BENTON, Ky. (May 25, 2006) - The $6 million Stren Series is headed to Kentucky Lake near Benton, Ky., June 7-10 for the first of four $262,125 regular-season Midwest Division events.
Anglers competing in the tournament presented by Yamaha will fish for a top pro award worth as much as $64,500, including a 519VX Ranger powered by an Evinrude or Yamaha outboard and equipped with a Minn Kota trolling motor, Lowrance electronics and EverStart batteries plus $10,000 cash. Pros will have the chance to earn an additional $10,000 bonus from Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. Ranger will award another $3,000 to the winner if he or she is a participant in the Ranger Cup program, or $1,500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant. Yamaha will match 50 percent of Ranger Cup earnings if the participant meets "Powered by Yamaha" guidelines.
Co-angler competitors will cast for a top award worth as much as $35,000, including a 519VX Ranger boat and trailer if contingency guidelines are met.
Competitors will also be vying for valuable points that could earn them a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Decatur, Ala., for a shot at $140,000 in the Pro Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. The highest-finishing pro and co-angler from each division at the Stren Series Championship will also qualify for the $2 million 2007 Forrest Wood Cup, where the winning pro will have a shot at bass fishing's first $1 million prize.
"I think we are going to hit both lakes at prime time," said Yamaha pro Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky., who has two wins and 25 top 10s on Kentucky Lake. "The fish will have recovered fully from the spawn and they should be out on the ledges and actively feeding."
Bolton, who finished an agonizingly-close second in the recent Wal-Mart FLW Tour event on Kentucky Lake due to an 8-ounce penalty, said crankbaits, Carolina rigs, worms and jigs will all play a role in the outcome of the Stren Series tournament.
"One or all of those baits will be in the top 10," he said. "It's going to take about 28 pounds to make the top 20 and the winner will average about 18 1/2 pounds a day."
Anglers will take off from Moors Resort and Marina at 6 each morning. Wednesday and Thursday's weigh-ins will also be held at the marina, which is located at 570 Moors Road in Gilbertsville, Ky., beginning at 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 310 W. Fifth Street in Benton beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
As many as 200 pros and 200 co-anglers will compete for two days to determine the top 20 pros and top 20 co-anglers who advance to day three based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three and anglers compete for 10 spots in each division on day four. Winners are determined by the heaviest accumulated weight from days three and four.
In Stren Series competition, pros supply the boats, fish from the front deck against other pros and control boat movement. Co-anglers fish from the back deck and compete against other co-anglers. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points that determine angler standings. Two hundred points are awarded to the winner, 199 points for second, 198 points for third, and so on. The top 40 pros and top 40 co-anglers from each of the Stren Series' five divisions - Central, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and Western - will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship on Wheeler Lake Nov. 1-4. The top 10 pros and top 10 co-anglers from each division also qualify for the Wal-Mart FLW Series, where they can compete for a share of $6.5 million in 2007.
Each Stren Series division features four regular-season tournaments.
The Kentucky Lake Stren Series event is hosted by the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce and Marshall County Tourist Commission. For more information, visit marshallcounty.net.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.
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