MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (March 6, 2008) - The Stren Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on Norfork Lake began a day late due to a winter storm in the region. The tournament will be shortened to three days, with the full field competing Thursday and Friday, before it is cut to the top 10 pros and co-anglers for Saturday. Winners will be determined Saturday by the heaviest accumulated weight from all three days of competition. Pro Robbie Dodson of Harrison, Ark., caught four bass weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces Thursday to lead opening day of the Stren Series Central Division tournament.
"I just ran a bunch of spots that I knew," said Dodson, who has fished on Norfork Lake all his life. "I got five bites and lost one of them, and it really hurt."
Dodson caught two of his bass on stick baits in pockets and ledges and two on jigs in bushes, and hopes to get another four or five bites tomorrow doing the same thing.
"It's been tough down here about all winter," Dodson said. "It's been really slow; I don't know if this is going to change anything, as far as the fish biting. It's slow fishing for everybody."
Rounding out the top five pros are Wes Endicott of Joplin, Mo. (five bass, 10-01); Mike Foree of Osage Beach, Mo. (five bass, 8-14); Tim Fleetwood of Forsyth, Mo. (four bass, 8-11); and Mark Rose of Marion, Ark. (four bass, 8-01).
Dodson earned $225 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 4-pound, 9-ounce bass.
Overall there were 160 bass weighing 305 pounds caught by 136 pros Wednesday. The catch included 4 five-bass limits.
Jamie Alan Horne of Jonesboro, Ark., 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 three bass weighing 6-01 while fishing with pro Jason Elrod of Miamisburg, Ohio, who is currently in 78th place. Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Prebeck of Norwood, Mo. (three bass, 5-05); Todd McCoy of Mountain Home, Ark. (two bass, 4-09); Andy Bylander of New Richmond, Wis. (two bass, 4-06); and Randy Fraser of New Florence, Mo. (two bass, 3-15).
Kurt Evans of Hardy, Ark. earned $119 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 3-pound, 9-ounce bass. Overall there were 51 bass weighing 106 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 136 co-anglers Thursday. There were no 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 Henderson Point Park located at Highway 62 East, 288 Henderson Point Park Road in Henderson, Ark. 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 65 Wal-Mart Drive in Mountain Home, Ark., beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
Stren Series tournaments are normally 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.