DEL RIO, Texas – Pro David Mauldin of Tomball, Texas, is closing in on one of the most impressive records in pro bass fishing – Dean Rojas’ four-day total weight of 108 pounds, 12 ounces at a 2001 Lake Toho event. At the Stren Series Central Division event on Lake Amistad presented by Yamaha, Mauldin weighed in a five-bass limit Friday tipping the scale at 33 pounds, 6 ounces. His three-day combined weight is an amazing 87 pounds, 4 ounces. He only needs 21 pounds, 9 ounces to break the record. Mauldin’s 33-pound, 6-ounce limit also ties for the sixth-largest one-day weight in FLW Outdoors history.
Pro Craig Dowling, of Many, La., who finished round one in second place with 10 bass weighing 53 pounds, 12 ounces, caught another limit Friday weighing 31 pounds, 5 ounces – the 11th-largest in FLW Outdoors history. His three-day total of 85 pounds, 1 ounce also gives him a reasonable chance of breaking Rojas’ record. The 20 pros fishing Friday caught 88 bass weighing 324 pounds, 7 ounces – a remarkable per-fish average of 3 pounds, 7 pounds.
Pros are competing for as much as $64,500 in cash and prizes while co-anglers are competing for as much as $35,000 in cash and prizes. The top 10 anglers from each division advance to fish Saturday.
“I wish I would have known Rojas’ record before the event started, because I would have fished harder during the first two days,” Mauldin said. “I only fished about four hours each day on Wednesday and Thursday. But I can’t complain.
“I went to my morning spot first thing this morning. I have only been staying there for about 30 minutes and then moving to deep water. But with the rain and clouds today, those fish stayed shallow all day, and I never moved. My co-angler today, Ed Gold, caught about 26 pounds, and he’s in second place. And the pro in second place (Dowling), also fished the area today. We probably kept 75 pounds of bass from that one spot, but a wave of fish moved in there today that were bigger, and I think another wave will move in tomorrow. I fished the end of really long main-lake point miles off the bank that is 8 to 12 feet deep.
“If the sun comes back out tomorrow, I’ll go to my other plan when the sun comes up, and that is going deeper. I did that the first two days. That pattern could actually be better than what I did today.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Jim Criswell of Del Rio, Texas (five bass, 28 pounds, 13 ounces); Ricky Scott of Van Buren, Ark. (five bass, 23 pounds, 10 ounces); and David Truax of Beaumont, Texas (five bass, 22 pounds, 15 ounces).
Jeff Snyder of Royse City, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, 11 ounces to lead the Co-angler Division. That weight is the fourth-largest one-day co-angler weight in FLW Outdoors history. The first- and second-largest co-angler weights in FLW Outdoors history were caught earlier in this event, including Tim Achee’s day-one weight of 30 pounds, 10 ounces, which is the record.
“We were fishing in 15 to 18 feet of water today,” Snyder said. “I was throwing plastics in the scattered bushes and hydrilla, but my partner (Ricky Scott) was doing something else. I threw a Zoom Trick Worm in watermelon candy and green pumpkin and even threw a wacky worm.”
Ed Gold of Broken Arrow, Okla., caught five bass weighing 26 pounds, 13 ounces and is currently in second place. Gold’s first-round total of 48 pounds, 13 ounces set the FLW Outdoors two-day weight record.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Weaver of Lawton, Okla. (five bass, 22 pounds, 11 ounces); Mike Savage of Clever, Mo. (five bass, 22 pounds, 1 ounce); and Eddy O’Mary of Schertz, Texas (five bass, 18 pounds, 5 ounces).
Takeoff will start at 7:30 a.m. Central time Satureday. Saturday’s weigh-in begin at 4 p.m. and will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2410 Dodson Street in Del Rio. Takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of three rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 20 pros and co-anglers – based on two-day accumulated weights – advance to day three. Anglers start at zero Thursday and compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Stratos Owners Tournament Trail. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.7 million through 241 events in 2006.