Ober leads Stren Series event on Lake Champlain

Thomas Shafer of Pine City, N.Y., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Pro Jason Ober of Johnstown, Pa., caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 1 ounce Thursday to capture a lead in the Stren Series Northern Division tournament on Lake Champlain. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 39-00, he now holds a 1-pound, 14-ounce lead over second place pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 37-02 during the first two days of competition.

“Every day is different here on Champlain; every day’s governed by the weather,” said Ober, who won the co-angler division of the Stren Series Southeast Division tournament on Santee Cooper earlier this year. “Today was the complete opposite of yesterday, which was cloudy and windy. It was clear blue skies, and the lake was flat calm.”

Ober said he concentrated on targeting smallmouth up on the flats, catching the majority of his fish on a topwater bait. He caught a limit by 9:30 a.m., and was done fishing by 11:30 a.m.

“Tomorrow’s a whole new game; I have some pretty good areas that are holding some pretty good fish– I just have to hope they stay there another day,” Ober said. “The biggest thing you have to do is stay around the perch; they are key in the bite I have going on.”

“The weather is going to determine everyone’s bite tomorrow-it’s just a fact of fishing at Lake Champlain. If it blows hard, anglers are not going to get to the south to fish, and if it blows too hard, even the guys in the north will be messed up by the weather. Adjusting to conditions will be key,” Ober added.

Rounding out the top five pros are Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn. (10 bass, 36-03); Pete Gluszek of Franklinville, N.J. (10 bass, 35-15); and Chad Pipkens of Holt, Mich. (10 bass, 33-12).

Thomas Wooten of Huddleston, Va., earned $243 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass.

Overall there were 706 bass weighing 1,817 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 151 pros Thursday. The catch included 131 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.

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Thomas Shafer of Pine City, N.Y., 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 16-04 while fishing with pro Gregg Seal of Eldred, Pa., Wednesday and five bass weighing 15-12 while fishing with pro Randy Yarnall of Womelsdorf, Pa., Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 32-00.

“Yesterday we were catching fish on and off throughout the day,” Shafer said. “Today I had a limit by 10 o’clock, and after that I didn’t really catch anything. I think I’ll probably do the same thing tomorrow-maybe just not go quite as far north.”

Shafer said he fished the same area on the north end of the lake during the first two days of competition.

“I’d rather see some more wind,” Schafer said. “I just used your basic tube jigs and drop shots in about 12 feet of water.”

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md. (10 bass, 31-07); Chris Girouard of Epsom, N.H. (10 bass, 27-10); Michael Sweeney of Attleboro, Mass. (10 bass, 27-07); and Chris Adams of Rutland, Vt. (10 bass, 27-07).

Ted Hegner of Mason, Ohio, Thomas Rizzo of Rochester, Pa., and Cory Leonard of Castalia, N.C., each earned $42.67 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to 4-pound, 15-ounce bass.

Overall there were 591 bass weighing 1,326 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 151 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 88 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 Dock Street Landing located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh, N.Y. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Crete Memorial Civic Center located at Route 9 N. Beach Road in Plattsburgh, N.Y., 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.

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