Jordan Retains Lead at Stren Series Bass Fishing Event on Lake Eufaula
EUFAULA, Ala. (March 13, 2008) -- Pro Frank Jordan Jr. of Bainbridge, Ga., caught a five-bass limit weighing 10 pounds, 7 ounces Thursday to retain a lead in the Stren Series Southeast Division tournament on Lake Eufaula. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 35-05, he now holds a 5-ounce lead over second place pro Michael Brown of Rocky Face, Ga., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 35-00 during the first two days of competition.
"I went where I caught my big fish yesterday," Jordan said. "I caught a few fish there, but nothing big. There was a lot of boater traffic, and I think that was hurting it."
Describing the day as similar to yesterday, Jordan has been using two patterns to catch his bass—shallow fish and prespawn fish in deep water. He said the bite was really scattered and not very consistent.
"We had a lot of sunshine; it was a really pretty day," Jordan said. "It was good for fishing, but not for catching."
Rounding out the top five pros are Ryan Ingram of Phenix City, Ala. (10 bass, 34-05); Adam Postelle of Rocky Face, Ga. (10 bass, 33-06); and Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla. (10 bass, 33-05).
Brown earned $280 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass.
Overall there were 694 bass weighing 1,659 pounds, 2 ounces caught by 183 pros Thursday. The catch included 98 five-bass limits.
Roger Mason of Heflin, Ala., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met. He caught five bass weighing 12-08 while fishing with pro Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C., Wednesday and five bass weighing 15-03 while fishing with pro Nicolas Supik of Natrona Heights, Pa., Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 27-11.
"We fished shallow water," Mason said. "We were throwing spinnerbaits, ChatterBaits and even some crankbaits."
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Butch Zadlo of Boone, N.C. (10 bass, 25-01); Daniel Beckham of Lake City, Fla. (seven bass, 22-06); Jason Ober of Johnstown, Pa. (eight bass, 21-06); and Jamie Bladow of Houston, Ala. (eight bass, 20-11).
William Combs of Villa Rica, Ga., earned $142 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Overall there were 434 bass weighing 944 pounds, 1 ounce caught by 183 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 29 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 7 each morning from Lakepoint State Park located at 104 Lakepoint Drive in Eufaula, Ala. Friday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1252 South Eufaula Ave. in Eufaula, Ala., 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 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.
