COLUMBUS, Miss. – Pro Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark., caught a five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Central Division tournament presented by Evinrude on the Columbus Pool with a four-day total of 18 bass weighing 44-7. For his victory, Bohannan earned $25,000 cash.
“This is unbelievable,” said Bohannan, who is approaching the $100,000 mark for career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “This was a great event and I am so excited about the win.”
Bohannan opened the tournament in 22nd place Wednesday with five bass weighing 8-13 that he caught on a Bandit crankbait. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 19-15 using a War Eagle buzzbait to capture the lead. He then caught three bass weighing 4-8 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in second place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Gene Brown of West Point, Miss. (20 bass, 42-10, $7,462); Shan Schoenrock of Aliceville, Ala. (19 bass, 41-13, $6,716); Mark Rose of Marion, Ark. (20 bass, 39-14, $5,970); and Joseph Webster of Fulton, Miss. (20 bass, 39-9, $5,224).
Bohannan caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – a 7-pound, 10-ounce largemouth – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $225.
Overall there were 36 bass weighing 67 pounds, 10 ounces caught by nine pros Saturday. The catch included six five-bass limits.
Bill Bowen of Caledonia, Miss., won the Co-angler Division with a four-day total of 14 bass weighing 27-7.
“I am just so happy,” said Bowen, who is in his first year of tournament fishing with FLW Outdoors. “I had really good partners during the tournament and overall this was a great event.”
Bowen caught five bass weighing 15-13 Wednesday while fishing with pro Gene Brown of West Point, Miss., to open the tournament in first place. He then caught four bass weighing 3-12 Thursday while fishing with pro Doyle Isom Jr. of Bourbon, Mo. On Friday he added three more bass weighing 3-15 to make the top 10 cut in first place while fishing with pro Shane Cole of Empire, Ala. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a two-bass catch weighing 3-15 while fishing with pro Yancy Windham of Gordo, Ala.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ron Abbott of Lafayette, Ind. (15 bass, 25-9, $3,177); Danny Carter of Hernando, Miss. (12 bass, 23-6, $2,582); Mark Guin of Crossett, Ark. (13 bass, 21-14, $2,500); and Steven Mcfarland of Mountain Home, Ark. (12 bass, 21-5, $2,000).
Bowen caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Wednesday – a 7-pound, 7-ounce largemouth – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $119.
Overall there were 18 bass weighing 21 pounds, 2 ounces caught by eight co-anglers Saturday. The catch included no five-bass limits.
The next Stren Series Central Division event, hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association will be held Sept. 19-22 on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Mo. Boats will launch from Grand Glaize Recreation Area in Kaizer, Mo., and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 4252 Hwy. 54 in Osage Beach.
After four qualifying events are complete in each of the Stren Series’ five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where they will compete against top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing’s biggest prize – $1 million.
The top 40 co-anglers from each Stren Series division will also advance to the championship, where they will fish for as much as $70,000. The highest-finishing co-angler from each division at the championship will then advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.
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.