LEUFAULA, Ala. (March 12, 2008) - Pro Frank Jordan Jr. of Bainbridge, Ga., caught a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 14 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the Stren Series Southeast Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Eufaula.
"I was only expecting to catch around 15 pounds today; I caught my big fish first thing this morning, and I wasn't expecting that," Jordan said.
"The bite was slow, and it took me about an hour between fish."
Jordan fished prespawn fish as he did on Lake Seminole.
"We weren't fishing on the bank like everyone else," Jordan said.
Rounding out the top five pros are Steve Stewart of Donalsonville, Ga. (five bass, 19-09); Ryan Ingram of Phenix City, Ala. (five bass, 18-07); Lee McCracken of Ocala, Fla. (five bass, 18-05); and Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla. (five bass, 17-02).
Jordan earned $280 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 8-pound, 8-ounce bass.
Overall there were 668 bass weighing 1,584 pounds, 10 ounces caught by 183 pros Wednesday. The catch included 92 five-bass limits.
Jamie Bladlow Houston, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 15-14 while fishing with pro Taylor Leathers of Florence, Ala., who is currently in 116th place. "We started fishing water 3 ½- to 4-feet deep," Bladlow said. "It had fresh weeds coming up, and we fished it with a spinnerbait."
Describing the water as stained, Bladlow used a shakey head and jig to catch his limit and was able to upgrade once or twice on a Carolina rig. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jason Waddell of Louisville, Ala. (five bass, 13-06); Steve McNabb of Pell City, Ala. (five bass, 13-04); Larry Mathers of Englewood, Fla. (four bass, 12-14); and Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C. (five bass, 12-13).
Mathers earned $142 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 4-ounce bass.
Overall there were 397 bass weighing 843 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 183 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 21 five-bass limits. The top 40 co-anglers from each Stren Series division will also advance to the championship, where they will fish for as much as $70,000. The highest-finishing co-angler from each division at the championship will then advance to the 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off at 7 each morning from Lakepoint State Park located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula, Ala. Thursday and Friday's weigh-in 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 1252 South Eufaula Ave. in Eufaula, Ala., beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. At the conclusion of Friday's weigh-in, the field is cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers based on the heaviest three-day accumulated weights. These anglers continue competition Saturday, with the winners determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from all four days.