Wellman and Carman Lead Stren Bass Fishing Event on Kentucky Lake
BENTON, Ky. (May 2, 2008) - Tied for first place in the Stren Series Central Division tournament on Kentucky Lake are pros Nate Wellman of Jenison, Mich., and Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky. Wellman caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces Friday to maintain his lead, while Carman moved into the first place position after catching five bass weighing 18 pounds, 7 ounces on the third day of competition. With three-day catches of 15 bass weighing 50-10, the pros hold a 1-pound, 14-ounce lead over their closest competitor heading into the final day of competition.
Wellman plans to stay on Kentucky Lake for the final day of the competition. "Today was a tough day; I broke one off and had one jump off, but I still feel pretty good about tomorrow," said Wellman, who has won over $97,000 in FLW Outdoors events since 2001. "If I can get the bites in the boat, it should get really interesting. I have serious potential for bringing in a huge bag of fish."
A wave of strong storms moved in while Wellman was making the 20-mile run back to the marina, creating low visibility.
"I was 1.3 miles from the 68 bridge and couldn't see it until I was half a mile away," Wellman said. "The only reason I knew it was there was because of my GPS. I have to tip my hat to Lowrance; I wouldn't have gotten back without it."
If weather permits on Saturday, Carman plans to make the 50-mile run to Lake Barkley to catch his bass.
"I was fishing really shallow," said Carman, who has already had nine top-10 finishes in Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and Stren Series tournaments. "I have been running about 50 miles to fish in Barkley, but today I stayed close and fished within 5 miles of Moors."
Rounding out the top five pros are Ramie Colson Jr. of Cadiz, Ky. (15 bass, 48-12); Troy Eakins of Nixa, Mo. (15 bass, 47-11) and Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo. (15 bass, 47-07).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 45 pounds, 5 ounces in the Pro Division are Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio; Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla.; Mark Rose of Marion, Ark.; David Young of Mayfield, Ky.; and Michael Wooley of Collierville, Tenn.
Zack Bull of Lakeland, Tenn., earned $295 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Overall there were 654 bass weighing 1,789 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 199 pros Friday. The catch included 83 five-bass limits.
B.J. Nelson of Louisa, Ky., leads the Co-angler Division in the chase for a top award of $35,000, including a 198VX Ranger if contingency guidelines are met, thanks to a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 38-05.
"I've been doing the same thing all week-fishing shallow," Nelson said. "With all the pros I've had, the farthest we've run has been 5 miles."
Nelson bagged four keepers, but couldn't manage to pull in a fifth.
"I had the fifth one on three different times, but couldn't get it in the boat," Nelson said.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mitch Greenwood of Russellville, Ky. (12 bass, 31-00); Lawrence Bean of Union, Mo. (11 bass, 28-04); Tim Cummings of Waynesboro, Tenn. (10 bass, 28-01); and Lonnie Seawood of Hamtramck, Mich. (10 bass, 28-00).
Also clearing the top 10 cut weight of 26 pounds, 7 ounces in the Co-angler Division are Clint Williams of Fayetteville, Ark.; Tim Rhoades of Leitchfield, Ky.; Joey Rogers of Mayfield, Ky.; Arnold Payne Jr. of Cuba, Mo.; and Justin Russell of El Dorado, Kan.
Williams earned $148 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught on a spinnerbait.
Overall there were 319 bass weighing 822 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 199 co-anglers Friday. The catch included 9 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 6:30 Saturday morning from Moors Resort & Marina located at 570 Moors Road in Gilbertsville, Ky. Saturday's final weigh-in will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 310 West Main St. in Benton, Ky., beginning at 4 p.m. The takeoff and weigh-in 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.
