Walker Leads Stren Series Bass Fishing Event on Sam Rayburn
JASPER, Texas (Feb. 21, 2008) – Pro Phillip Walker of Spring Branch , Texas, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces Thursday to capture the lead in the Stren Series Texas Division tournament presented by Yamaha on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 37-07, he now holds an 1-pound, 9-ounce lead over second place pro James Stricklin Jr. of Jasper, Texas, who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 35-14 during the first two days of competition.
Rounding out the top five pros are Russell Cecil of Willis, Texas (nine bass, 35-00); Brandon Crouch of Buna, Texas (10 bass, 34-15); and Gary Vining of Morgan City, La. (10 bass, 34-06).
"The fishing was tough today and I didn't execute very well," said Cecil, who has earned more than $220,000 in career earnings with FLW Outdoors. "The fog was a big problem today. It came in right after takeoff and stayed all day. I didn't want to take a chance, so I stayed close and didn't get to fish my key areas.
"I had my opportunity and I lost some good fish today. Even with the circumstances, I feel confident about making the top-10 cut," he added. "I think I will need to catch 13 to 14 pounds to make it to Saturday."
Walker earned $268 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 9-pound, 7-ounce bass.
Overall there were 697 bass weighing 1,653 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 173 pros Thursday. The catch included 103 five-bass limits.
Rich Dalbey of Greenville, Texas, 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 15-11 while fishing with pro Charles Dubroc of Hessmer, La., Wednesday and five bass weighing 18-08 while fishing with pro Buz Craft of Vidalia, La., Thursday for a total of 10 bass weighing 34-03.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Gilbert Herald of Pittsburg, Texas (10 bass, 28-08); Nick Diberardino of Huffman, Texas (10 bass, 28-04); Roy Walton of Oakhurst, Texas (10 bass, 27-02); and Harry Holloway of Dayton, Texas (10 bass, 26-13).
Robert Moffett of Silsbee, Texas, earned $138 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 7-pound bass.
Overall there were 486 bass weighing 1,053 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 173 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 46 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 Umphrey Family Pavilion located at 5438 RR W. in Sam Rayburn, Texas. 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 800 W. Gibson St. in Jasper, beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.
