OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Oct. 10, 2008) - Pro Michael Wooley of Collierville, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 9 pounds, 11 ounces Friday to retain his lead in the Stren Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on Lake of the Ozarks. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 42-05, he holds a slim 1-pound, 3-ounce lead over his closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
"I feel like I need to catch 15 pounds tomorrow, but I don't know if I can," said Wooley, who is fishing in his third year of Stren Series competition. "It seemed like half the field was on my fish today, and that put a lot of pressure on them and really hurt me."
Wooley said he had two fish in the livewell at 1 p.m. and then caught nine keepers in the next hour. Wooley said he caught his fish Friday by swimming a jig around docks and will employ the same tactic on the final day of competition.
Rounding out the top five pros are Wes Endicott of Joplin, Mo. (15 bass, 41-02); Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo. (15 bass, 40-00); Zack Bull of Lakeland, Tenn. (14 bass, 39-13); and Guido Hibdon of Sunrise Beach, Mo. (15 bass, 37-15).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 35 pounds, 14 ounces in the Pro Division are Eddy May of Valley Center, Kansas; Jerry Weisinger of Wyandotte, Okla.; Travis Fox of Springdale, Ark.; Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Mo.; and Mark Goines of Shady Point, Okla.
Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., earned $225 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass he caught. Overall there were 372 bass weighing 761 pounds, 8 ounces caught by pros Friday. The catch included 42 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.
Leo Reiter of Goshen, Ind., 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 three-day total of 15 bass weighing 40-13.
"It was a much tougher day today," said Reiter, who has seven top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events. "I had more keeper bites, but it was by far the toughest day.
"I caught them early today, which took a lot of pressure off of me," Reiter said. "I'm catching my limit on the shaky-head rig and catching the bigger fish on a swimming jig."
Reiter said he caught 10 fish - including eight keepers - during the course of the day. Reiter has an incredible 15-pound lead over the second place co-angler, and is the only co-angler to weigh a limit each of the first three days of competition.
"I think if I can catch two fish tomorrow that weigh a pound and a half apiece, I'll feel really confident that weight will reach," Reiter said. "Somebody could easily get a 15- to 18-pound bag tomorrow on the co-angler side. It's unlikely, but it's possible.
"I feel great about it," Reiter added. "No pressure at all. I'm just going to go fishing again."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Phil Shafer of Lake Ozark, Mo. (12 bass, 25-13); Tony Young of Depauw, Ind. (10 bass, 21-09); Bradley Rice of Pine Bluff, Ark. (eight bass, 18-11); and Robert Prebeck of Norwood, Mo. (10 bass, 18-04).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 14 pounds, 9 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Max Wilson of Everton, Mo.; Darrell Durham of St. Peters, Mo.; Juan Steenkamp of the Republic of South Africa; Andre Pretorius of the Republic of South Africa; and Charles McConnell of Jefferson City, Mo.
Eugene Robinett of Springfield, Mo., and Klaus Kuester of Forest Park, Ill., each earned $59 as they split the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a pair of 5-pound, 2-ounce bass.
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 Grand Glaize Recreation Area Public Beach No. 2 Boat Launch located at 711 Public Beach Rd in Osage Beach. Saturday's final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 4252 Hwy. 54 in Osage Beach beginning at 4 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-in 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.