ZAPATA, Texas – Pro Jeremy Guidry of Opelousas, La., caught a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Falcon Lake with a four-day FLW Outdoors record of 20 bass weighing 110-02. Guidry’s catch shattered the previous record of 105 pounds, 8 ounces set by David Mauldin of Tomball, Texas, during the 2006 Stren Series tournament on Lake Amistad. In fact, the top three finishers on Falcon all surpassed the previous record.
“What a great way to start the year off,” said Guidry, who earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 198VX Ranger boat powered by Yamaha. “I caught roughly 25 fish a day. I stayed in my three key areas all week and stayed with the same pattern.”
Guidry caught his bass this week throwing a chatterbait and flipping a creature bait.
“Falcon Lake is a great fishery. This is a dream come true for me,” he said. “I have been fishing the Stren Series for three years and finally landed a victory.”
Guidry opened the tournament Wednesday with five bass weighing 24-13. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 31-09 to capture the lead. He then caught five bass weighing 25-15 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in second place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Tim Reneau of Del Rio, Texas (19 bass, 107-12, $8,082 plus $5,000 Ranger bonus); Nicky McNeely of Natchitoches, La. (20 bass, 105-09, $7,274 plus $5,000 Ranger bonus); Charles Haralson of Laredo, Texas (20 bass, 102-12, $6,466); and David Truax of Beaumont, Texas (20 bass, 98-01, $5,657).
McNeely caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday – a 12-pound, 13-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $243 and ranked him fourth on the FLW Outdoors all-time big bass list.
Overall there were 50 bass weighing 219 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 10 pros Saturday. The catch included 10 five-bass limits.
Bill Rogers of Jasper, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger boat, with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 96-08 that eclipsed the previous FLW Outdoors co-angler record set by Jimmy Ballard of Blossom, Texas. Ballard’s weight of 93-11 was recorded in a Stren Series event at Lake Amistad in 2007.
“This lake is unbelievable,” Rogers said. “It is amazing what I have done this week. I didn’t think I had the weight I had when I came in today. I caught a lot of fish, but I lost a lot of weight today also.”
Rogers caught his bass this week flipping a Zoom Brush Hog.
“I have been in the top-10 many times but this is my first victory. I finally closed one out,” Rogers said. “This is a big accomplishment for me. Everything has been just great.”
Rogers caught five bass weighing 24-05 Wednesday while fishing with pro Kelly Owens of Crowley, La., to open the tournament in seventh place. He then caught five bass weighing 23-15 Thursday while fishing with pro Cody Malone of Morgan, Texas. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 29-14 to make the top 10 cut in first place while fishing with pro Marc Woolems of Jasper, Texas. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a five-bass catch weighing 18-06 while fishing with McNeely.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ray Peace of Arlington, Texas (20 bass, 92-03, $3,391); Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla. (20 bass, 87-03, $2,756); David Tierney of Fayetteville, Ark. (20 bass, 86-00, $2,120); and Eddie Stagg of Jasper, Texas (18 bass, 81-00, $1,696).
Stagg caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday – an 11-pound, 4-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $128.
Overall there were 40 bass weighing 140 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 10 co-anglers Saturday. The catch included five five-bass limits.
The next Stren Series Texas Division event, hosted by the City of Jasper, will be held Feb. 20-23 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper, Texas. Boats will launch from Umphrey Family Pavilion in Sam Rayburn and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 800 W. Gibson Street in Jasper.
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 Branson, Mo., Nov. 5-8 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 2009 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™, 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, providing them with 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 will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot 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.
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.
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, $7.3 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.