OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Pro Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 6 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the $275,225 Stren Series Central Division tournament on Lake of the Ozarks.
“Today was a tough day,” Christie said. “I covered a lot of water, looking for fish. My game plan was to get my limit early and look for new areas to go the next few days. I’m doing whatever it takes to catch fish.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Mo. (five bass, 17-00); Sam Newby of Pocola, Okla. (five bass, 15-12); Steve Ruff of Wentzville, Mo. (five bass, 15-12); and Anton Silvester of Staunton, Ill. (five bass, 15-09).
Tim Janke of Janesville, Wis., earned $237 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.
Overall there were 501 bass weighing 1,181 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 139 pros Wednesday. The catch included 55 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 519VX Ranger powered by Evinrude or Yamaha if contingency guidelines are met, and valuable points toward qualifying for the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. After four qualifying events are complete in each of the circuit’s five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the championship. 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.
Tony Spinks of Springfield, Mo., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 13-07 while fishing with pro Daniel Porterfield of Clinton, Mo., who is currently in 139th place.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chuck Loerzel of Yorkville, Ill. (five bass, 12-01); Mark Guin of Crossett, Ark. (three bass, 11-01); Robert Harley of Ozark, Mo. (three bass, 10-07); and Ron Abbott of Lafayette, Ind. (five bass, 10-04).
Frank Davis Sr. of Fayetteville, Ark., earned $125 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass.
Overall there were 215 bass weighing 483 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 108 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included five five-bass limits.
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.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Grand Glaize Recreation Area located in Kaizer, Mo. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4252 Highway 54 in Osage Beach 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 two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. At the conclusion of Friday’s weigh-in, the field is cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weights. These anglers continue competition Saturday, with the winners determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
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, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.