Pro Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the $275,225 Stren Series Texas Division tournament on Toledo Bend with a four-day total of 20 bass weighing 76-8. For his victory, Cecil earned $25,000 cash and a $40,000 519VX Ranger boat powered by Yamaha.
“I am really excited about this win,” said Cecil, who has won over $210,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. “I had a great practice before the event, so I knew it was going to be a good tournament”
“I got lucky and caught a limit every day,” said Cecil. “I fished the way I did in practice and had a great tournament.
Cecil opened the tournament in fourth place Wednesday with five bass weighing 20-12. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 13-7. He then caught five bass weighing 22-6 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in first place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Harold Allen of Shelbyville, Texas (19 bass, 67-8, $8,082); Mark Allen of Kemp, Texas (20 bass, 64-12, $7,274 plus $5,000 Ranger bonus); Stephen Johnston of Hemphill, Texas (20 bass, 62-15, $6,466); and Stan Burgay of Timpson, Texas (18 bass, 60-8, $5,657).
Harold Allen caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Thursday – a 9-pound, 9-ounce largemouth – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $243.
Overall there were 37 bass weighing 101 pounds caught by eight pros Saturday. The catch included 5 five-bass limits.
Blake Martin of Hemphill, Texas, won the Co-angler Division and $5,000, with a four-day total of 15 bass weighing 40-2.
Martin caught five bass weighing 14-6 Wednesday, to open the tournament in first place. He then caught five bass weighing 11-8 Thursday to maintain his lead. On Friday he added five more bass weighing 14-4 to make the top 10 cut in first place.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Michael Savage of Clever, Mo. (16 bass, 37-14, $3,391); Bo Middleton of Elgin, Okla. (12 bass, 33-01, $2,756); Wesley Schubert of Conroe, Texas (13 bass, 30-10, $2,120); and Tim Achee of Hemphill, Texas (12 bass, 27-8, $1,696).
John Ellender Jr. of Hemphill, Texas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Wednesday – an 8-pound, 4-ounce largemouth – that earned him the day’s Snickers Big Bass award of $128.
Overall there were 18 bass weighing 38 pounds, 10 ounces caught by eight co-anglers Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limits.
The next Stren Series Texas Division event, hosted by the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held Oct. 17-20 on Lake Texoma in Denison, Texas. Boats will launch from Highport Marina in Pottsboro and the final wei gh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 401 N. US Hwy. 75 in Denison.
After four qualifying events are complete in each of the Stren Series’ five divisions, the top 40 pros from each division will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship in Mobile, Ala., Nov. 8-11 for a shot at $140,000. The highest-finishing pro from each division at the championship will also earn a spot in the $2 million 2008 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 Tournament Championship Series and TBF (The Bass Federation) for bass fishing’s biggest prize – $1 million.
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 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.
FLW Outdoors historically maintains a 98 percent live release rate in all of its bass tournaments.
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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
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 FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.By: Jayme Gordon
