Gift wraps five, claims co-angler title
Homemade jig key to Stren Series victory on Lake Texoma
DENISON, Texas – While nearly all of the final 10 co-anglers at the Stren Series Central Division event on Lake Texoma struggled Saturday, Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., trumped that trend and saved his best angling for last.
On day four, Gift was one of only two anglers in his division to bring a limit to the scale. Fishing a homemade 7/16-ounce black and blue jig, he managed five bass Saturday that weighed 10 pounds, 12 ounces.
“I owe this win to my partners,” said Gift, who was fishing break walls lined with used tires. “I’ve been fortunate; they were a great bunch of anglers, and they put me on fish each and every day. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.”
His two-day total of 16-13 was just 15 ounces more than his closest competitor. Regardless of margin, it still earned Gift $5,000 plus a Ranger 519VX boat.
“I really didn’t think I had a chance to catch the leader. I thought I needed more weight.”
Gift also won a 2004 Stren Series event on the Red River and has plans to fish from the pro side in the foreseeable future.
“One of my goals this year was to win a Ranger. With this new boat, I may try to fish these next year as a pro.”
Moore moves up to second
K.D. Moore was the other co-angler who was able to manage a limit on day four. His weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and pushed his two-day total to 15 pounds, 14 ounces.
“I’ve been fishing tournaments for about 30 years, and this is one of my all-time favorite places,” Moore said.
The Euless, Texas, native left Denison with a check for $4,000.
Branum falls to third
Longview, Texas, co-angler Brian Branum had a sizable lead heading into the final day of competition. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to execute and fell to third place. His lone bass on Saturday weighed just 2 pounds, 3 ounces, putting his final-round total at 14 pounds, 8 ounces.
“There have been a lot of changes this week with the weather and the types of fishing,” Branum said. “I’d like to thank the staff at FLW for putting these on and my pros who were great all week long.”
His consolation is a check worth $3,400.
Kimura fourth
Kenta Kimura demonstrated consistency throughout the week and finished the tournament in fourth place with a weight of 13 pounds, 6 ounces. After catching three bass Saturday, the Livingston, Texas, native received a check worth $2,400.
Bickham rises to fifth
Coming in fifth among the co-anglers was Ronnie Bickham of New Boston, Texas, who added three bass that weighed 8 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to his two-day total for 11-2. He earned $1,900.
“I need to see a chiropractor,” Bickham said. “With this wind, these boat rides are killing me.”
Rest of the best
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the finals of the Stren Central event on Lake Texoma:
6th: Bill Guillory of Jasper, Texas, 10-4, $1,800
7th: Kelly Mason of Achille, Okla., 10-2, $1,700
8th: Billy G. Yelverton of Baton Rouge, La., 9-0, $1,600
9th: Kenny Moser of Alba, Texas, 8-12, $1,500
10th: Phillip Hudnall of Newkirk, Okla., 5-4, $1,400
Stren Central action resumes May 17-20 when the series visits the Sam Rayburn reservoir in Jasper, Texas, for the final qualifying event of the season.