JASPER, Texas – Ranger Pro Lendell Martin, Jr., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds to win the $262,125 Stren Series Central Division tournament presented by Evinrude on Sam Rayburn Reservoir Saturday. Martin won a 519VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude outboard and equipped with Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries plus $10,000 cash. He also earned a $10,000 contingency bonus from Ranger for a total of $60,000.
Martin opened the tournament Wednesday with five bass weighing 16 pounds. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces to his catch to make the top-20 cut in eighth place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing, 27 pounds, 05 ounces. He then caught five bass weighing 21 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to make the top-10 cut in first place. On Saturday he caught another five bass weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces to secure his first Stren Series win.
Rounding out the top five pros are A&W Pro Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas (10 bass, 31 pounds, 3 ounces, $10,000); Michael Lowery of Etoile, Texas (10 bass, 25 pounds, 13 ounces, $8,750); Kevin Lasyone of Dry Prong, La. (10 bass, 24 pounds, 3 ounces, $7,750); and David Moore of Cambridge City, Ind. (seven bass, 21 pounds, 5 ounces, $7,250).
John Cure of Jasper, Texas won the Co-angler Division thanks to a final-round total of eight bass weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces. Cure earned a 519VX Ranger plus $5,000 cash for a total award of $35,000.
“Lendell caught his early and I had two on a drop-shot,” said Cure, who was paired with Martin. “We left and ran 40 minutes to the extreme north end of the lake so he could upgrade to some better fish.”
Martin threw a jig and a frog to improve his catch, before returning to their first spot so Cure could improve his catch as well.
“He was pretty confident he had enough to win, so he took me right back the dam so I could catch a few more,” Cure said. “I can’t say enough about how much he worked with me to catch the fish I did.”
Cure fished a green-pumpkin Zoom finesse worm in the morning and a Watermelon Zoom finesse worm after the sun came up. All four of his keepers came from a ledge near the spillway area of the dam.
Cure made the top-20 cut Thursday with a two-day total of eight bass weighing, 18 pounds, 8 ounces. He then caught four bass weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces with pro Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas, Friday to make the top-10 cut in first place. On Saturday, he caught four bass weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces to earn his first Stren Series victory.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bill Guillory of Jasper, Texas (seven bass, 22 pounds, 2 ounces, $4,000); Eddie Stagg of Jasper, Texas (eight bass, 17 pounds, 3 ounces, $3,400); Travis Darley of Del Rio, Texas (six bass, 17 pounds, 3 ounces, $2,400); and Michael Herron of Paris, Texas (nine bass, 16 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,900).
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 20 pros and co-anglers – based on two-day accumulated weights – advance to Friday. Anglers start at zero Friday and compete for 10 spots in each division Saturday. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from Friday and Saturday.
The top 40 pros and top 40 co-anglers from each of the Stren Series’ five divisions – Central, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Western – following four tournaments in each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala., Nov. 1-4 where they will fish for top awards of $140,000 and $70,000, respectively. 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.
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.