HARDIN, Ky. (July 24, 2008) - Pro Mike Ward of Paris, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 8 ounces Thursday to capture the lead in the Stren Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 42-10, he now holds a two-ounce lead over second-place pro Billy Schroeder of Paducah, Ky., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 42-08 during the first two days of competition.
"My mornings have been awful slow," said Ward, who has notched 12 top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors competition. "I'm not getting bit until about 10 a.m. It starts to wear on me, but once I do get in them I catch them pretty good. I can catch them pretty fast. It just takes me a while to get the quality bites."
Like many competing in the event, Ward is making the run to Paris to search for his limit of keepers. Ward said he caught his fish on the first day of competition on a worm, but on Thursday the fish preferred a jig in 12 to 13 feet of water.
"I really don't think my fish are going to hold up," Ward said. "There's a lot of people down there and it's crowded. That's hurting me.
"I think I can catch a limit of fish; I just don't know if I can catch the weight I need," Ward added. "I don't ever have a lot of confidence. I just go with the flow."
Rounding out the top five pros are Michael Wooley of Collierville, Tenn. (10 bass, 42-04); Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio (10 bass, 42-03); and Lloyd Pickett Jr. of Bartlett, Tenn. (10 bass, 37-07).
Zachary King of Clarksville, Ark., earned $268 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught. Overall there were 530 bass weighing 1,465 pounds, 7 ounces caught by pros Thursday. The catch included 60 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 198VX Ranger powered by Evinrude or Yamaha if contingency guidelines are met, and valuable points toward qualifying for the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Branson, Mo., Nov. 5-8 for a shot at $140,000. After four qualifying events are complete in each of the circuit's five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the championship. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.
Ben Jackson of Paducah, Ky., 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 21-14 while fishing with pro Keith Amerson of Bethel Springs, Tenn., Wednesday and four bass weighing 11-01 while fishing with pro Michael Stetich of Omaha, Neb., Thursday for a total of nine bass weighing 32-15.
"We ran down to Paris where all the fish are," said Jackson, who is fishing in his second season of Stren Series competition. "We fished ledges all day and it was real tough. We didn't have any fish until 9 or 10 a.m. It was a lot tougher than yesterday. You'd catch like one every hour."
Jackson said he duplicated his first day's effort and caught all of his fish on a large plum-colored worm. Jackson said he caught his fish in about 20 feet of water in the main river channel.
"It was the same thing I did the first day, just in different places," Jackson said. "Tomorrow I need to go out and just get five keeper bites, whether they're spots or largemouths, and I think I can make the top 10."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Darby of Mount Ida, Ark. (10 bass, 30-14); Alan Johnson of Crestwood, Ky. (nine bass, 29-10); Chad Kerr of Burlington, Iowa (eight bass, 27-06); and Steven Strejcek of Clever, Mo. (eight bass, 25-02).
Steve Dozier of Dover, Tenn., earned $138 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 11-ounce bass he caught. Overall there were 388 bass weighing 1,006 pounds, 14 ounces caught by co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 25 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 5:30 each morning from Kenlake Marina located at 888 Kenlake Marina Lane in Hardin. Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 1:30 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 809 N. 12th St. in Murray, Ky., beginning at 3 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.