BENTON, Ky. (June 8, 2006) - Pro Sam Lashlee of Camden, Tenn., caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41 pounds, 5 ounces to lead day two of the Stren Series Midwest Division event on Kentucky/Barkley lakes. Pros are competing for as much as $64,500 and valuable points that could qualify them for a trip to the $1 million Stren Series Championship for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the Stren Series Championship will also earn a spot in the new $2 million 2007 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, Ranger owners' tournaments and The Bass Federation for bass fishing's first $1 million top award. Fresh off a $100,000 win on the Wal-Mart FLW Series at Old Hickory Lake, Lashlee has certainly been on a hot streak. It's apparent that Lashlee is talented at offshore-ledge fishing, as this is how he caught his bass throughout the week at Old Hickory and it's how he has continued to catch them this week on Kentucky Lake.
Lashlee has been fishing in Tennessee waters, and his run on day two was one of 70 to 80 miles. He's been throwing both a blue and chartreuse Strike King Series 6 crankbait as well as a football-head jig.
"We stopped at one of my first spots and they just didn't seem to be there, so we picked up and ran almost all the way to my house. We pulled up there and I told my co-angler that we were going to catch them here. We fished about 10 minutes, whacked them and left."
While Lashlee's fish on day one came on the deepest side of a ledge, from water pushing 30 feet deep, he reported that his bass on day two were on the top of a very shallow ledge. "We had the boat sitting in 12 feet of water and were casting up into 6 feet of water," Lashlee said.
Rounding out the top five pros are Mike Sheffer of Morganfield, Ky. (10 bass, 36 pounds, 11 ounces); Drew Lynch of Paducah, Ky. (10 bass, 36 pounds, 7 ounces); Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas (10 bass, 36 pounds, 6 ounces); and Shawn Penn of Eddyville, Ky. (10 bass, 35 pounds, 9 ounces).
Penn, a well-known Kentucky Lake pro, caught a 7-pound, 2-ounce lunker, which earned him the big-bass award in the Pro Division and a check for $750.
Jeramiah Sifers of Sellersburg, Ind., 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. Sifers led day one as well, and rounded out day two with 10 bass weighing 33 pounds, 5 ounces. Sifers fished with Lashlee on day two.
"Sam's a good friend of mine and he's an excellent fisherman," Sifers said. "I had my limit and was done by 10 a.m., so I just sat back, ate a sandwich and netted fish for Sam."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Meuth of Henderson, Ky. (eight bass, 26 pounds, 13 ounces); Doug Barton of Pittsburg, Mo. (10 bass, 26 pounds); Billy Sneed of Bowling Green, Ky. (10 bass, 24 pounds, 11 ounces) and Scott Cloutier of Rochester, Minn., and Chuck Rounds of Benton, Ky., tied for fifth. Cloutier caught eight bass weighing 24 pounds, 8 ounces, while Rounds landed nine bass weighing 24 pounds, 8 ounces.
Fred McCormick of Greenville, Ind., earned an additional $250 as winner of the big-bass award, thanks to a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Anglers will take off each morning from Moors Resort and Marina in Gilbertsville, Ky., at 6 a.m. Friday and Saturday's weigh-in will be held at 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 310 West 5th Street in Benton. 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.
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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