Sunny side Sam

Final qualifying event of Stren Series Central Division season under way

JASPER, Texas – Now that the spawning bonanza on the Sam Rayburn Reservoir is firmly in the past, Stren Series Central Division anglers can expect typical summertime fishing on this historic, East Texas fishery. The local Jasper forecast predicts four consecutive days of balmy sun, and that favorable outlook generated optimism for the 177 pros and 177 co-anglers who took off Wednesday morning in search of a championship berth.

Despite a bevy of tour-level and local tournaments, Sam Rayburn continues to produce some of the best bass fishing in the nation. The fertile, bottom-forested reservoir has created an ideal ecosystem for fish production.

“It’s a 3-pound machine,” pro Andy Coffman said. The Campbell, Texas, native said the fishing has been pretty good the past few days. In fact, Coffman predicted it would take 30 pounds over the first two days to make the top-20 cutoff.

“A lot of people are running about 45 miles upriver. The spawn has been over a lot longer up there.”

Coffman plans to fish topwater baits early in the day before the suns cooks up the water temperature, then switch to flipping in the afternoon.

Freddy Grant has laid out his first day on Sam Rayburn similarly to Coffman. He, too, has experienced some success during practice, saying the best day he had was about 17 or 18 pounds. The Corsicana, Texas, pro said he will throw a Zara Spook early in the day, then fish hydrilla with spinnerbaits and jigs.

“Coupled with a full moon, the early bite is going to be the most important deal,” Grant said.

The last time the circuit visited Sam Rayburn, local Jasper, Texas, pro Chris McCall notched his first win in FLW Outdoors competition. Power fishing with mainly Rat-L-Traps until a last-minute change to the Gambler Sweebo Worm, McCall caught a two-day total of 26 pounds, 3 ounces.

After three divisional events, McCall leads all competitors with 589 points, while Keith Combs sits closely behind with 572. Combs’ second-place position is even more impressive considering McCall’s last two finishes in Stren Series competition are a first and a second.

Payouts, contingencies

Anglers competing in the Pro Division will fish for a top award worth as much as $60,000, including a fully rigged Ranger 519VX powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries plus $10,000 cash. Pros will have the chance to earn an additional $10,000 bonus award from Ranger 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, or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant. Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if the participant meets “Powered by Yamaha” guidelines.

Co-angler competitors cast for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are met.

Logistics

Anglers will take off from Umphrey Family Pavillion in Jasper, Texas, at 6:30 Central each morning. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina, which is located at 5438 RR-255 West outside of Jasper beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 800 W. Gibson in Jasper beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

Pros and co-anglers will compete for two days to determine the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who advance to Friday’s semifinal round, based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for the semifinal round and anglers compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners on day four are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.

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 top 40 pros and top 40 co-anglers from each of the Stren Series’ five divisions – Central, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and Western – will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship on Wheeler Lake Nov. 1-4. The top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers from each division also qualify for the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the world’s most lucrative tournament series, where they can compete for a share of $7.6 million in 2007.

Wednesday’s conditions

Sunrise: 6:19 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 56 degrees

Expected high temperature: 81 degrees

Water temperature: 74-79 degrees

Wind: NNW at 6 mph

Maximum humidity: 53 percent

Day’s outlook: sunny