CATSKILL, N.Y. – Pro Pete Gluszek of Franklinville, N.J., caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Northern Division tournament on the Hudson River with a four-day total of 15 bass weighing 45-08. For his victory, Gluszek earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 519VX Ranger boat powered by Yamaha. He also earned $4,500 in Ranger Cup and Powered by Evinrude bonuses for a total of $69,500 in winnings.
“I was in the right place at the right time,” Campbell said. “With the aggressive weather conditions today, I changed my game plan and fished a crankbait. It is so important to maximize your time and fish the right tide. I was able to put a few things together and come out on top.”
Gluszek opened the tournament in 22nd place Wednesday with two bass weighing 4-12. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 16-00 capture his lead. He then caught three bass weighing 9-13 on a Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in first place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Thomas Lavictoire of West Rutland, Vt. (nine bass, 27-11, $6,131 plus $5,000 Ranger bonus); Brian Hensley of Edwardsburg, Mich. (13 bass, 27-06, $5,518); Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C. (12 bass, 26-04, $4,905); and Edward Cowan of Greeley, Pa. (10 bass, 24-01, $4,291).
Joseph Sancho of New Windsor, N.Y., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday a 5-pound bass that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $185.
Overall there were 27 bass weighing 62 pounds, 12 ounces caught by eight pros Saturday. The catch included two five-bass limits.
Charlie Reed Jr. of Hayes, Va., won the Co-angler Division with a four-day total of six bass weighing 16-15.
“The change in weather conditions made it really hard,” Reed said. “The wind would blow one way, one minute and then change directions. Even though this was a tough week, I would love to come back here again.”
Reed caught three bass weighing 7-11 Wednesday while fishing with pro Ed Stiefel of Mahwah, N.J., to open the tournament in first place. He then caught one bass weighing 3-08 Thursday while fishing with pro Paul Leblanc of Franklin, Mass., to maintain his lead. On Friday he added one more bass weighing 3-11 to make the top 10 cut in first place while fishing with pro David Cioppa of Hopkinton, Mass. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with one bass weighing 2-01 while fishing with pro Pete Gluszek of Franklinville, N.J.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mark Condron of Wilton, Conn. (five bass, 14-00, $2,776); Cody Kupferschmidt of Gravenhurst, Ontario (five bass, 13-05, $2,255); Howard Hammonds of Portersville, Pa. (seven bass, 13-02, $1,734); and Larry Perry of Hurricane, W. Va. (six bass, 12-10, $1,388).
Chuck George of Upton, Mass., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Wednesday – an 4-pound, 12-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $105.
Overall there were eight bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces caught by six co-anglers Saturday. The catch included zero five-bass limits.
The next Stren Series Northern Division event, hosted by Vance County Tourism Department, will be held Oct. 3-6 on Lake Gaston in Bracey, Va. Boats will launch from Americamps in Bracey and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 200 N. Cooper Road in Henderson, N.C.
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, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.