Strader Wins A Squeaker At Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open

Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., wins the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open #1 held on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes out of Kissimmee, Fla. Strader brought 13 pounds, 1 ounce to Saturday’s weigh-in, giving him a three-day total of 50-5.

Jan. 30, 2016

Strader Wins A Squeaker At Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open

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KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A slim 2 ounces separated winner Wesley Strader and his closest challenger, Cody Detweiler, in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on the Kissimmee Chain.

Strader finished with a winning weight of 50 pounds, 5 ounces to punch his ticket to the 2017 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by GoPro, if he competes in the next two Southern Opens. Detweiler weighed in a three-day total of 50-3 to finish as the Open runner-up in the pro division.

Despite a tough practice, Strader bounced back with solid limits each day, including a 13-1 bag in the final round.

“I hadn’t caught a fish over 2 1/2 pounds in all of practice,” said Strader, who won the pro division grand prize of a Nitro Z20 bass boat with a Mercury Pro XS 225-horsepower outboard engine valued at $45,000.

The Spring City Tenn., angler credited the copper rose lenses of his sunglasses for helping him locate spawning fish in practice. When he didn’t have a bite by 11:15 the first morning, Strader ran to the spot where he saw the spawning fish the day before.

“I don’t know what happened overnight, but those fish showed up … and I caught them,” he said.

Throughout the week, Strader caught most of his fish on a Zoom Fluke or Speed Craw and an Old School Twin Spin topwater bait.

“Yesterday, I got on a little deal in some hydrilla and caught some on a (homemade bladed jig), so this morning I decided to start there,” he said. “So when I pulled up on that hydrilla bed, they were biting like crazy.”

Despite fishing in 58-degree water, Strader was able to coax bass into slamming the topwater bait. “Those fish came up and smoked it, so I caught every fish on that Twin Spin in about 20 minutes.”

Detweiler relied on a variety of lures to catch his bass throughout the week. He threw a Chatterbait in the rain the whole first day of competition, and when the weather turned sunny the next day, he threw a Humdinger swim jig and flipped a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver with a 1 1/2-ounce weight to isolated mats. He also relied on the swim jig and flipped the Sweet Beaver to mats the final day to catch a 15-8 limit.

Other Top 5 finishers in the pro division were Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., third place, 50-1; Eric Panzironi, Longwood, Fla., fourth, 48-2; and Chad Morgenthaler, Reeds Spring, Mo., fifth, 45-4.

Virginia Beach, Va., angler Chaz Carrington flipped a Big Bite Baits Yo Daddy to catch a three-fish 9-10 limit in the final round and win the non-boater division. His three-day total of 25-9 earned him the top prize of a Nitro z18/Mercury 150 Pro XS outboard rig valued at $30,000.

Brad Knight, Lancing, Tenn., and James Bailey, Warrenton, Va., tied for the $750 Big Bass Award on the pro side as both anglers caught 9-6 largemouths. Nathan Bloom, Winter Springs, Fla., weighed in an 8-14-pound largemouth to earn the $250 Big Bass Award on the co-angler side.

Strader received the Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 for finishing as the top pro on Day 2. Finishing as the Day 2 leader on the co-angler side, Rob Walker of Deland, Fla., received a Livingston Lures gift pack worth $250.

Stader also earner the A.R.E. Top Angler Award of $500 for being the highest-finishing angler using A.R.E. products.

Elite Series pro Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., earned the Power-Pole Captain’s Cash award of $500.

The local hosts for the events are Visit Kissimmee and the Central Florida Sports Commission.

2016 2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster  Southern Open Kissimmee Chain of Lakes 1/28-1/30Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Kissimmee  FL.(BOATER) Standings Day 3

