Pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the Stren Series Northern Division tournament on the Potomac River with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing
MARBURY, Md. (June 27, 2009) Pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the Stren Series Northern Division tournament on the Potomac River with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 57 pounds, 6 ounces. For his victory, Lane earned $21,202 cash.
I like it up here, said Lane, winning his second FLW Outdoors tournament, both in the Stren Series and on the Potomac River, with his first in 2007. My final day efforts are getting better as I have been in several positions to win some other tournaments but didnt have it all put together. To come from behind and take over the lead, that is what I needed to do.
Lane opened the tournament in second place Thursday with 5 bass weighing 19-10. He then caught 5 bass weighing 15-9 Friday to make the crucial top-10 cut in sixth place.
There was a breeze this morning and I think that helped get the fish biting, said Lane. I was fishing only about a half-mile from the ramp which allowed me to use the breeze and drift not using my trolling motor to spook the fish in the deep grass.
Lane flipped a Berkley Chigger Craw and a Reaction Innovation Beaver to land his fish, using the beaver in the thick grass and the chigger crawl in the thinner grass. Lane also said the last hour of the tide coming in was when he caught his best fish.
Rounding out the top five pros were Terry Olinger of The Plains, Va. (15 bass, 53-13, $8,481); Team Kelloggs pro Dave Lefebre of Union City, Pa. (15 bass, 53-10, $6,785); Chris Dillow of Waynesboro, Va. (15 bass, 51-6, $5.937); and Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md. (15 bass, 51-5, $5,089).
Olinger finished as the highest pro Ranger Cup qualified earning an additional $7,500.
Adam Janarella of Jersey Shore, Pa., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Friday a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass that earned him the days Folgers Big Bass award of $355.
David Wilder of Baltimore, Md., won the Co-angler Division and a 177TR Ranger boat and trailer, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 43-5.
Wilder caught five bass weighing 11-11 Thursday while fishing with pro Michael Ertel of Toms River, N.J., to open the tournament tied for 31st place. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 19-9 to make the top-10 cut in first place while fishing with pro Tony Holzer of East Palestine, Ohio. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with five bass weighing 12-1 while fishing with pro Lefebre.
Wilder said the wind was blowing this morning and started topwater fishing by mid-morning as the conditions toughened. Wilder said he caught his fish throwing white frogs and flipping a brush hog.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Kermit Crowder of Matoaca, Va. (15 bass, 43-1, $3,482); Michah Frazier of Newnan, Ga. (15 bass, 43-1, $2,612); Mike Hundley of Clarksville, Va. (15 bass, 41-12, $2,176); and Mike Branham of Alexandria, Va. (15 bass, 41-8, $1,959).
Frazier finished as the highest Ranger Cup qualified co-angler and earned $2,500.
Gary McClain of Chesapeake, Va., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Thursday a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass that earned him the days Folgers Big Bass award of $177.
The next Stren Series Northern Division event, hosted by French Creek Marina, will be held July 16-18 on 1000 Islands in Clayton, N.Y. Boats will launch from French Creek Marina in Clayton, and the final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 20823 NY State Route 3 in Watertwon.
After four qualifying events are complete in each Stren Series division Central, Northern, Southeast, Texas and Western the top 40 pros and 40 co-anglers based on the points standings from each division advance to the Stren Series Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala., Nov. 5-7 for a shot at $150,000 in the Pro Division and $60,000 in the Co-angler Division. The top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers from each division will also qualify for the 2010 Walmart FLW Tour® and Walmart FLW Series®, bass fishings top professional circuits. The highest-finishing pro and co-angler from each division at the Stren Series Championship also qualify for the $2.5 million 2010 Forrest Wood Cup, where anglers will compete for the $1 million grand prize the most lucrative award in bass fishing
In 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. 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 and two, with the top 10 pros and 10 co-anglers advancing to day three based on their two-day accumulated weight. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all three days.
Total awards are based on a 200-boat field in every tournament.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Players Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Players Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
