Curtiss retains Stren Series event on Clear Lake

Kyle Baker of Lancaster, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Pro Wade Curtiss of Lincoln, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds Thursday to retain a lead in the Stren Series Western Division tournament on Clear Lake. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 52-11, he now holds an 11-pound, 10-ounce lead over second place pro Philip Garcia of Yuba City, Calif., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 41-01 during the first two days of competition.

“The weather was gorgeous and a little warmer today,” Curtiss said. “I don’t think it helped me, really; I think it pulled me down, but tomorrow should be better. Two days in a row is better than one really warm day.”

Curtiss stuck with the same plan today, covering a lot of water and fishing points, rocks and tules looking for bed fish.

Rounding out the top five pros are Brian Nollar of Homer, Alaska (10 bass, 39-13); Jared Stone of Lakeport, Calif. (10 bass, 38-15); and Thomas Jolin of Lakeport, Calif. (10 bass, 38-00).

Tim Hendricks of Stockton, Calif., earned $300 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 9-pound bass.

Overall there were 916 bass weighing 2,495 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 200 pros Thursday. The catch included 163 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 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 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® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s 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. Player’s 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 Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

Kyle Baker of Lancaster, Calif., 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 23-01 while fishing with pro Ronald Hammett of Alpine, Calif., Wednesday and five bass weighing 15-04 while fishing with pro Jim Sleight of Jauml, Calif., Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 38-05.

“I’d like to thank Ricky Shabazz for showing me a technique during prefishing that really helped me the past two days,” Baker said. “I also drew really good pros, which made a difference, too.”

Baker caught his limit fishing slow with a Zoom Finesse Worm all over the lake.

“I feel really good going into tomorrow,” Baker said. “I need to get a couple fish, and if I get a limit, I’ll be in better shape.”

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Scott Sweet of Chatsworth, Ga. (10 bass, 37-01); Thomas Wang of Saratoga, Calif. (10 bass, 33-11); Tommy Cardoza of Lakeport, Calif. (10 bass, 33-08); and Rich Reeser of Dixon, Calif. (10 bass, 32-13).

Jake Stephens of Reno, Nev., earned $150 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 9-pound, 1-ounce bass.

Overall there were 744 bass weighing 1,804 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 200 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 106 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 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.

Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa located at 8727 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville, Calif. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 15960 Dam Road in Clearlake, Calif, 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, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.