MOBILE, Ala. – Yamaha pro Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to capture the lead in the Stren Series Championship on the Mobile Delta. He now holds a slim 12-ounce lead over his closest competitor, David Curtis of Trinity, Texas, heading in to the final day of competition in the lucrative $1 million tournament that features a top award of $140,000.
“I am fishing the same areas I have been all week,” said Bohannan, who has amassed more than $119,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I had a limit by 11 this morning, and it wasn’t until 2 p.m. yesterday that I had a limit. The fish were biting better today. I have three spots that I have been fishing, and two weren’t working today, so I went back to my one key area and made about 12 passes up this 200-yard stretch. My key area has a lot of shad and current. I believe that is keeping the fish there.”
Bohannan is throwing a hand-painted crankbait to catch his limit.
“I feel really good going into tomorrow,” Bohannan said. “I’m just going to go back to my key spot and hit it hard. If the baitfish are still there, I will stay on that one bank all day. I won’t let up. I am going to catch as many bass as I can tomorrow.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros are Mike Jackson of San Mateo, Fla. (five bass, 9-08); Mathew Saavedra of Redding, Ca. (five bass, 7-13); Nick Gainey of Charleston, S.C. (five bass, 7-05); Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Ala. (five bass, 6-14); Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. (five bass, 6-12); Robert Robinson of Mobile, Ala. (five bass, 6-05); Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo. (four bass, 4-10); and Doug Vahrenberg of Higginsville, Mo. (three bass, 2-15).
Overall there were 47 bass weighing 71 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 10 pros Saturday. The catch included eight five-bass limits.
Keith Honeycutt of Temple, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and $62,500 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces followed by Josh Clark of Horton, Mich., in second place with five bass weighing 5-07 worth $15,565.
Honeycutt’s award included a fully rigged Ranger 198VX plus $15,000 cash and an additional $7,500 cash bonus from Ranger Boats.
Honeycutt opened the tournament in 47th place Thursday with two bass weighing 3-01 while fishing with pro Tim Fleetwood of Forsyth, Mo. On day one he threw a spinnerbait to catch his fish. On Friday he jumped into ninth place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 7-02 while fishing with Ott Defoe of Knoxville, Tenn. While fishing with Defoe, he caught his fish on a spinnerbait and Texas-rigged worm. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Gainey, throwing a Shad Rap and a Picasso 3/16-ounce shaky head, culling five or six times.
“There are no words to describe my feelings right now,” said Honeycutt, who qualified as the No. 16 seed from the Texas Division. “I have fished all over the world in many different circuits, and from a co-angler standpoint, this is the one to win.”
Honeycutt caught his fish in grass and near isolated brush piles.
“I was fishing with Defoe on day two, and about 1:30 that afternoon I only had two fish,” he said. “I threw one time and caught a keeper. Threw again, caught another keeper. We ended up catching 14 fish and 12 were keepers, off one log, in 15 minutes. The log was about 25 feet long and as big as a semi truck tire. I wouldn’t have made the top 10 cut if it wasn’t for that one brush pile.”
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla. (three bass, 4-03, $3,735); Chris Hults of Vancleave, Miss. (three bass, 4-02, $5,320); Kenneth Merlock of Mayslanding, N.J. (two bass, 3-05, $2,905); Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss. (two bass, 3-01, $4,490); Teddy Bradley of Mishawaka, Ind. (three bass, 2-14, $6,283); Young Yang of Los Angeles, Ca. (two bass, 2-03, $4,075); Leo Reiter of Goshen, Ind. (one bass, 1-07, $5,868); and Ray Peace of Arlington, Texas (one bass, 1-05, $3,660).
Overall there were 27 bass weighing 34 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 10 co-anglers Saturday. The catch included two five-bass limits.
Middleton, who fishes the Texas Division, also won a new Ranger 198VX powered by Evinrude as the 2007 Stren – Evinrude Co-angler of the Year. He won the coveted title with 956 out of a possible 1,000 points earned in four qualifiers and the Stren Series Championship. His closest competitor, Steven McFarland of Mountain Home, Ark., finished second with 912 points. McFarland fishes the Central Division.
Saavedra secured a spot in the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup as the only Western Division pro to make the top-10 cut Friday. The remaining four divisions are still up for grabs since there are multiple qualifiers from each division in the top 10. On the co-angler side, Friday, Yang secured a spot in the Forrest Wood Cup as the only Western Division qualifier to make the top-10 cut. Kevin McKnight of Versailles, Mo., finished 11th, missing the cut by 3 ounces, but still advanced to the Forrest Wood Cup as the highest finisher from the Central Division. On Saturday, Middleton, representing the Texas Division, Honeycutt, representing the Northern Division, and Hults, representing the Southeast Division, joined them as Forrest Wood Cup qualifiers by being the highest finishing co-anglers from their respective Stren Series divisions.
Anglers will take off at 7 a.m. Sunday from the Chocolotta Bay Ramp, located at 1595 Battleship Parkway in Mobile. Sunday’s weigh-in will be held at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center located at One S. Water St. beginning at 4 p.m.
Prior to the final weigh-in, FLW Outdoors will host a free Family Fun Zone and outdoor show at the convention center from noon to 4 p.m. The Family Fun Zone is a chance for fishing fans to meet their favorite anglers and review the latest products from Berkley, Lowrance, Ranger, Evinrude, Yamaha and other manufacturers while children are treated to fishing themed games and rides like the Ranger Boat simulator. The first 200 children 14 and under visiting the Family Fun Zone Sunday will receive a free rod and reel combo.
In Stren Series Championship competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers.
Weights were cleared for the start of Friday’s competition, and the winning pro will be determined Sunday based on the heaviest cumulative weight from Saturday and Sunday.
Coverage of the tournament, hosted by Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Jan. 13 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Additionally, FLW Outdoors is proud to provide tournament coverage to more than 800,000 servicemembers stationed around the world in 177 countries and aboard Navy ships through broadcasts on the American Forces Network.
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.