HEMPHILL, Texas (June 22, 2007) – Pro Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 6 ounces Friday to capture his lead in the $275,225 Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Toledo Bend. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 56-9, he holds a 9-ounce lead over his closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
Rounding out the top five pros are Harold Allen of Shelbyville, Texas (15 bass, 56-1); Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas (15 bass, 53-8); Mark Allen of Kemp, Texas (15 bass, 51-9); and Stephen Johnston of Hemphill, Texas (15 bass, 50-7).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 37 pounds, 4 ounces in the Pro Division are Tommy Martin of Hemphill, Texas; Glen Freeman of Converse, Texas; Shane Gibson of Kilgore, Texas; Yarri Schreibvogel of Sam Rayburn, Texas; and Jeff Buchanan of Zavalla, Texas.
Cecil earned $243 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 8-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Overall there were 316 bass weighing 754 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 111 pros Friday. The catch included 26 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 519VX Ranger powered by Evinrude or Yamaha if contingency guidelines are met, and valuable points toward qualifying for the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. After four qualifying events are complete in each of the circuit’s five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the championship. 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.
Blake Martin of Hemphill, Texas, leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met, thanks to a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 40-2.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Michael Savage of Clever, Mo. (11 bass, 28-5); Wesley Schubert of Conroe, Texas (11 bass, 26-13); Jacob Brown of Cylde, Texas (10 bass, 26-13); and Brian Branum of Longview, Texas (11 bass, 24-6).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 19 pounds, 2 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Tim Achee of Hemphill, Texas; Rich Dalbey of Greenville, Texas; Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla.; Bill Guillory of Jasper, Texas; and Bill Rogers of Jasper, Texas.
Ted Hegner of Mason, Ohio, earned $128 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass.
Overall there were 195 bass weighing 423 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 96 co-anglers Friday. The catch included seven five-bass limits.
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.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 Saturday morning from Frontier Park & Marina located at 360 Frontier Drive in Hemphill. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 155 San Antonio Ave. in Many, La., beginning at 4 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-in are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. At the conclusion of Friday’s weigh-in, the field is cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weights. These anglers continue competition Saturday, with the winners determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
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, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.