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Stringer captures title at Wal-Mart BFLRegional
As anglers brought their catch in to the Umphrey Family Pavilion to be weighed, it was apparent that it was tough out there on the water. On the boater side, Dicky Newberry established lead position with 17 pounds 14 oz. Tommy Howard was on his heels with 17 lbs 8 oz. In 27th position was Marc Haberern with 11 pounds 7 oz. Walt Roberts brought in the overall big bass in the boater division on day 1, weighing 7 lbs 2 oz. He reported catching her in Ayish Bayou in the lily pads with a frog. Haberern earned a check, but missed making the cut to fish Sunday. Top 5 boater rankings day 1: 1st 17-14 Dicky Newberry 2nd 17-08 Tommy Howard 3rd 16-05 Brad Whatley 4th 16-05 Andrew Upshaw 5th 16-03 George Jeane, Jr The co-anglers had more range in the weights brought in. Robert Hill finished in the lead on day one with 19-03 lbs. His closest contender was Richard Earle with 17-04 lbs. Zach Nick was the last co-angler to make the cut, weighing in 6-13 on day 1. Top 5 co-angler rankings day 1: 1st 19-03 Robert Hill 2nd 17-04 Richard Earle 3rd 13-09 Lynn Shivers 4th 12-13 James Lynn 5th 11-13 Sarah Busby The boaters and co-anglers were re-paired for day 2, according to their day 1 rankings. The anglers in 1st place each division fished together, anglers in 2nd place position fished together, etc. The stage for the final weigh in on Sunday was set up at Jasper Walmart. The crowd gathered in anticipation as the boats began filing in. Tournament Director Mike Hale asked the leaders from day 1 to come up to the stage to sit in the "hot seat" until their day 1 weights were beaten. The first to weigh in were the anglers in 27th place. Bill Wedelich, boater, was in 26th place on day 1 and the first to have more total weight than the day 1 leader. He had a two day total of 20-8 lbs. Chris McCall was next to weigh in, taking the chair with 26-15 lbs. Chris kept the hot seat warm for a long time, until 6th place angler Bradley Stringer took it away from him with 29-12. There were five anglers left to weigh in that had more weight than he did when this day began. Stringer was nervous about the rest of the anglers, mostly watching for Dicky Newberry to come in with his catch. Stringer said "There are two professional anglers that set the standard for tournament fishing in this area. Dicky Newberry and David Truax. I hate that David didn't get to compete this weekend, and I just hope I can beat Dicky today!" Stringer held the seat until finally it was Dicky's turn to weigh. His two day weight came to 25 pounds 7 ounces, securing the win for Stringer. "It's good to be home!" Stringer said to the crowd. "I've been touring the country, but Rayburn is my home lake. I am 34 years old, and have been very fortunate. I got to practice for two days before the tournament, but wasn't able to land the fish I needed to on Saturday." Sunday, he hit several spots he had fished in the past, and put together a small limit that he estimated weighed 8 or 9 pounds. "I was fishing ridges, humps and creek beds mostly with black & blue jigs and junebug worms. I was fishing way north, and time was running out." He had 45 minutes left, which included travel time to get back to the launch. "At the last spot, I caught my biggest fish, plus two more I could cull with. Once I got them secured in the livewell, I raced back and checked in with under a minute to spare." Bradley would like to thank Tiremax, Mercury, Ranger, Lowrance, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Motorguide, Gander Mountain and Maui Jim for their sponsorship and support. Tommy Howard was in 2nd place on day 1, and held it on day 2. "We didn't have an early bite at all. The first day I started out throwing a spinnerbait, just trying to get a few fish in the livewell. That didn't work, so I made a move and my co-angler caught three. The bite slacked off after that, but I was able to put a limit together by the end of the day. My last cull was at 2:15, exchanging a 1 pounder for a 5 pounder." On day 2, he changed tactics to a Texas rig in 25'. "We were sitting on a ridge with scattered stumps on it. I fished with co-angler Richard Earle both days, and he was really great, but he caught my fish!" He started the morning with a 7 pounder, and 45 minutes later he caught a 6 pounder. "When the wind came up, the fish stopped biting. I had three fish, and struggled the rest of the day trying to find two more. If Richard and I each had only one more fish, we'd have both come in 1st place!" Chris McCall came all the way from 25th place to win 3rd place overall! He said "It didn't go like I thought it would! I fished shallow all weekend with a Gambler Cane Toad. I went all over the place, probably burned 40 gallons of gas per day." Chris was looking for very specific type areas. "I had found good fish holding in a combination of hydrilla and pepper grass, and I was catching them from the bank out to about 4'. I looked for isolated, hidden spots. The wind hurt me and muddied my spots. I had one on today that would have made the difference." What might he have done different? "In hinesight, I thought the bite would be better later in the day with the full moon so I saved my better spots until the afternoon. I figured wrong, and it cost me." Chris' sponsors include A & W Rootbeer, Ranger, Evinrude, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Santone Lures, American Rodsmith and Gambler Lures. Top 5 Boaters 1st $5,927 29-12 Bradley Stringer Huntington 2nd $3,486 27-08 Tommy Howard Brookeland 3rd $2,324 26-15 Chris McCall Jasper 4th $1,627 26-01 Lindy Hadley Sam Rayburn 5th $1,395 25-15 Brandon Crouch Buna Big Bass $1,027 7-02 Walt Roberts Ranger Bonus $1,045 Bradley Stringer The co-anglers also began with the leader from day one, Robert Hill in the hotseat until someone beat his day one weight of 19-03 lbs. Beginning with the 27th place angler, they weighed in ascending order. One after another weighed and could not catch him until Thomas Johnson, 11th place on the first day eased over it with a 19-07 lb total. With 10 anglers left to weigh, he did not expect to keep the seat, but did until Randy Hicks took it next with 21-03 lbs. Richard Earle was the next to take top spot with 23-12, then it was time for Robert Hill to finally weigh in. He only had two fish, and needed more than four pounds to take the win. His two fish weighed 5 lbs 1 oz, winning 1st place by five ounces! "The first day I caught most of my fish on a white Lucky Craft crank bait"Hill explained. He also caught the big bass in the co-angler division the first day weighing 8 lbs 9 oz and reports catching it on a watermelon colored worm on a brush pile. Richard Earle kept his 2nd place position both days. "I really enjoyed fishing with Tommy Howard this weekend. He is a great angler. I've been a co-angler for five years, and he's the best boater partner I've had. I really learned a lot from him." Richard said he fished a Carolina rigged Zoom worm both days. He only brought in one keeper on the final day, but weighing 6 lbs 8 oz was enough for his 2nd place finish. Randy Hicks was in 7th place position the first day, but managed a 3rd place win with 21 lbs 3 oz. "I had different partners each day" Randy explained. "The first day we fished shallow, and I was using a straight rigged trick worm with a split shot in 7'-8'. We targeted scattered grass, and the bite was slow. My partner on the second day was on a deep water bite, and we fished brush piles in 22' with Carolina rigs. The 12 and 14 pound flourocarbon line really makes a difference, too." Top 5 Co-Anglers 1st $3,487 24-04 Robert Hill Fort Worth 2nd $1,743 23-12 Richard Earle Youngsville, LA 3rd $1,161 21-03 Randy Hicks Lumberton 4th $814 20-07 Lynn Shivers Kirbyville 5th $697 19-07 Thomas Johnson LaMarque Big Bass $514 8-09 Robert Hill The last BFLCowboy event will be the Regional at Wright Patman in Texarkana, TX Oct. 25-27. For more information, click to www.flwoutdoors.com |
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