OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Jan. 6, 2007) - Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Southeast Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 60-2. For his victory, Browne earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 519VX Ranger boat. He also earned $3,000 in a Ranger Cup bonus for a total of $68,000 in winnings.
"This is totally awesome, it is a very big win for me," said Browne, who captured his first Stren Series victory. "I struggled today. The bite was completely different. I had my confidence built up in the crankbait bite but it just wasn't happening today. After going fishless for sometime, I decided to pick up my big flipping stick and try something new. I covered a lot of water targeting patches of reeds and it paid off. Not to long after I started flipping I caught my big 6-14 kicker fish that put me over the top."
Browne opened the tournament in 9th place Wednesday with five bass weighing 15-5 that he caught throwing a Berkley Frenzy crankbait around rocky banks. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 21-13 following the same pattern to capture his lead. He then caught five bass weighing 8-4 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in first place.
Rounding out the top five pros are BF Goodrich pro Chad Grigsby of Maple Grove, Minn. (20 bass, 57-13, $10,000 plus $5,000 Ranger bonus); Matthew Parker of Whitesburg, Ga. (20 bass, 55-4, $9,000); Scott Browning of Franklin, N.C. (20 bass, 55-3, $8,000); and Sam Bass of Section, Ala. (20 bass, 55-2, $7,000).
Overall, in the pro division Saturday, there were 44 fish caught weighing 97 pounds, 8 ounces with seven limits.
Chuck Webb of Sarasota, Fla., won the Co-angler Division and $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger boat, with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 35-3.
"I can't even describe it, this is one of the best days of my life," said Webb, who was the only co-angler to weigh in a five fish limit on the final day. "The fishing was real tough today. We really had to work hard for our fish today. We didn't have anything in the livewell until 1:00. We had a late bite but we got it done."
Webb caught five bass weighing 6-11 Wednesday while fishing with pro Jerry Kelley of Wewahitchka, Fla., to open the tournament in 66th place. He then caught five bass weighing 10-4 Thursday while fishing with pro Tommy Hatfield of Kissimmee, Fla., to land him in 23rd place. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 10-11 to make the top 10 cut in 3rd place while fishing with pro Ronald Yurko of East Point, Fla. Finally, on Saturday, he sealed the win with a five-bass limit weighing 7-9 while flipping grass mats with Texas-rigged soft-plastics behind pro Scott Browning of Franklin, N.C.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ralph Myhlhousen of Orlando, Fla. (16 bass, 35-1, $4,000); Brady Nelson of Palmetto, Fla. (17 bass, 30-13, $3,250); Aaron Fahnestock of Enterprise, Ala. (13 bass, 30-12, $2,500); and Al Reed of Tequesta, Fla. (17 bass, 30-10, $2,000).
The next Stren Series Southeast Division event, hosted by the Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce, will be held Jan. 31-Feb. 3 on Lake Seminole in Bainbridge, Ga. Boats will launch from Bainbridge Earl Mae Boat Basin in Bainbridge and the final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 500 East Alice Street in Bainbridge.
After four qualifying events are complete in each of the Stren Series' five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup, where they will compete against top pros from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series and TBF (The Bass Federation) for $1 million.
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 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.