JASPER, Texas – Ranger Pro Lendell Martin, Jr., caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to lead day three of the $262,125 Stren Series Central Division tournament presented by Evinrude on Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
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 against top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and Ranger owners’ tournaments for bass fishing’s first $1 million top award.
“I’m really fortunate to get the bites that I did,” said Martin, who has six top-10 finishes. “I knew I could get 14 or 15 pounds fishing shallow, but I didn’t think that was enough to win. So I switched up today and went deep and it paid off.”
Martin, who also fishes the Texas Tournament Trail and FLW Tour, used a 1/2-ounce Spot Remove jig with a craw to catch his impressive day three limit. He concentrated his efforts in water ranging from 8- to 20-feet deep.
“I’m fishing the steeper banks near deep water,” said Martin, whose limit was anchored by a 7-pound bass. “I think the bigger fish are comfortable there near the deeper water.
Rounding out the top five pros are Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas (five bass, 17 pounds, 2 ounces); Jeremy Guidry of Opelousas, La. (five bass, 14 pounds); Kevin Lasyone of Dry Prong, La. (five bass, 13 pounds, 14 ounces); and David Moore of Cambridge City, Ind. (five bass, 13 pounds, 7 ounces).
John Cure of Jasper, Texas 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 four bass weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces while fishing with pro Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas.
“I fished with a great pro today,” Cure said. “We were fishing deepwater. He had a target and he made sure I had a target. He did everything he could do to help me catch fish.”
Cure threw a waterlmelon-candy trickworm on a Carolina rig to land his limit which included a 9-pound, 6-ounce largemouth bass which bit in 34 feet of water.
“I live here and love to fish deep, but I never fished that deep,” Cure said. “It was just a wonderful day and a fish like that would make anyone’s day.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Travis Darley of Del Rio, Texas (five bass, 12 pounds, 11 ounces); Bill Guillory of Jasper, Texas (five bass, 11 pounds, 6 ounces); Tim Webb of Olpe, Kan. (four bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces); and R.D. Lewis of Hemphill, Texas (four bass, 9 pounds).
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Umphrey Family Pavilion located at 5438 RR 255 West in Jasper, Texas. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 800 West Gibson in Jasper beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
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 presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ 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 Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse 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.