FLORENCE, Ala. (June 6, 2008) - Pro William Davis of Russellville, Ala., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 5 ounces Friday to capture his lead in the Stren Series Southeast Division bass fishing tournament on Pickwick Lake. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 53-05, he holds a slim 10-ounce lead over his closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
"It has everything to do with timing," Davis said. "The wind started blowing on the first day of the tournament and that changed the way I was going to fish. Overall, this week has been gone the way that I wanted. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have the right timing to come out on top."
Davis caught a total of 25 keepers today from 25 different key areas on Pickwick. He said that he has had better luck in the afternoon.
"Out of my 25 key areas about 23 of them had boats on them," Davis said. "Tomorrow should be better since I am the first boat out."
Rounding out the top five pros are Ryan Rigsby of Hixson, Tenn. (15 bass, 52-10); Todd Rasberry of Florence, Ala. (15 bass, 51-10); Randy Haynes of Counce, Tenn. (15 bass, 51-02); and Michael Murphy of Gilbert, S.C. (15 bass, 47-12).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 40 pounds, 6 ounces in the Pro Division are Curt McGuire of Lawrenceburg, Tenn.; Bob Garrison of Baldwyn, Miss.; Jonathan Newton of Rogersville, Ala.; Jason Lambert of Savannah, Tenn.; Brandon Perkins of Counce, Tenn.
Mark Rose earned $256 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Overall there were 752 bass weighing 1,490 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 157 pros Friday. The catch included 140 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.
Aaron Fahnestock of Enterprise, 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, thanks to a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37-02.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Doug Back of Jackson, Ky. (15 bass, 35-05); Perry Kennedy of Florence, Ala. (15 bass, 35-03); Greg Hamblin of New Albany, Miss., (15 bass, 33-01); and Daniel Costley of Memphis, Tenn. (15 bass, 31-15).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 30 pounds, 2 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Scotty Gasaway of Dennis, Miss.; Ty Solis of Albany, Ga.; Kenneth Owens of Wise, Va.; Larry Breckenridge of Dothan, Ala.; and Shayne Anderson of Iuka, Miss.
Ty Hester of Russellville, Ala., earned $134 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound bass.
Overall there were 640 bass weighing 1036 pounds, 6 ounces caught by 160 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 95 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 6:30 Saturday morning from McFarland Park located at 200 James M. Spain Drive in Florence. Saturday's final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 3100 Hough Road in Florence, 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.