DETROIT (July 25, 2009) - Chip Harrison of Bremen, Ind., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces Saturday to win the Stren Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on the Detroit River with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 61 pounds, 5 ounces. For his victory, Harrison earned $21,713 cash and a fully rigged Ranger boat.
"I love smallmouth fishing," said Harrison, earning his second Stren Series title. "I have grown up doing it and this lake [Lake St. Clair] has been really good to me the last two or three years. I didn't think I would have this good a tournament, but I knew I would catch them. It really panned out good for me."
Harrison opened the tournament in second place Thursday with five bass weighing 22-11. He then caught five bass weighing 18-6 Friday to make the crucial top-10 cut in third place.
Harrison caught his fish today on a green pumpkin with black flakes Poor Boy's tube and a emerald shiner c-flash 44 Magnum crankbait.
"At noon today, I had maybe five pounds, but from noon to one o'clock, I caught a majority of my fish. It was wet early and a little bouncy. I did a lot of scrambling and bouncing around until I found that spot," said Harrison.
"My Minn Kota trolling motor really saved me today because of the wind. It allowed me to hold my spots that I found using my Hummingbird. I was using the side imaging to key on the little rock areas I was fishing."
Rounding out the top five pros were Jon Bondy of Windsor, Ont. (15 bass, 49-7, $8,685); Brian Hensley of Edwardsburg, Mich. (15 bass, 54-14, $6,948); Terry Baksay of Easton, Conn. (15 bass, 53-5, $6,080); and Shawn Murphy of Nicholasville, Ky. (15 bass, 50-8, $5,211)
Hensley caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday - a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass - that earned him the day's Big Bass award of $366.
Cade Laufenberg of Stoddard, Wis., fishing his first Stren Series event, won the Co-angler Division and a 177TR Ranger boat and trailer, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 45-4.
Laufenberg caught five bass weighing 18-12 Thursday while fishing with pro Kaku Usui of Royal Oak, Mich., to open the tournament in third place. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 11-3 to make the top-10 cut in fifth place while fishing with pro Keith Pace of Monticello, Ark. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with five bass weighing 15-5 while fishing with pro Ryan Chandler of Hobart, Ind.
Laufenberg said he kept his attack simple and used a Berkley Gulp! leech on a 3/8-ounce drop shot to claim his title.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Kenny Woods of Hazard, Ky. (15 bass, 44-8, $3,556); David Matual of Chicago, Ill. (15 bass, 44-3, $2,667); Craig Brown of Powell, Ohio (15 bass, 43-2, $2,222); and Erik Jacques of Harrison Township, Mich. (12 bass, 41-0, $2,000).
Ken Farrow of Belmont, Ont., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Friday - a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass - that earned him the day's Big Bass award of $183.
The next Stren Series Central Division event, hosted by the Fort Madison Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be held Aug. 20-22 on the Mississippi River in Fort Madison, Iowa. Boats will launch from Captain Kirk's Marina in Fort Madison, and the final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 324 West Agency Road in West Burlington, Iowa.