DENISON, Texas (May 7, 2008) - Pro David Curtis of Trinity, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 4 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the Stren Series Texas Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Texoma.
"It was an incredible day," said Curtis, who has won four tournaments and amassed over $440,000 with FLW Outdoors. "It totally outweighed my expectations. I've struggled during a lot of competition days on this lake; it was just a phenomenal day."
Remaining tight-lipped about any specific baits he used, Curtis said he was "junk fishing."
"I did a lot of running around today," Curtis said. "I didn't have any long runs. I just covered a lot of water."
Rounding out the top five pros are Cody Martin of Taylor, Texas (five bass, 17-04); Robert Robinson of Mobile, Ala. (five bass, 15-08); Marty Sugg of Pattonville, Texas (five bass, 15-07); and David Mauldin of Tomball, Texas (five bass, 15-01).
Curtis earned $218 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Overall there were 487 bass weighing 1,093 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 131 pros Wednesday. The catch included 62 five-bass limits.
Dan Wilson of Pilot Point, Texas, 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 12-11 while fishing with pro David Truax of Beaumont, Texas, who is currently in 62nd place.
"Actually, the boater wasn't on anything, so he let me fish my water," Wilson said. "That helped some, since this is my home lake."
Wilson described today's conditions as very windy and rough, with rain and lightening.
"I caught my fish on a spinnerbait, and we were just fishing windy points," Wilson said. "I caught numerous stripers and white bass with largemouth mixed in."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are George Coffman of Marlow, Okla. (five bass, 12-01); Anthony Ferdinando of Spicewood, Texas (four bass, 11-15); Rusty Harvey of Nederland, Texas (five bass, 11-11); and Mike Moody of Flint, Texas (four bass, 11-05).
Chris Bobo of Sherman, Texas, earned $116 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass.
Overall there were 267 bass weighing 560 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 131 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included 14 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 Highpoint Marina located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas. Thursday and Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 401 U.S. North Highway 75 in Denison, Texas, 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.