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Wesley Strader         Spring City, TN         15  50-05  200  $54,283.00Day 1: 5   21-09     Day 2: 5   15-11     Day 3: 5   13-012.  Cody Detweiler         Orlando, FL             15  50-03  199  $20,267.00Day 1: 5   14-07     Day 2: 5   20-04     Day 3: 5   15-083.  Mark Rose              West Memphis, AR        15  50-01  198  $15,200.00Day 1: 5   14-05     Day 2: 5   17-13     Day 3: 5   17-154.  Eric Panzironi         Longwood, FL            15  48-02  197  $13,600.00Day 1: 5   17-15     Day 2: 5   16-13     Day 3: 5   13-065.  Chad Morgenthaler      Reeds Spring, MO        15  45-04  196  $11,867.00Day 1: 5   19-10     Day 2: 5   14-10     Day 3: 5   11-006.  Stetson Blaylock       Benton, AR              15  43-01  195  $10,133.00Day 1: 5   17-00     Day 2: 5   15-15     Day 3: 5   10-027.  Bobby Lane Jr.         Lakeland, FL            15  42-12  194   $9,033.00Day 1: 5   11-00     Day 2: 5   17-15     Day 3: 5   13-138.  Kazuki Kitajima        Orlando, FL             14  40-09  193   $6,800.00Day 1: 4   12-03     Day 2: 5   20-03     Day 3: 5   08-039.  Ish Monroe             Hughson, CA             15  39-00  192   $5,067.00Day 1: 5   16-01     Day 2: 5   15-06     Day 3: 5   07-0910. Jason Williamson       Wagener, SC             12  36-00  191   $4,667.00Day 1: 5   18-08     Day 2: 5   14-13     Day 3: 2   02-1111. Terry Scroggins        San Mateo, FL           13  35-15  190   $4,267.00Day 1: 5   13-13     Day 2: 5   17-12     Day 3: 3   04-0612. Brad Knight            Lancing, TN             12  34-00  189   $4,375.00Day 1: 5   22-11     Day 2: 5   07-10     Day 3: 2   03-11———————————————————————–

BIGDay1   Brad Knight              Lancing, TN         09-06          $0.002   James Bailey             Warrenton, VA       09-06          $0.003   Eric Panzironi           Longwood, FL        07-08          $0.00

———————————————————————–TotalsDay   #Limits    #Fish      Weight1       116       780      1720-012       108       737      1592-123         9        52       121-05———————————-233      1569      3434-02

2016 2016 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster  Southern Open Kissimmee Chain of Lakes 1/28-1/30Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Kissimmee  FL.(NON_BOATER) Standings Day 3

Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

1.  Chaz Carrington        Virginia Beach, VA       9  25-09  200  $30,000.00Day 1: 3   10-08     Day 2: 3   05-07     Day 3: 3   09-102.  Clint Harrison II      Georgetown, TN           9  25-02  199   $6,533.00Day 1: 3   06-14     Day 2: 3   08-06     Day 3: 3   09-143.  Carlton Tipp Jr        Grand Bay, AL            8  21-15  198   $4,933.00Day 1: 2   05-06     Day 2: 3   11-00     Day 3: 3   05-094.  Eric Davis             Athens, AL               9  21-07  197   $3,333.00Day 1: 3   09-12     Day 2: 3   06-12     Day 3: 3   04-155.  Nathan Bloom           Winter Springs, FL       8  20-07  196   $3,317.00Day 1: 3   11-10     Day 2: 3   05-13     Day 3: 2   03-006.  Shane Byrom            Newnan, GA               9  20-03  195   $2,933.00Day 1: 3   06-08     Day 2: 3   10-09     Day 3: 3   03-027.  Jeffrey Worth          Longwood, FL             9  19-09  194   $2,800.00Day 1: 3   07-14     Day 2: 3   07-10     Day 3: 3   04-018.  Tomas Gomez            Kissimmee, FL            8  19-06  193   $2,667.00Day 1: 3   05-13     Day 2: 3   11-06     Day 3: 2   02-039.  Rob Walker             Deland, FL               6  17-14  192   $2,533.00Day 1: 3   08-15     Day 2: 3   08-15     Day 3: 0   00-0010. Douglas Lubs           Indianapolis, IN         7  17-05  191   $2,267.00Day 1: 3   10-04     Day 2: 3   04-00     Day 3: 1   03-0111. Matt Justice           Fair Play, SC            7  16-14  190   $2,000.00Day 1: 3   09-03     Day 2: 3   06-01     Day 3: 1   01-1012. Gregory O’Neal         Winchester, TN           7  16-10  189   $1,867.00Day 1: 3   06-08     Day 2: 3   08-07     Day 3: 1   01-11———————————————————————–

BIGDay1   Nathan Bloom             Winter Springs, FL  08-14          $0.002   Brian Leitch             Knoxville, TN       04-12          $0.003   Douglas Lubs             Indianapolis, IN    03-01          $0.00

———————————————————————–TotalsDay   #Limits    #Fish      Weight1        93       397       776-102        68       311       584-123         6        25        48-12———————————-167       733      1410-02

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