DENISON, Texas (April 28, 2006) - Pro Rick Turner of Tyler, Texas, caught five bass weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces to lead day three of the Stren Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Texoma.
"It was a lot tougher than yesterday due to the weather," said Turner, who had a combined weight of 31 pounds coming into day three and was the leader on the pro side. "I could only fish two of my spots because of the wind and rain. I don't have anything else, so I'm going to have to do the same thing tomorrow."
Turner concentrated his efforts on rocks in deeper water targeting smallmouths with a Spot Remover jighead and Zoom green-pumpkin finesse worm. Tomorrow's weather is expected to be similar to today's with winds of 10 to 20 miles-per-hour and scattered thunderstorms. Such conditions make it difficult for anglers fishing finesse baits.
Rounding out the top five pros are Toby Hartsell of Livingston, Texas (five bass, 12 pounds, 13 ounces); Larry Rea of Stigler, Okla. (five bass, 12 pounds, 9 ounces); Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas (five bass, 12 pounds, 7 ounces); and Don Mcfarlin of Gordonville, Texas (five bass, 11 pounds, 8 ounces).
Brian Branum of Longview, Texas 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. Branum brought in a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 5 ounces.
"It was a great day all the way around," said Branum, who earned his second top 10 of the season on day three. "I was paired with John Cox, who found a lot of fish during practice, but was having a hard time catching them. While he targeted lay-downs and other objects with a spinnerbait, I followed up with a finesse-worm on a Giggy Head. My first fish was a 4-pound largemouth, followed by a 2-pounder and another fish over 4 pounds."
Branum fished his 1/8 -ounce Giggy Head around small boulders on a flat near a steep drop.
"I would swim the bait by the boulders and off the drop," said Branum, who is the owner of Tour Tackle which makes the Giggy Head jig. "The fish would either hit it around the basketball-sized boulders or after it slid down the drop."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas (four bass, 8 pounds, 12 ounces); K.D. Moore of Euless, Texas (four bass, 7 pounds, 10 ounces); Kenny Moser of Alba, Texas (four bass, 6 pounds, 7 ounces) and Bill Gift of Alix, Ark. (three bass, 6 pounds, 1 ounce).
Anglers take off at 7 each morning from Highport Marina located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 401 Highway 75 North 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 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.