needed to win,” said Hasty, who has amassed over $16,000 as a co-angler in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “Lake St. Clair is a great fishery. This time of year is perfect for a tournament.”

Hasty caught his bass throwing a tube and drop shots.

Hasty caught five bass weighing 19-06 Wednesday while fishing with pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., to open the tournament in third place. He then caught five bass weighing 11-11 Thursday while fishing with pro Mike Weiss of Union Grove, Wis. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 18-07 to make the top 10 cut in third place while fishing with pro Kevin Hoey of St. Clair, Mich. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a five-bass catch weighing 17-09 while fishing with pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Renee Hensley of Edwardsburg, Mich. (19 bass, 66-08, $3,836); Lynn Baciuska Jr. of Afton, N.Y. (20 bass, 63-15, $3,117); Kris Thornton of Osoeola, Ind. (20 bass, 63-11, $2,398); and Jeffery Cox of Saline, Mich. (20 bass, 63-00, $1,919).

John Shultz of Trucksville, Pa., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday – a 6-pound, 5-ounce that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $144.

Overall there were 40 bass weighing 126 pounds caught by 10 co-anglers Saturday. The catch included six five-bass limits.

The next Stren Series Northern Division event, hosted by the Greene County Tourism Department, will be held Sept. 12-15 on the Hudson River in Catskill, N.Y. Boats will launch from Dutchmen’s Landing in Catskill and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 265 West Bridge St. in Catskill.

After four qualifying events are complete in each of the Stren Series’ five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where they will compete against top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing’s biggest prize – $1 million.

The top 40 co-anglers from each Stren Series division will also advance to the championship, where they will fish for as much as $70,000. The highest-finishing co-angler from each division at the championship will then advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.

FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.