I heart N.Y.
Third Stren Northern set for Hudson River debut in rare tough-bite tournament
CATSKILL, N.Y. – Almost six years to the day since the 9/11 attacks devastated New York City – not to mention shut down the 2001 FLW Tour Championship at Lake Champlain – the Stren Series is making its first visit to the scenic Hudson River valley about a hundred miles upriver from the Big Apple for the third Northern Division tourney of the season.
Truth be told, considering the awful events of that day, New York – the city and the state – couldn’t be more vibrant exactly six years later. Down the Hudson, New York City, as always, is as lively as ever. And up here in the Catskills it’s nearly autumn, and the rolling hills surrounding this part of the upper Hudson are practically bursting to explode in fall colors.
While it’s tough to top the Catskills in terms of scenery for a tournament venue, this event could be a bit tricky for the anglers in terms of the fishing. Simply put, it’s tough, and the bass they will catch will probably be smaller than these anglers are used to catching. Competitors are saying that 10 pounds of fish will be a very good day on the Hudson, and a limit of any kind will be something to write home about.
Anglers will likely catch a lot of their bass in the river grass, but unlike its vaunted cousin to north, Lake Champlain, the Hudson River won’t be very generous with its quarry. If an angler can squeeze out a five-bass limit for a day or two, he or she will probably be in contention for the win. In short, this is not your garden-variety, limit-crazy Northern Division event.
But it’s the tough-bite tourneys that separate the wheat from the chaff. It will be interesting to see how these Northern anglers adapt and deal with a bass fishery that’s as tough as the state of New York itself.
Tournament logistics
Pros will fish for a top award of $25,000 plus a $40,000 519VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance electronics 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. If the winner is not a Ranger Cup participant, Ranger will award $1,500 to the highest-finishing participant in the contingency program. Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if “Powered by Yamaha” guidelines are met.
Co-anglers will cast for a top award of $5,000 plus a $30,000 Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are met.
Anglers take off from Dutchmen’s Landing located at Lower Main Street in Catskill at 6:30 each morning. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins also will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 265 W. Bridge St. in Catskill beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
On the Web
For those unable to catch the weigh-in action in person, FLWOutdoors.com offers FLW Live, an online application that brings fans real-time weigh-in results, streaming video and audio.