Wellman leads Stren Series event on Kentucky Lake

BENTON, Ky. – Pro Nate Wellman of Jenison, Mich., caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces Thursday to capture a lead in the Stren Series Central Division tournament on Kentucky Lake. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 36-15, he now holds an 2-pound, 9-ounce lead over second place pro Troy Eakins of Nixa, Mo., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 34-06 during the first two days of competition.

“The wind really affected things today,” said Wellman, who has amassed over $97,000 in career earnings from FLW Outdoors events since 2001. “It made getting around more difficult, and also made it harder to actually get to the fish.”

Although Wellman didn’t get to all the spots he had hoped, he still managed to pull in seven keepers for the second day of competition on Kentucky Lake.

Rounding out the top five pros are Curt McGuire of Lawrenceburg, Tenn. (10 bass, 34-03); J.R. Dugan of Bardstown, Ky. (10 bass, 33-05); and Chris Johnson of Lowell, Ark. (10 bass, 32-10).

Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky., earned $295 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught on a weightless worm.

Overall there were 653 bass weighing 1,732 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 199 pros Thursday. The catch included 74 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.

B.J. Nelson of Louisa, Ky., 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 12-15 while fishing with pro Jerry McKinnis of Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday and five bass weighing 16-12 while fishing with pro Britt Cone of Benton, Ky., Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 29-11.

“We tried to hide from the wind today,” Nelson said. “We fished on the main lake, then moved in to fish pockets so we could get out of the wind.”

Nelson caught his limit fishing shallow with a jig.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Tim Rhoades of Leitchfield, Ky. (10 bass, 25-07); Tim Cummings of Waynesboro, Tenn. (eight bass, 23-09); Frank Divis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark. (seven bass, 23-09); and Joey Rogers of Mayfield, Ky. (seven bass, 23-06).

Mark Martin of Ozark, Mo., earned $148 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass.

Overall there were 319 bass weighing 804 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 199 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 12 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 Moors Resort & Marina located at 570 Moors Road in Gilbertsville, Ky. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 310 West Main St. in Benton, Ky., 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.