LA PLATA, Md. – Spiderwire pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Northern Division tournament presented by Evinrude on the Potomac River with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 65-14. For his victory, Lane earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 519VX Ranger boat powered by Yamaha.
“I love fishing the Potomac River,” said Lane, who finally captured his first win that has eluded him since joining FLW Outdoors in 2002. “I am so excited to finally win one. This means the world to me.”
“I had a lot of great spots that I went to everyday to catch my fish. I used a Berkley Chigger Craw all week to catch my limit. I tried to find the most grass I could to fish in. The more grass the better.”
Lane stayed close to the marina all week and fished near the ramp in the afternoon’s to finish out his quality sized sacks of Potomac River bass.
Lane opened the tournament in 12th place Wednesday with five bass weighing 15-11. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 23-3 capture his lead. He then caught five bass weighing 17-13 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in first place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Ryan Park of Mount Joy, Pa. (20 bass, 60-1, $8,917); Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn. (20 bass, 57-14, $8,026 plus $5,000 Ranger bonus); Nick Gainey of Charleston, S.C. (20 bass, 54-15, $7,134); and James Kemper of Frankfort, Ky. (20 bass, 54-1, $6,242).
Overall there were 46 bass weighing 97 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 10 pros Saturday. The catch included 8 five-bass limits.
Charlie Reed Jr. of Hayes, Va., won the Co-angler Division with a four-day total of 18 bass weighing 37-14.
“This was a great tournament,” said Reed, who has seven top-10 finishes with FLW Outdoors. “This was truly a great learning experience. The FLW Outdoors staff was incredible on Thursday when the weather got bad and I want to thank them for everything they do.”
Reed caught his bass flipping mats in and around grass to get his limits.
Reed caught five bass weighing 12-10 Wednesday while fishing with pro Timothy Costa of Red Oak, Texas, to open the tournament in fifth place. He then caught five bass weighing 11-3 Thursday while fishing with pro Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 7-0 to make the top 10 cut in third place while with pro Doug Greene of Salyersville, Ky. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a three-bass catch weighing 7-1 while fishing with pro Sparky Petersen of Laytonsville, Md.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Joshua Wagy of Dewitt, Va. (17 bass, 37-8, $3,659); Alan Hench of Lititz, Pa. (19 bass, 36-1, $2,973); Matt Greenblatt of Oldsmar, Fla. (17 bass, 34-11, $2,287); and David Williams of Fredericksburg, Va. (16 bass, 34-11, $1,830).
Overall there were 28 bass weighing 46 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 10 co-anglers Saturday. The catch included two five-bass limits.
The next Stren Series Northern Division event, hosted by Wayne County Parks, will be held Aug. 15-18 on the Detroit River in Trenton, Mich. Boats will launch from Elizabeth Park Marina in Trenton and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 23800 Allen Rd. in Woodhaven, Mich.
After four qualifying events are complete in each of the Stren Series’ five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2008 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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing’s biggest prize – $1 million.
The top 40 co-anglers from each Stren Series division will also advance to the championship, where they will fish for as much as $70,000. The highest-finishing co-angler from each division at the championship will then advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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 Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.