Lake Seminole site of Stren Series Southeast Division opener

Top bass anglers looking to qualify for $1 million Stren Series Championship, $2 million Forrest Wood Cup

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – The $6.5 million Stren Series is headed to Lake Seminole Jan. 30-Feb. 2 for a $275,225 bass tournament. As many as 400 pros and co-anglers from 17 states will be competing in the first Southeast Division tournament of the season for top awards of $65,000 and $35,000, respectively.

“The outcome of this tournament is going to depend on the weather,” said Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Ala., who placed second at the Stren Series Southeast Division Lake Seminole tournament in 2007. “Right before the tournament last year a cold front came through and changed everything. If we have warmer weather the fish will start to move up and my plan will work.”

Vinson will be throwing lipless crankbaits to clumps of grass along the river channel to catch his limit.

“Grass is going to be a huge factor, but if you find the right mat then you’re going to catch a lot of fish this time of year. I would say 15 pounds a day will be enough to make the cut. The weight could be less, but there are a lot of quality fish on Lake Seminole, so 15 pounds a day isn’t unreasonable.”

Anglers will take off from Bainbridge Earl Mae Boat Basin located at 100 Basin Circle in Bainbridge, Ga., at 7:30 each morning. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins also 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 500 E. Alice St. in Bainbridge beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The Lake Seminole Stren Series tournament is hosted by the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce.

Pros will fish for a top award of $25,000 plus a $40,000 198VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance electronics if contingency guidelines are met. Ranger will award another $3,000 to the winner if he or she is a participant in the Ranger Cup program. If the winner is not a Ranger Cup participant, Ranger will award $1,500 to the highest-finishing participant in the contingency program. Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if “Powered by Yamaha” guidelines are met.

Co-anglers will cast for a top award of $5,000 plus a $30,000 Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are met.

Competitors will also be vying for valuable points that could earn them a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo., Nov. 5-8 for a shot at $140,000 in the Pro Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. After four qualifying events are complete in each Stren Series division – Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western – the top 40 pros and 40 co-anglers based on Angler of the Year points standings from each division will advance to the championship. The top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers from each division will also qualify for the 2009 Wal-Mart FLW Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Series, bass fishing’s top professional circuits, where they can compete for a share of $19.5 million. The highest-finishing pro and co-angler from each division at the Stren Series Championship will also qualify for the $2 million 2009 Forrest Wood Cup, where pros will fish for as much as $1 million – the most lucrative award in bass fishing.

Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing, FLW Outdoors will be awarding the largest fantasy sports payout in history. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

In Stren Series competition, pros supply the boats, fish from the front deck against other pros and control boat movement. Co-anglers fish from the back deck and compete against other co-anglers. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points that determine angler standings. Two hundred points are awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 points for third, and so on. The full field competes on days one, two and three, with the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers advancing to day four based on their three-day accumulated weight. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.

Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.