REDDING, Calif. – Local pro Jim Riley of Shasta Lake, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 1 ounce to lead day one of the Stren Series Western Division event on Lake Shasta. Pros are competing for as much as $64,500 and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the Stren Series Championship will also earn a spot in the new $2 million 2007 Forrest Wood Cup where they will compete for bass fishing’s first $1 million top award.
The tournament – the third of four Western Division events – includes a nearly full field of 193 boats. Wednesday’s weather conditions were typical for the mountainous region of Northern California – cool temperatures and a little rain. The lake also produced typical results – a load a keeper fish and a lot of limits. The fishing was so good, the field of 386 anglers unofficially set an FLW Outdoors record for the most limits caught in a single day of competition.
“I probably caught 20 to 25 keepers today,” said Riley, who fishes Lake Shasta about 50 days per year. “I started out for the first few hours in the morning throwing a swimbait on points. After that, I switched to a worm and fished anywhere from 10 to 40 feet deep. The fish are in prespawn, and the big one I caught today was about ready to pop.”
The “big one” Riley referred to weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces, which earned him $700 as Wednesday’s Snickers Big Bass in the Pro Division.
Rounding out the top five pros are Bill Townsend of Redding, Calif. (five bass, 14 pounds, 1 ounce); Gene Gray of Atascadero, Calif. (five bass, 13 pounds, 10 ounces); Scott Mascadri of Sacramento, Calif. (five bass, 12 pounds, 11 ounces); and John Billheimer Jr. of Discovery Bay, Calif. (five bass, 12 pounds, 10 ounces).
Justin Lucas of Folsom, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Benny Lentz of Cottonwood, Calif. (five bass, 10 pounds, 3 ounces); Justin Regelin of Anderson, Calif. (five bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces); Rob Dearmond of Redding, Calif. (five bass, 9 pounds, 9 ounces); and Merl Nunes of Vacaville, Calif. (five bass, 9 pounds, 4 ounces).
Dearmond earned $240 for the Snicker’s Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 3-pound, 7-ounce bass.
Anglers caught a total of 1,848 bass Wednesday weighing 2732 pounds, 1 ounce.
Thursday’s weigh-in will begin at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time at Bridge Bay Marina, located at 10300 Bridge Bay Rd. in Redding. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1515 Dana Drive in Redding 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 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.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.