MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. (March 7, 2008) - Pro Robbie Dodson of Harrison, Ark., caught a four bass weighing 7 pounds, 8 ounces Friday to widen his lead in the Stren Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on Norfork Lake. With a two-day catch of eight bass weighing 18-04, he holds a 3-pound, 9-ounce lead over his closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
"Today, I caught all the fish in different places," Dodson said. "In seven days, I haven't caught fish in the same place twice." Dodson caught his bass fishing slow with a ½-ounce Lucky Strike jig with a big Guido Bug and a custom painted Rogue.
"The weather has cleared up, but it is still really cold," Dodson said. "It's just going to be that same old winter pattern; it'll be slow until it starts to warm up."
Rounding out the top five pros are Travis Fox of Springdale, Ark. (seven bass, 14-11); Tim Fleetwood of Forsyth, Mo. (six bass, 13-11); Preston Havens of Mountain Home, Ark. (eight bass, 13-05); and Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Mo. (seven bass, 13-03).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 11 pounds, 5 ounces in the Pro Division are Mike Foree of Osage Beach, Mo.; Tom Murphy of Richland, Mo.; Steve Ruff of Wentzville, Mo.; Wes Endicott of Joplin, Mo.; and Greg Ryan of Nixa, Mo.
Josh Wray of Harrison, Ark., earned $225 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Overall there were 140 bass weighing 275 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 136 pros Friday. The catch included five five-bass limits.
Kurt Evans of Hardy, 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, thanks to a two-day total of five bass weighing 12-09.
"I got out there and did a little jerk baiting," Evans said. "I suppose I just got lucky today."
Evans caught two bass on a jerk bait, two on a Shad Rap, and one on a flat-tailed grub off channel banks.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jamie Alan Horne of Jonesboro, Ark. (three bass, 6-01); Steve McFarland of Mountain Home, Ark. (two bass, 6-00); Lawrence Bean of Union, Mo. (two bass, 5-14); and Tory Iverson of Galena, Mo. (three bass, 5-12).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 5 pounds, 5 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Brad Baldwin of Dayton, Ohio; Chuck Lee of South Bend, Ind.; Howard Fulgham Jr. of Ash Flat, Ark.; Keith Abrams of West Plains, Mo.; and Robert Prebeck of Norwood, Mo.
Bean earned $119 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 3-pound, 4-ounce bass.
Overall there were 57 bass weighing 112 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 136 co-anglers Friday. No limits were caught.
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 Saturday morning from Henderson Point Park located at Highway 62 East in Henderson, Ark. Saturday's final 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. The takeoff and weigh-in 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.