Parsons Leads Texoma Stren Series for Second Day
Category: Tournament
May 9th, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified May 9th, 2008 at 12:00 AM
DENISON, Texas (May 9, 2008) – Pro Dave Parsons of Yantis, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces Friday to widen his lead in the Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Lake Texoma. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 45-13, he holds a 3-pound, 1-ounce lead over his closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
“I started the day by going to where I quit yesterday,” said Parsons, who has had both the biggest bass and heaviest bag of the tournament. “The fish had moved off the structure I’d been catching them on, so I struggled a little bit and had to change gears. I think it was just because of the pressure and sunny skies, but I was eventually able to catch them a little farther out.”
Keeping the same four rods on the deck, Parsons caught his best fish this morning on a spinnerbait. Parsons said he’d caught most of his bass flipping, but had more trouble today than the previous two days of competition, not catching his fifth fish until 2 p.m.
“Tomorrow I have an all new game plan; I won’t even go back to that stuff,” Parsons said. “I might go back there late in the day to try to catch a kicker, but I’m going where I know I can put a limit in the boat early and start to cull up the rest of the day.”
Parsons had to move around a lot today and plans to go wherever he needs to tomorrow to catch a good limit.
“I’m just going to be out there grinding it out,” Parsons said. “I’m just tickled to death to be where I am, and tomorrow I’ll let the chips fall where they may.”
Rounding out the top five pros are Robert Robinson of Mobile, Ala. (15 bass, 42-12); Chris McCall of Jasper, Texas (15 bass, 41-03); Tim Harp of Pottsboro, Texas (15 bass, 40-05); and James Stricklin Jr. of Jasper, Texas (15 bass, 38-07).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 35 pounds, 6 ounces in the Pro Division are Shane Gibson of Kilgore, Texas; Keith Cullum of Corith, Texas; Jerry Green of Del Rio, Texas; Shonn Goodwin of Moore, Okla.; and Gene Robertson of Ardmore, Okla.
Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas, earned $218 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass.
Overall there were 433 bass weighing 923 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 131 pros Friday. The catch included 58 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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George Coffman of Marlow, Okla., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met, thanks to a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 35-04.
“I’ve fished a lot of tournaments, but this is my first with FLW Outdoors, and it’s a first-class event,” said Coffman, who is the superintendent of Marlow Public Schools in Oklahoma. “I had a blast, and I want everyone to know that.”
Coffman caught most of his fish on a crankbait and had a limit by 7 a.m.
“I culled four or five times, so I could have probably had three limits,” Coffman said. “I had a great day and partner who put me on some pretty good fish with him, and anytime you have 14-05 on Texoma is great. If I don’t catch a fish tomorrow, it’s still been a great experience.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Stephen Francis of Brookeland, Texas (15 bass, 32-11); Gary Evans of Basalt, Colo. (11 bass, 27-03); David Underwood of Waco, Texas (11 bass, 23-08); and Rusty Harvey of Nederland, Texas (10 bass, 23-01).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 20 pounds, 13 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Chris Bobo of Sherman, Texas; Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla.; Terry Rose of Eastland, Texas; Darin Deatherage of Shawnee, Okla.; and Zac Cassill of Fairfax, Iowa.
Francis earned $116 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Overall there were 216 bass weighing 439 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 131 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 11 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 Saturday morning from Highport located at 120 Texoma Harbor Drive in Pottsboro, Texas. Saturday’s final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 401 U.S. North Highway 75 in Denison, Texas, beginning at 4 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-in 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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