OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2007) - Pro Scott Browning of Franklin, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 21 pounds, 13 ounces Wednesday to lead opening day of the $275,225 Stren Series Southeast Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee.
"It feels great. This was definitely a boost for my confidence," said Scott Browning, who has five top-10 finishes with FLW Outdoors. "The key to the rest of the week is to stay with the big bites. I'm targeting pre-spawn bass, and if I can find the right females feeding, I can stay on top. With this new format I feel pretty good, but the pressure isn't off by any means."
Browning is following a typical Lake Okeechobee pattern by flipping and pitching an array of soft plastics in and around the grass mats. "If I can find the right grass mats and the right group of fish, I can stay competitive," he said.
Rounding out the top five pros are Tony Hogan of McDavid, Fla. (five bass, 18-5); Justin Schwier of Okeechobee, Fla. (five bass, 18-00); David Williams of Marshall, N.C. (five bass, 17-4); and Christopher Lane of Winter Haven, Fla. (five bass, 16-2).
Ken Ellis of Bowman, S.C., earned $300 for the Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 9-pound bass.
Overall, in the pro division Wednesday, there were 864 fish caught weighing 1,638 pounds and 2 ounces with 140 quality sized limits recorded.
Grady Allen of Columbia, S.C., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 16 pounds while fishing with pro Travis Adams of Danielsville, Ga., who is currently in 168th place with four bass weighing 4-09.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Larry Butler of New Haven, Vt. (five bass, 15-3); Michael McCoy of Jupiter, Fla. (five bass, 15-2); Ralph Myhlhousen of Orlando, Fla. (five bass, 13-6); and Tony Arnold of Greenback, Tenn. (five bass, 11-4).
Co-angler leader Grady Allen also earned $150 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught.
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.
Anglers will take off at 7:30 each morning from C. Scott Driver Park located at 10100 W. Highway 78 in Okeechobee, Fla. Thursday and Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2101 South Parrott Avenue in Okeechobee, Fla., 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.