BRACEY, Va. (Oct. 3, 2007) – Pro Pete Gluszek of Franklinville, N.J., caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the $275,225 Stren Series Northern Division tournament on Lake Gaston.
“Today was a great day,” said Gluszek, who finished first at the Stren Series event on the Hudson River last month. “I can’t wait to get out there and fish tomorrow. There are a lot of places that I didn’t even get to go today, that I know have fish. I am going to fish hard and try to stay on top.”
Gluszek is fishing near docks and grass to catch his limit.
Rounding out the top five pros are Joe Balog of Harrison Township, Mich. (five bass, 15-12); Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C. (five bass, 15-12); Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn. (five bass, 15-07); and David Wright of Lexington, N.C. (five bass, 15-01).
Jason Knapp of Uniontown, Pa., earned $185 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.
Overall there were 335 bass weighing 725 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 99 pros Wednesday. The catch included 39 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 198VX 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.
Gary Guilliams of Troutville, Va., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught four bass weighing 11-11 while fishing with pro Emerson Hill of Camden, N.J., who is currently in 55th place.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Derek Moyer of Alexandria, Va. (five bass, 10-07); Lynn Baciuska Jr. of Afton, N.Y. (five bass, 10-06); Dave King of Clewiston, Fla. (five bass, 10-06); and Edward Piwonski of Granby, Conn. (five bass, 10-04).
William Green of Auburn, N.Y., earned $105 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Overall there were 181 bass weighing 390 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 80 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included nine 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 7 each morning from Americamps located at 9 Lakeside Lane in Bracey, Va. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 200 N. Cooper Road in Henderson, N.C., beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins 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.