Lake Havasu battle under way
Stren Series Western Division anglers square off in second contest of the nascent 2008 season in the heart of Arizona
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – Stren Series Western Division anglers departed Lake Havasu State Park marina shortly after 7 a.m. with cloudy skies and mild temperatures setting the parameters for Wednesday’s competition. However, as usual, anglers are going to have to earn their money on Lake Havasu this week as the bite – at least so far – is turning out to be less than ideal.
“It’s really a tough bite for most people,” said Stren Series pro Jiggs Benn of Myrtle Creek, Ore. “The water level is lower than normal. And it’s going to be difficult to catch big bags given the time of year we’re fishing. Right now, I’m throwing jigs and worms but I didn’t have a particularly good practice. And I can’t seem to get a reaction bite at all. I think in a month or so the fishing will get better. But I’m not overly optimistic about my chances at this point.”
Other anglers echoed Benn’s sentiments.
“For me, the fishing has been just a little bit slow,” said co-angler Steve Christensen. “But there are some pretty good sticks out here and somebody is going to find some fish. Overall, I think you’re going to need to catch around 13 pounds a day to make it into the top 10.”
According to the pros, crankbaits, jigs, drop-shots, flipping and pitching will be just some of the many techniques used this week. As a result, anglers who have a more versatile fishing arsenal should have an added advantage throughout this week’s contest, especially if the bite proves to be extraordinarily fickle.
Tourney format
During 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. Anglers are permitted to weigh in their best five bass each day. 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 full field competes on days one, two and three, with the top-10 pros and top 10 co-anglers advancing to the finals based on their three-day accumulated weight. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.
Pros will be fishing for a top award of nearly $70,000 assuming contingency guidelines are met, while co-anglers will be angling for a first-place prize of $30,000.
In addition, competitors will be vying for valuable points that could earn them a berth in the $1 million Stren Series Championship, slated for Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo., Nov. 5-8.
Stren Series action continues at today’s weigh-in, scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. at Lake Havasu State Park, located at 699 London Bridge Road in Lake Havasu City
On the Web
For bass-fishing fans unable to attend the festivities in person, you can catch all the weigh-in action live at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. Show time starts at 3 p.m. today.
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 7:18 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 51 degrees
Expected high temperature: 67 degrees
Wind: SW at 13 mph
Maximum humidity: 34 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly cloudy