Myers wins again, takes Mississippi River co-angler title
ONALASKA, Wis. – Mark Myers of Minneapolis, Minn., won the Co-angler Division of the Stren Series Midwest event at the Mississippi River thanks to a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 24 pounds, 2 ounces. Myers earned a 519VX Ranger plus $5,000 cash for a total award of $35,000.
“I struggled in the morning,” said Myers, who also won the Co-angler Division at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop on Lake Champlain in June. “My second fish was about a 4-pounder and it calmed me down. I knew all I needed was three decent keepers to do well.”
Myers, who was paired with pro winner Dan Morehead, said today’s competition had a little added twist to it.
“We were in sight of Stacey (King) all day to day,” he said. “I could see every time his co-angler caught a fish. There was definitely a psychological twist to it.”
Myers made the cut fishing nine different styles of baits, refusing to commit to just one. Faced with tougher conditions Saturday, he downsized to a 5-inch green pumpkin lizard on 8-pound test line.
“That was the most critical adjustment I made all week,” he said. “The rest of the week I used a frog and eight other baits, but the lizard seem to trigger the bigger fish.”
Myers made the top-20 cut Thursday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing, 25 pounds, 14 ounces. He then caught five bass weighing 12 pounds Friday to make the top-10 cut in third place. On Saturday, he caught five bass weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces to earn his second Stren Series victory.
Myers is on fire. In addition to winning June’s FLW tournament on Lake Champlain, he won the 2005 Stren tournament on Lake Erie at Cleveland, which also happens to be the next Stren event.
“It’s unbelievable, man. I’ve been looking forward to this stretch of tournaments – Champlain, the Mississippi River and Cleveland – for a long time,” he said. “The biggest key for me is just having confidence in your baits and also not being afraid of trying new things. When you fish up north, you get a lot of bites, so you can experiement with different things and really get a feel for what you’re doing. I was bad when we were down south because you get a lot fewer bites, and you just can’t experiment as much.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Jeramiah Sifers of Sellersberg, Ind., (10 bass, 24 pounds, $4,000); James Richardson Sr., of Harrison, Ohio (nine bass, 22 pounds, 6 ounces, $3,500); Jeff Taylor of Olmstead, Ky. (nine bass, 21 pounds, 2 ounces, $2,500); and Eric Boberg of Arcadia, Wis. (nine bass, 19 pounds, 9 ounces, $2,000).
Coming up
The next Stren Series event is a Northeast Division contest at Lake Erie near Cleveland July 19-22.
The next Midwest Division event is scheduled for the Mississippi River near Fort Madison, Iowa, Aug. 9-12.