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Cecil claims win at FLW Stren Series
Stephen Johnston of Hemphill led in the Pro division the first two days. Johnston won the Sam Rayburn event in February and has followed it up with a fifth place finish on Amistad in March. At the end of day two he held the lead by mere ounces with names like Harold Allen, Tommy Martin and Stan Burgay hot on his heels. The co-anglers were also battling it out with Blake Martin in the lead by a mere six ounces. Anglers from all over the country including Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, Kansas, Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, Tennessee and Colorado came to fish the event. Frontier Park was the host marina for the first three days, then Wal-Mart in Many, LA staged the final weigh in.
Rounding out the top five of the 10 anglers advancing to the final day: Mark Allen with 51-9, Stephen Johnston with 50-7. Jeff Buchanan was the 10th place pro to make the cut with 37-4. For the co-anglers, Blake Martin, son of legendary Tommy Martin kept his lead, increasing his margin to 12 pounds over second place. Michael Savage was next behind him with 28-5, coming up from 13th place to make the cut. Wesley Shubert kept his third place position with 26- 13. Jacob Brown tied third place, and Brian Branum ended up in fifth with 24-6 lbs. The last co-angler to make the cut was Bill Rogers with 19-2.
The anglers were brought to Wal-Mart in Many, LA to weigh their final catch. First, the co-anglers would weigh. Blake Martin, the leader, was put in the hot seat to wait and watch as his competitors brought in their creel, trying to overcome Martin's three-day weight. Martin would be the last to weigh his final catch. Beginning with the 10th place angler, they each weighed in, getting closer and closer to Martin's weight as they worked their way to second place. Blake nervously watched as each fish was put on the scales, one at a time, from black bags where no one could see what or how much each angler had until it was put on the scales. If his 40-2 lb., three-day weight was beat, he would be knocked out of the hot seat until he could weigh his fish.
"I thank the Lord those guys didn't catch any more than what they did, because I don't have a fish," Martin announced to the crowd when it was his turn to weigh in. "I've been over there shaking, sweating and generally freaking out for the last 30 minutes - I mean I was literally ill. I can't believe this has happened. I really have to thank my dad for this win," Martin said of his father, legendary Pro angler Tommy Martin. "He's been taking me fishing since I was a kid and he has taught me a lot of his tricks. Believe me, I used them this week." Final Co-Angler Standings: First - 40-2 lbs. Blake Martin Hemphill Second - 37-14 lbs. Michael Savage Clever, MO Third - 33-1 lbs. Bo Middleton Elgin Fourth - 30-10 lbs. Wesley Schubert Conroe Fifth - 27-8 lbs. Tim Achee Hemphill Sixth - 26-13 lbs. Jacob Brown Clyde Seventh - 26-8 lbs . Brian Branum Longview Eighth - 25-1 lbs. Bill Guillory Jasper Ninth - 24-12 lbs. Rich Dalbey Greenville 10th - 20-14 lbs. Bill Rogers Jasper Next were the Pro's. They lined up at the tanks, in order from 10th - second all in their tournament colors. They were the heavy hitters of Toledo Bend. It would be anyone's guess who would come out on top. Russell Cecil, having the lead after the third day with 56-9 was brought to the stage with his daughter to sit in the hot seat until his 56-9 lb weight was beat. He would be given the last opportunity to weigh his fish. He said to the crowd "I'm glad Blake won (co-angler). We fished together today, and I didn't put a good show on for him." Then he looked at his competition waiting to push him out of his seat. "You see what's over there - the Toledo Bend All-Stars!" Obviously nervous, he watched as the weigh in began. Jeff Buchanan, 10th place on day three was the first. He didn't catch Cecil, and he kept his seat. Then Schreibvogel and Gibson weighed. Cecil kept his seat. As they worked their way up the rankings, each angler needed less weight to catch him. Next was Glen Freeman who needed 14 pounds to take the lead, and kicked Cecil out of his chair with 16 pounds, a total of 57-15. Tommy Martin took it from Freeman with a total of 60-3. Then Stephen Johnston, who led the first two days needed 9-13 to overcome the lead. With his fourth fish put on the scales, he had 10-6, then adding his fifth, a weight of 12-8 to land the lead. Then it was Mark Allen's turn. He grabbed top spot with a four-day weight of 64-12. Stan Burgay just missed the mark with his fish, having a total weight of 60-8 lbs. Then it was Harold Allen's turn. He needed eight lbs. 12 oz., and with only four fish had 11 lbs. 7 oz. Allen sat in top spot with only Russell Cecil left to weigh. One by one Russell's fish were put on the scales. He had to have 11 pounds to claim the win. His first three fish weighed 10-9. Did he have any more? With a wry grin he reached into his black bag and pulled out his last two fish, having a weight of 19-15 lbs. to take the win with a 76-8 lb. four-day total. Russell's winning included $25,000 for first place, a fully loaded Ranger 519VX Commanche boat valued at $45,000, a Ranger Cup check for $4,500 plus $243 for Big Bass on a previous day in the tournament. His total winnings were more than $70,000 in cash and prizes. "What makes this win so sweet is the caliber of fishermen I had to beat to win," Cecil said. "They are legendary anglers, true All- Stars. Beating them on their home water is no small feat." Final Pro Standings: First - 76-8 lbs. Russell Cecil Willis Second - 67-8 lbs. Harold Allen Shelbyville Third - 64-12 lbs. Mark Allen Kemp Fourth - 62-15 lbs. Stephen Johnston Hemphill Fifth - 60-8 lbs. Stan Burgay Timpson Sixth - 60-3 lbs. Tommy Martin Hemphill Seventh - 57-13 lbs. Glen Freeman Converse Eighth - 45-12 lbs. Jeff Buchanan Zavalla Ninth - 41-4 lbs. Shane Gibson Kilgore 10th - 38-13 lbs. Yarri Schreibvogel Sam Rayburn The last stop for the Texas FLW Stren Series 2007 will be at Lake Texoma, Oct. 17-20. After four tournaments in each division are complete, the top 40 pros and 40 co-anglers by points will advance to the $1 million Stren Series Championship. From there, the top pro and co-angler from each division advance to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup Championship, where pro's will face top qualifiers from the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the FLW Series, the BFL, Ranger owner's tournaments and TBF (The Bass Federation) for a shot at $1 million - the biggest award in the history of competitive bass fishing. For more information, click to www.flwoutdoors.com.  |
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