CATSKILL, N.Y. – Pro Pete Gluszek of Franklinville, N.J., caught a three-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 13 ounces Friday to widen his lead in the $275,225 Stren Series Northern Division tournament on the Hudson River. With a three-day catch of 10 bass weighing 30-09, he holds an 8-pound, 6-ounce lead over his closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
“I have a lot of history on this body of water,” said Gluszek, who has amassed more than $122,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “The fish are stuck between the summer and fall patterns. This means you have to cover a lot of water and try a variety of techniques. That’s when I lean back on the history I have on this water. It has been a tremendous benefit.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Sparky Petersen of Laytonsville, Md. (eight bass, 22-04); Bill Alexander of Sylvan Beach, N.Y. (eight bass, 21-14); Thomas Lavictoire of West Rutland, Vt. (six bass, 19-07); and Brian Hensley of Edwardsburg, Mich. (nine bass, 18-13).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 16 pounds, 8 ounces in the Pro Division are Mike Balon of Clewiston, Fla.; Joe Balog of Harrison Township, Mich.; David Butenewicz Jr. of Monroeville, N.J.; Chris Bumgardner of Gastonia, N.C.; and Edward Cowan of Greeley, Pa.
Joseph Sancho of New Windsor, N.Y., earned $185 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound bass.
Overall there were 111 bass weighing 280 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 75 pros Friday. The catch included zero five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 519VX Ranger powered by Evinrude or Yamaha if contingency guidelines are met, and valuable points toward qualifying for the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. After four qualifying events are complete in each of the circuit’s five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the championship. 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.
Charlie Reed Jr. of Hayes, Va., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met, thanks to a three-day total of five bass weighing 14-14.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Larry Perry of Hurricane, W.Va. (six bass, 12-10); Chuck George of Upton, Mass. (three bass, 10-14); Cody Kupferschmidt of Gravenhurst, Ontario (four bass, 10-06); and Mark Condron of Wilton, Conn. (three bass, 10-04).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 7 pounds, 15 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Bill Spindler of Turnersville, N.J.; Howard Hammonds of Portersville, Pa.; Mike Orbell of Silver Springs, Md.; Raymond Conley of Albany, N.Y.; and Boyd Dowell of Minerva, Ohio.
Eddie Martin of Stanton, Ky., earned $105 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass.
Overall there were 48 bass weighing 114 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 37 co-anglers Friday. The catch included zero five-bass limits.
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.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 Saturday morning from Dutchmen’s Landing located at Lower Main Street in Catskill. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 265 W. Bridge St. in Catskill beginning at 4 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. At the conclusion of Friday’s weigh-in, the field is cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weights. These anglers continue competition Saturday, with the winners determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
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, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.