FORT MADISON, Iowa (Aug. 10, 2006) - Pro Lloyd Pickett of Bartlett, Tenn., caught a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces to bring his two-day total to 10 fish weighing 28 pounds, 4 ounces to lead both day one and two of the Stren Series Midwest Division bass fishing tournament on the Mississippi River.
With unstable weather conditions, the anglers have to be versatile with their patterns to pull decent limits of bass. The combination of pressured bass with severe weather on the horizon will ultimately make the fishing more of a challenge. Anglers will have to employ multiple patterns to figure out these finicky fish to make a showing in the semi-final round where the field is cut to the top 20 anglers.
"Everything worked well today," said Pickett who had boat malfunctions yesterday leaving him confined to a few close spots. "I could have run to a few more spots today but the weather convinced me to stay. They were forecasting heavy winds and rain so I stayed close. Tomorrow is my 23rd wedding anniversary so I'm ready to go fish harder than I have before to impress my wife and maybe bring home a good check."
Pickett was fishing about 6 miles from the launch site throwing a SPRO topwater frog and flipping a tube in grass and pads in 3 to 4 feet of water.
Rounding out the top five pros are William Davis of Russellville, Ala. (10 bass, 27 pounds, 14 ounces); Bill Walker of Mulkeytown, Ill. (10 bass bass, 26 pounds, 13 ounces); Jim Jones of Big Bend, Wis., and Mark Rose of Marion, Ark. Tied with (10 bass, 26 pounds).
Steve Marler of Fenton, Mo., earned $450 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass.
John Farmer of Crete, Ill., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. Today, he caught four bass weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces bringing his two-day total to seven fish weighing 16 pounds and 7 ounces. He was fishing with pro Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., who is currently in 120th place.
"Other than the weather, it was a very good day," said Farmer. "The weather played havoc with us today; the fish didn't want to bite unless it was calm. We had three fronts come through and when the weather picked up the fish wouldn't bite."
"I am looking forward to tomorrow, I drew Lloyd Pickett as my boater and he is fishing exactly the way I want to fish," said Farmer.
Farmer was swimming a jig over grass and pads in 1 to 4 feet of water to catch his bass.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Tom Medlock of Licking, Mo. (8 bass, 16 pounds, 2 ounces); Timothy Vieth of Marthasville, Mo. (6 bass, 15 pounds, 13 ounces); Bud Strader of Rockwood, Tenn. (6 bass, 14pounds, 13 ounces); and Kevin Whitaker of West Chicago, Ill. (6 bass, 14 pounds,8 ounces).
Chuck Rounds of Benton, Ky., earned $190 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 4-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Anglers will take off at 6 each morning from Captain Kirk's Marina located at 902 4th street in Fort Madison, Iowa. Today's weigh-in was held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 324 West Agency Road in West Burlington, Iowa, 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 three rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 20 pros and co-anglers - based on two-day accumulated weights - advance to day three. Anglers start at zero Thursday and compete for 10 spots in each division in the final round. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.