FORT MADISON, Iowa – Pro William Davis of Russellville, Ala., caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 6 ounces to lead day three of the Stren Series Midwest Division event on the Mississippi River.
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.
With the harsh weather finally receding, it left anglers today with hot temperatures, partly cloudy skies and only a 10 percent chance of rain, which was music to most anglers’ ears. Without the pressured fishing, crazy weather and finicky fish, the bite was on, which made for an impressive day on the river.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said Davis. It’s going to be a close one, everyone is about a cast away from first place; it will all come down to who gets the big bites. I am just going to go fish as hard as I can and whatever happens happens.”
Davis is throwing a combination of topwater frogs and spinnerbaits in a large pad field mixed with some eel grass to catch his bass.
Rounding out the top five pros are Mark Rose of Marion, Ark. (five bass, 13 pounds, 13 ounces); Bill Walker of Mulkeytown, Ill. (five bass bass, 13 pounds, 8 ounces); Nathan Huss of Elkhart Lake, Wis. (five bass, 13 pounds); and Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill. (five bass, 12 pounds, 12 ounces).
Marty Barski of Crystal Lake, Ill., 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 13 pounds, 10 ounces while fishing with pro Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., who is currently in fifth place.
“It was great, I had an excellent boater and we both caught a lot of fish,” said Marty Barski who also fishes on the FLW Walleye Tour as a non-boater. “This is a whole different ballgame than walleye fishing; I just came here to learn. It’s tough, these guys are fishing for allot of money. I just hope to fish well tomorrow and keep a positive attitude and maybe everything will go my way.”
Barski is fishing topwater frogs and flipping soft-plastics around grass and pad fields in 2 to 3 feet of water.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Andy Bylander of Amery, Wis. (five bass, 10 pounds, 8 ounces); Kevin Whitaker of West Chicago, Ill. (four bass, 8 pounds, 7 ounces); Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind. (four bass, 7 pounds, 13 ounces); and Kirk McKnight of Milan, Ill. (three bass, 7 pounds, 8 ounces).
At the conclusion of today’s weigh-in the field was cut from the top 20 pros and co-anglers down to only the top 10 pros and co-anglers who will compete with a combined two-day weight in the final round which will take place Saturday.
Anglers will take off at 6 each morning from Captain Kirk’s Marina located at 902 4th Street in Fort Madison. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 324 West Agency Road in West Burlington, Iowa beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
The event is hosted by the Fort Madison Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. For more information visit their Web site at www.visitfortmadison.com.
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 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.