ZAPATA, Texas – Pro Bob Ramsdell of Sour Lake, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 34 pounds, 13 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Falcon Lake.
“It was one heck of a day for fishing.” Ramsdell said. “It’s the first time that I have been on this lake, and I found two key areas during practice that I went to today. I stayed in one area all day. With the fish changing, the bite was better than it was last week during practice. I left my key spot an hour early just to save the fish for tomorrow. In that area I have a lot of water to cover, and I think I can catch a good limit tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if I could do it three days in a row. It is holding a lot of fish.”
Ramsdell’s catch of 34-13 eclipsed the previous mark for the heaviest opening day catch in a Stren Series event set by Dan Schooveld of Mansura, La. Schooveld’s weight of 34-12 was recorded in a Stren Series Texas Division event at Lake Amistad in 2007.
“The weather was perfect today. During practice we had some windy days, but today the wind was only 5 to 10 mph,” Ramsdell said. “The brush on this lake is so thick that it’s hard to fish when it’s windy. It was a blessing to have the wind calm down today.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Kelly Owens of Crowley, La. (five bass, 31-03); Toby Hartsell of Livingston, Texas (five bass, 31-02); David Curtis of Trinity, Texas (five bass, 30-05); and James Stricklin Jr. of Jasper, Texas (five bass, 29-02).
Michael Herron of Paris, Texas, earned $243 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 12-pound, 1-ounce bass that ranks ninth on the Stren Series all-time big bass list.
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 Branson, Mo., Nov. 5-8 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® and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing’s biggest prize – $1 million.
Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™ (www.FantasyFishing.com), FLW Outdoors® will be awarding the largest fantasy sports payout in history. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Players Advantage and having exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Players Advantage even offers the chance for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Players Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.
Victor Jones of Lake Charles, La., 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 five bass weighing 30-05 while fishing with pro Yarri Scheibrogel of Sam Rayburn, Texas, who is currently in 91st place.
“It was the best day of fishing that I have ever had,” said Jones, whose opening-day catch ranks as second heaviest one-day catch for a co-angler in Stren Series history. “I had a great partner and the fish were really biting. The fish weren’t looking to bite any certain bait. I caught each fish on something different. We just had a great time and caught a lot of fish.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Taylor of Sam Rayburn, Texas (five bass, 27-04); Mannie Lackey of Kerrville, Texas (five bass, 26-08); Robert Arnold of Little Rock, Ark. (five bass, 26-01); and Zac Cassill of Fairfax, Iowa (five bass, 25-04).
Eduardo Alanis of Roma, Texas, earned $128 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 9-pound, 7-ounce bass.
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 Beacon Lodge located just off Farm Road 3074 in Zapata. 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 Zapata County Community Center located on Highway 83 in Zapata 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.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $1.7 million.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Players Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.