Hopkins wins Stren Series event on Lake Texoma

Middleton wins co-angler title, $5,000

DENISON, Texas – Pro Ronnie Hopkins Jr. of Mounds, Okla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Lake Texoma with a four-day total of 19 bass weighing 55-15. For his victory, Hopkins earned $25,000 cash.

“I had a really fun day,” Hopkins said. “I really didn’t feel a lot of pressure today. I have been catching a lot of fish all week. I stayed with the same plan today as I did earlier in the week and it worked. After yesterday, I was a little worried about the wind, but it picked up today and the fish were biting.”

Hopkins caught his bass on a homemade crankbait made by pro Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas. He fished near brush piles and boat docks in shallow water.

Hopkins opened the tournament in first place Wednesday with five bass weighing 17-14. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 15-08 to maintain his lead. He then caught four bass weighing 8-14 Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in first place.

Rounding out the top five pros are Douglas Jones of Fort Gibson, Okla. (19 bass, 46-00, $7,238); Ryan Lovelace of Denison, Texas (20 bass, 42-05, $6,515); Keith Combs of Temple, Texas (18 bass, 42-02, $5,791); and Craig Hatchel of Whitesboro, Texas (17 bass, 41-02, $5,067).

Robert McFarlane of San Antonio, Texas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $218.

Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla., won the Co-angler Division and $5,000 with a four-day total of 16 bass weighing 36-00.

“I had great pros helping me out this week,” Middleton said. “My partners helped me out everyday and that’s how I stayed on top. This is my first win and I am still in shock. I think it will only get better from here.”

Middleton caught his bass this week throwing a crankbait near boat docks and brush piles in 8 to10 feet of water.

Middleton caught five bass weighing 13-10 Wednesday while fishing with pro Wayne Brown of Ardmore, Okla., to open the tournament in first place. He then caught three bass weighing 5-02 Thursday while fishing with pro Kit Getchell of Granbury, Texas, to maintain his lead. On Friday he added three more bass weighing 7-08 to make the top 10 cut in first place while fishing with pro Robert Robinson of Mobile, Ala. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a five-bass catch weighing 9-12 while fishing with pro Ronnie Hopkins Jr. of Mounds, Okla.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Carpenter of Sam Rayburn, Texas (13 bass, 31-12, $3,100); Dan Wilson of Pilot Point, Texas (14 bass, 28-13, $2,519); David Underwood of Waco, Texas (12 bass, 24-14, $1,938); and Bart Blakelock of Lake Charles, La. (10 bass, 22-07, $1,550).

Blakelock caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass-that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $116.

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.