Getting it Dunn

Tennessee co-angler takes top spot at Seminole Stren Series

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – When Bill Dunn of Maynard, Tenn., zeroed on day two of the Stren Series Southeast Division event on Lake Seminole, he figured his tournament week was toast.

But on day three, Dunn rallied back, flipping up two 5-pound bass, which catapulted him into the top 10 in seventh place.

As day four started this morning, winning the event was still a faint fantasy in his mind – he was just happy to be fishing the final round in the first Stren Southeast of 2008.

And while fishing with pro Currey Holley of Pulaski, Tenn., today, Dunn got on a little roll, boating four keeper bass on a Carolina-rigged Zoom baby brush hog in watermelon candy.

His four fish, which weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces, took him from seventh to the top spot with a four-day total of 22 pounds, 6 ounces.

“This is insane!” Dunn belted after being handed a check for $5,000. “After I zeroed on day two, I never thought I’d have a chance at winning this thing. This is absolutely crazy, man.

“The Carolina rig did it for me,” said Dunn, who is a brick mason back in Tennessee. “A lot of guys were throwing Rat-L-Traps in that grass, but I kept dragging that little brush hog around in little ditches and edges in the grass, and it worked.”

Dunn added that he was taking his winnings straight home, where he would be handing the winner’s check over to his wife.

Moseley second

Ralph Moseley of Panama City, Fla., finished second with a four-day total of 20 pounds, 5 ounces for $3,836.

Moseley spent the week fishing a red Rat-L-Trap behind his pro partners.

“One thing I did was switch all my Rat-L-Trap rods from braided line to 20-pound-test Berkley fluorocarbon,” Moseley said. “That seemed to have made a big difference for me in getting more bites this week.”

Goins third

Gerrit Goins of Cleveland, Tenn., finished third with a four-day total of 18 pounds, 14 ounces worth $3,117.

On day one, Goins caught a giant 9-pound, 4-ounce Lake Seminole lunker on his “lucky crankbait,” which carried him into the top five.

So what is Goins’ lucky crankbait?

“It’s a chartreuse Bomber Flat A that I found hung in a stump on Lake Wheeler,” Goins said. “I picked it off the stump, put some fresh hooks on it, and ever since it’s been my lucky crankbait.”

Rest of the best

John Allen of Midland, Ala., finished fourth with a four-day total of 17 pounds, 1 ounce worth $2,398.

And Matt Roesch of Toccoa, Ga., rounded out the top five at Seminole with a four-day catch of 16 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Stren Series Southeast on Lake Seminole:

6th: Tom Ridley of Valdosta, Ga., four-day total of 15-9, $1,822

7th: Joseph Jenkins of Harrogate, Tenn., four-day total of 14-2, $1,727

8th: Stephen Kocell of Waxhaw, N.C., four-day total of 14-1, $1,631

9th: Jimbo Deaton of Pike Road, Ala., four-day total of 13-7, $1,534

10th: Delane Harrison of Cottondale, Ala., four-day total of 13-6, $1,439

Coming up

The next Stren Series Southeast Division event will be held on Lake Eufaula March 12-15 in Eufaula, Ala.