DENISON, Texas (April 29, 2006) - Pro Tommy Dickerson of Orange, Texas, caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 2 ounces to win the Stren Series Central Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Texoma Saturday. Dickerson won a 519VX Ranger plus $10,000 cash.
"I said I wasn't going to buy a new boat, unless I won one," said Dickerson, who caught a five-fish limit today weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces. "Now I have a new Ranger with a 200 horse Yamaha outboard. I'm just tickled to death."
Dickerson concentrated his efforts around boat docks fishing for largemouths. He used a 1/4-ounce white jig on 20-pound-test line to catch bass suspending under the docks.
"I was catching 20 to 25 keepers a day on docks," said Dickerson, whose last win was on Sam Rayburn in 1998. "I pulled up on one boat house today and caught 25 keepers in one hour. But the water was getting muddy quick and when it did the bite was over."
Rounding out the top five pros are A&W pro Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas (10 bass, 23 pounds, 11 ounces, $10,000 plus $1,500 Ranger Cup earnings); Larry Rea of Stigler, Okla. (10 bass, 23 pounds, 5 ounces, $8,750); Rick Turner of Tyler, Texas (eight bass, 20 pounds, 13 ounces, $7,750); and Don Mcfarlin of Gordonville, Texas (eight bass, 20 pounds, 8 ounces, 7,250).
Bill Gift of Alix, Ark., won the Co-angler Division and earned a 519VX Ranger and $5,000 cash. Gift brought in an eight-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces.
"I owe this win to my partners," said Gift, who won a 2004 Stren Series event on the Red River. "They were a great bunch of anglers and they put me on fish each and every day. I couldn't ask for anything more than that."
Gift fished a homemade black and blue jig that he tied himself to catch a five-bass limit today weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces. He fished the jig around break walls in marinas lined with used tires.
"Some fish hit it on the fall; others hit it while I was swimming it around the tires," Gift said.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are K.D. Moore of Euless, Texas (10 bass, 15 pounds, 14 ounces, $4,100); Brian Branum of Longview, Texas (six bass, 14 pounds, 8 ounces, $3,400); Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas (seven bass, 13 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,400) Ronnie Bickham of New Boston, Texas (four bass, 11 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,900).
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.