LA PLATA, Md. (Aug. 18, 2006) - Kellogg's pro Dave LeFebre of Union City, Penn., caught a five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces to lead day three of the Stren Series Northeast Division event on the Potomac River.
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 and Ranger owners' tournaments for bass fishing's first $1 million top award.
"Everything is going well and the tides are getting better everyday," said LeFebre, who is currently ranked eighth in the Stren Series Northeast Division. "My better fish are coming on the last hour of the outgoing tide and the first hour of the incoming tide."
LeFebre is tight-lipped about his choice of baits going into the final day. Apparently, he is using a prototype bait by Mizmo.
"It's a finesse, flipping-type bait," he said. "That's about all I'm going to say about it right now."
Rounding out the top five pros are Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 2 ounces); David Borodziuk of Audubon Park, N.J. (five bass, 15 pounds, 9 ounces); James Kemper of Frankfort, Ky. (five bass, 15 pounds, 8 ounces); and George Acord Jr., of Lancaster, Penn. (five bass, 15 pounds, 5 ounces).
Mike Orbell of Silver Spring, Md., 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. He caught five bass weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces, while fishing with pro Bill Day of Frankfort, Ky., who finished the tournament in 16th place.
"I'm pretty nervous right now," said Orbell, who made the top-10 cut for the first time in his FLW Stren Series career. "I'll probably be that way until they sound the horn in the morning."
Orbell flipped a 1/4-oz., FLW jig to grass edges to gain nearly a 2 1/2-pound lead over the rest of the field.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C. (three bass, 10 pounds, 8 ounces); Leroy Harriott of Woodbridge, Va. (three bass, 10 pounds, 5 ounces); Kenneth Hoffman of Scotia, N.Y. (three bass, 8 pounds, 2 ounces); and Christopher Burns of Moncure, N.C. (four bass, 5 pounds, 14 ounces).
Anglers will take off from Smallwood State Park at 6:30 Saturday morning and the weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 40 Drury Road in La Plata 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 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.
The Potomac River Stren Series event is hosted by the Charles County Office of Tourism in cooperation with the Maryland Office of Tourism. For more information, call 1-800-766-3386.
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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