NATCHITOCHES, La. (Sept. 25, 2008) - Pro Robert Kenyon of Cordova, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces Thursday to capture the lead in the Stren Series Texas Division bass fishing tournament on the Red River. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 25-13, he now holds a 1-pound lead over second place pro Danny Gulledge of Crossett, Ark., who was the Day 1 leader and managed to haul in a total of eight bass weighing 24-13 during the first two days of competition.
"It's taking all day to catch five," Kenyon said. "You've got to work hard for them. The fish are scattered, so you've got to have a lot of spots. I'm probably fishing 10 to 15 places."
Kenyon said current and water level seemed to have a great effect on the fish. Kenyon estimates the water level was up 8 inches to 1 foot from the first day of competition and made the fish react differently and change position related to cover and structure. Kenyon said he's catching eight to 10 fish a day, including seven keepers on Wednesday and five keepers on Thursday.
"Basically, guys are having to just go out and adapt to different conditions," Kenyon said. "Tomorrow I'm going to go start out like I did today and make small adjustments as I see fit. I've been fortunate the past two days to make good decisions."
Rounding out the top five pros are David Curtis of Trinity, Texas (10 bass, 24-10); Stephen Johnston of Hemphill, Texas (10 bass, 23-08); and Bob Weaver of Lawton, Okla. (10 bass, 23-01).
Kenyon earned $165 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught.
Overall there were 272 bass weighing 529 pounds even caught by pros Thursday. The catch included 27 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.
Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss., 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 9-12 while fishing with pro Peter Daniels of Shreveport, La., Wednesday and five bass weighing 9-09 while fishing with pro Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas, Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 19-05.
"We've just been moving around to several different spots and different water," said Hults, who has won more than $103,000 fishing as a co-angler in FLW Outdoors events. "I've caught them on several different baits - crankbaits, jigs, worms and some on a frog. Whatever the structure looks like, I'll just change the bait to match it.
"I've been real lucky and drawn two guys who were around some fish," Hults added. "That's been the big difference for me."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are David Underwood of Waco, Texas (nine bass, 18-12); Stephen Francis of Brookeland, Texas (nine bass, 18-09); Bennie Anderson of Grand Prairie, Texas (nine bass, 15-04); and Kit Getchell of Granbury, Texas (seven bass, 15-00).
Getchell earned $99 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught.
Overall there were 155 bass weighing 297 pounds, 7 ounces caught by co-anglers Thursday. The catch included five 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 each morning from Grand Encore Recreation Complex located at 234 Rufus Morgan Rd. in Natchitoches. Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 925 Keyser Ave. in Natchitoches beginning at 4 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.