Andrews Retains Stren Series Lead at California Delta
Category: Tournament
May 15th, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified May 15th, 2008 at 12:00 AM
OAKLEY, Calif. (May 15, 2008) – Pro Mike Andrews of Oakley, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds Thursday to retain the lead in the Stren Series Western Division tournament on the California Delta. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 60-03, he now holds an 8-pound, 8-ounce lead over second place pro Zack Thompson of Orinda, Calif., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 51-11 during the first two days of competition.
"I really don't know why the fishing was so different," Andrews said. "I think that boat traffic and fishing pressure has affected the fish. Also, the tide is later each day.
"Yesterday, my primary spot, where I caught all my fish didn't produce today. I caught two keepers in the first 10 minutes so I thought it might be a good day, but that was all I caught. I went to my second spot and caught two more fish. Then, I went three hours without catching a fish."
Andrews said that he plans to run south tomorrow to fish the high tide.
"I want to fish the high water since I am catching them better then. I will run about 30 minutes to catch the high tide," said Andrews. "Hopefully, I will catch at least 20 pounds and I think that 25 pounds will keep me in the lead."
Rounding out the top five pros are Jeremy Zipton of Discovery Bay, Calif. (10 bass, 49-15); Timothy Venkus of Wilton, Calif. (10 bass, 49-10); and Hunter Schlander of Modesto, Calif. (10 bass, 49-03).
Dugan Mcintosh of Palermo, Calif., earned $280 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 10-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Overall there were 828 bass weighing 2,421 pounds caught by 179 pros Thursday. The catch included 148 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing for as much as $65,000, including a 198VX Ranger powered by Evinrude or Yamaha if contingency guidelines are met, and valuable points toward qualifying for the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Branson, Mo., Nov. 5-8 for a shot at $140,000. After four qualifying events are complete in each of the circuit's five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the championship. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2009 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® and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing's biggest prize – $1 million.
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Aaron Reitz of Soda Springs, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 16-00 while fishing with pro Richard Dobyns of Yuba City, Calif., Wednesday and five bass weighing 22-04 while fishing with pro Bart Corrie of Brentwood, Calif., Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 38-04.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Charles Peak of San Jose, Calif. (10 bass, 34-06); Dean Krambeck of Vandenberg, Calif. (10 bass, 33-13); Tony Gold of El Dorado Hills, Calif. (10 bass, 32-13); and Joseph Bricker of Pleasanton, Calif. (10 bass, 32-07).
Tommie Goldston of Gardnerville, Nev., earned $142 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 9-pound, 13-ounce bass.
Overall there were 706 bass weighing 1,662 pounds, 11 ounces caught by 174 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 95 five-bass limits.
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 2009 Forrest Wood Cup.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 each morning from Russo's Marina located at 3995 Willow Road in Bethel Island, Calif. Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 4893 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, Calif., 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.
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