Hopkins leads Stren Series event on Lake Texoma

DENISON, Texas – Pro Ronnie Hopkins Jr. of Mounds, Okla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the $275,225 Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Lake Texoma.

“This is a great way to start the tournament,” Hopkins said. “First thing this morning I wasn’t getting many bites, so I changed the color of my bait and the fish started biting. I really wanted to catch big fish today. Tomorrow I just hope to get five. If the wind changes directions, I’m not sure if I will catch the fish like I did today. I think if I can get 12 to 13 pounds each day, that will be enough to stay in the lead.”

Hopkins caught his bass cranking rock piles and offshore structures.

Rounding out the top five pros are Craig Hatchel of Whitesboro, Texas (five bass, 16-3); Nick Aber of Piedmont, Okla. (five bass, 13-5); Douglas Jones of Fort Gibson, Okla. (five bass, 13-5); and David Vance of Winnsboro, Texas (five bass, 13-5).

Hatchel earned $218 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass.

Overall there were 402 bass weighing 843 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 117 pros Wednesday. The catch included 42 five-bass limits.

Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 198VX 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.

Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 13-10 while fishing with pro Robert Robinson of Mobile, Ala.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Danny Joiner of Irving, Texas (five bass, 11-8); Naohiro Marvo of Takamatsu Kagawa, Japan (five bass, 10-8); Brad Stewart of Hutto, Texas (four bass, 9-6); and David Underwood of Waco, Texas (five bass, 8-15).

Billy Yelverton of Baton Rouge, La., earned $116 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass.

Overall there were 226 bass weighing 429 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 100 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included six 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 Highport Marina located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas. 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 401 N. U.S. Highway 75 in Denison, 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.