EUFAULA, Ala. (March 13, 2008) -- Pro Frank Jordan Jr. of Bainbridge, Ga., caught a five-bass limit weighing 10 pounds, 7 ounces Thursday to retain a lead in the Stren Series Southeast Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Eufaula. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 35-05, he now holds a 5-ounce lead over second place pro Michael Brown of Rocky Face, Ga., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 35-00 during the first two days of competition.
"I went where I caught my big fish yesterday," Jordan said. "I caught a few fish there, but nothing big. There was a lot of boater traffic, and I think that was hurting it."
Describing the day as similar to yesterday, Jordan has been using two patterns to catch his bass-shallow fish and prespawn fish in deep water. He said the bite was really scattered and not very consistent.
"We had a lot of sunshine; it was a really pretty day," Jordan said. "It was good for fishing, but not for catching."
Rounding out the top five pros are Ryan Ingram of Phenix City, Ala. (10 bass, 34-05); Adam Postelle of Rocky Face, Ga. (10 bass, 33-06); and Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla. (10 bass, 33-05).
Brown earned $280 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass.
Overall there were 694 bass weighing 1,659 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 183 pros Thursday. The catch included 98 five-bass limits.
Roger Mason of Heflin, 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 12-08 while fishing with pro Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., Wednesday and five bass weighing 15-03 while fishing with pro Nicolas Supik of Natrona Heights, Pa., Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 27-11.
"We fished shallow water," Mason said. "We were throwing spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits and even some crankbaits."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C. (10 bass, 25-01); Daniel Beckham of Lake City, Fla. (seven bass, 22-06); Jason Ober of Johnstown, Pa. (eight bass, 21-06); and Jamie Bladow of Houston, Ala. (eight bass, 20-11).
William Combs of Villa Rica, Ga., earned $142 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass. Overall there were 434 bass weighing 944 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 183 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 29 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. 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.