Powroznik pops 14-7 for early lead at Gaston

Virginia pro hunts ‘wolf packs’ at Stren Series

SOUTH HILL, Ga. – Fall is about a day away on the Virginia-North Carolina border, but as for day one of the Stren Series Northern Division event on Lake Gaston, it was still the good, old dog days of summer.

Today temperatures reached the 90-degree mark, and the humidity still felt like August.

Only 16 limits crossed the stage at Lake Gaston today, and the top-10 cut weight after day one stands at 9 pounds, 15 ounces.

Taking the early lead is Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 7 ounces.

Powroznik is fishing very similar here this year as he did two years ago when he finished fifth. He boated nine keepers Thursday by looking for pods of bass cruising the bank.

“What I’m seeing is more like wolf packs of bass, not really large schools,” Powroznik detailed. “I’ll see 10 or 15 bass swimming down the bank in a group, and if I cast something to them, they’ll eat immediately. The problem is, once I hook one and bring it to the boat, it breaks up the little school and it’s over. So I can only get one bite per school.”

Powroznik hit nine schools today, catching a fish from each one.

“I found all these schools in practice, and they’re all still there – I can’t believe it,” he added. “They do seem to favor one particular kind of bottom, and knowing where they are set up and where to make the first cast is critical.”

Krammes second

Gary Krammes of Pottsville, Pa., is in second place with a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces.

Krammes fished about 20 spots today, purposely staying on the move.

“The key for me is to keep jumping around, spot to spot,” Krammes said. “The places I’m fishing are out in deeper water – I’m not fishing up there shallow. But timing has to be right. If I hit the right spot at the right time, I’ll get a keeper. But there’s no sense in sitting around waiting for a bite, so I’m keeping it moving.”

Lefebre third



Kellogg’s pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa., is in third place after day one with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces.

“I’ve got one rod on the deck, and I’m just covering miles of water,” Lefebre said. “There are about five major creeks on this lake, and I fished every one of them today from bank to bank. The way I’m fishing is a lot of fun, I love it. I actually had a lot more bites each day in practice, and I’m surprised at how tough it was today. But if they get to biting again tomorrow, this tournament will be a blast.”

Richardson fourth

Joel Richardson of Kernersville, N.C., is in fourth place with a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce.

“I think a lot of these fish are not relating to cover at all; they’re just following shad around,” Richardson said. “I’m catching some of them by burning a shallow-running crankbait through shad schools for a reaction bite. But the bigger fish are harder to come by.”

Baumgardner fifth

Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C., rounds out the top five with four bass weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 pros in the Stren Series event on Lake Gaston after day one:

6th: Ivan Morris of Virginia Beach, Va., five bass, 10-15

7th: Joseph Sancho of New Windsor, N.Y., five bass, 10-8

8th: Charlie Hartley of Grove City, Ohio, five bass, 10-5

9th: Chad Hicks of Rockville, Va., five bass, 10-1

10th: William Shelton of LaCrosse, Va., five bass, 9-15

Big bass

Daniel McGinnis of Lansdowne, Ont., caught the Folgers Big Bass in the Pro Division on day one weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces and worth $211.

Bae leads co-anglers

Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md., leads the Co-angler Division of the Stren Series event on Lake Gaston with four bass weighing 9 pounds, 13 ounces.

Bae won the Northern Division Stren Series finale on Kerr Reservoir last year, and it looks like he is back to defend his title.

Bae fished with pro Ronald Martinez today and looked for schools of bass cruising the bank, taking advantage of feeding fish on the prowl.

Rounding out high five co-anglers

A.J. Zitzmann of Montreal is in second place after day one with three bass weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces.

Charles Gandee of Efland, N.C., is in third place after day one with a three bass weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces.

Phil Jarmon of Apex, N.C., reeled in the Folgers Big Bass in the Co-angler Division on day one weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces and worth $105, and now he is tied for third with 7 pounds, 2 ounces.

Kevin Hoogenboom of Twinsburg, Ohio, rounds out the top five in the Co-angler Division with 6 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers in the Stren Series event on after day one:

6th: Jerry Hayden of Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 5-0

7th: Lee Williams of Durham, N.C., two bass, 4-12

8th: Kevin Pfautz of Boydton, Va., two bass, 4-9

9th: George Jones of Prospect, Va., two bass, 4-6

10th: Jim Opetaia-Williamson of Henderson, N.C., two bass, 4-0

Day two of the Stren Series Northern Series event on Lake Gaston will begin Friday at 7 a.m. from Americamps Lake Gaston Resort located at 9 Lakeside Lane in Bracey, Va.