Laskowski Leads Stren Series Bass Fishing Event on Lake Shasta
REDDING, Calif. (Jan. 10, 2008) - Pro Chris Laskowski of Anderson, Calif., caught a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds Thursday to retain his lead in the Stren Series Western Division tournament presented by Evinrude on Lake Shasta. With a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 31-00, he now holds an 6-pound, 12-ounce lead over second place pro Bill Townsend of Redding, Calif., who managed to haul in a total of 10 bass weighing 24-04 during the first two days of competition.
Rounding out the top five pros are Robert Lee of Angels Camp, Calif. (10 bass, 23-06); Rob Dearmond of Redding, Calif. (10 bass, 20-11); and Steve Klein of Oroville, Calif. (10 bass, 19-01).
Lee earned $243 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass.
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Matt Beller of Anderson, Calif., 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 three bass weighing 4-10 while fishing with pro Wayne Breazeale of Kelseyville, Calif., Wednesday and five bass weighing 17-08 while fishing with pro Bill Bishop of Lakeside, Ariz., Thursday for a total of eight bass weighing 22-02.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Craig Kraft of Cottonwood, Calif. (10 bass, 17-12); Joseph Obrien of Spanish Springs, Nev. (10 bass, 17-02); Scott Burke of Oakdale, Calif. (10 bass, 16-03); and Dan Billeci of Cottonwood, Calif. (10 bass, 15-15).
Beller earned $128 for the Snickers Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass.
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 7:30 each morning from Bridge Bay Resort located at 10300 Bridge Bay Road in Redding. Friday and Saturday's weigh-in will be held at the marina beginning at 3 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.
