Browning repeats at Red River
Category: press release
Apr 27th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 27th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Stephen Browning’s home water is the Arkansas River, but he might want to consider relocating to the Red River.
For the second straight year, Browning has won the Bass Pro Shops Central Open on the Red River. Last year he rallied from 12th place to first on the final day, but this year he only had to climb up from second place to repeat as the Open champion. The Bassmaster Elite Series pro finished with 44 pounds, 3 ounces earning the top prize of a Nitro Z9/Mercury 225 Pro XS valued at $40,000 and $7,765 in cash. He also cashed in on the Toyota Bonus Bucks prize of $1,500 for being the highest placing eligible Toyota pro and the Power Pole Captain’s Cash Award of $500. Toyota Bonus Bucks of $1,000 was paid to Aaron Johnson who was the second highest placing Toyota pro.
The area Browning caught all of his big fish on the final day of the tournament last year proved to be the key spot throughout the tournament for Browning this year. The Arkansas pro started Saturday with a small limit while his co-angler partner, Keith Glasby, got off to a fast start.
“Keith (who won the co-angler division) was putting it on me pretty hard and heavy and I just kept telling myself to just breathe,” said Browning. “It was one of those deals where you have an area and have a bait that you have a lot of confidence in, the first thing you do when you go to scrambling you are more than likely going to tank. I just kept that little plug in my hand and kept winding it around.”
Browning remained patient knowing that the sun would position his fish close to the wood cover from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “There was a magic moment of about 30 to 45 minutes when it all happened,” said Browning who culled out all of the fish he caught earlier during that magic time.
The first day of the tournament Browning caught most of his fish on a 1/2-ounce chartreuse-and-white War Eagle spinnerbait when the wind was blowing. But when the skies turned sunny and calm the next two days, Browning relied on the same lure (a sexy shad 3.5-inch square-bill crankbait) that made him a winner last year.
Flipping to stumps with a Texas-rigged Missile Baits Tomahawk plastic worm in a lovebug color produced a second-place finish for Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales, La. “I pretty much stuck with the same thing (all three days), said Spohrer who finished with 40-12. “I didn’t scramble as much today as I had been doing the last couple of days.
The rest of the top five in the pro division included Johnson, Shreveport, La., in third place with 40-2; Elite Series pro Keith Combs, Huntington, Texas, fourth, 37-11; and Chad Wiley, Pineville, La., fifth, 34-14.
Keith Glasby, of Ovilla, Texas, won his second Open co-angler title with 22-8 and took home a Triton 17 Pro/Yamaha F115LA rig worth $25,000. “My bread and butter was a little Bandit Series 100 crankbait in chartreuse with a black back,” said Glasby, who also won the 2012 Open as a co-angler at Lewisville Lake. “Today I switched up fishing behind Stephen Browning who is so efficient, so I went with a little (Carolina) rig with a Senko on it.”
Catching a 7-13 largemouth earned Aaron Johnson the Carhartt Big Bass of the Tournament award of $500.
The Livingston Lures Leader Award of $250 for finishing as the top pro on Day 2 was presented to Gerald Spohrer. Logan Latuso, the Day 2 leader on the co-angler side, received a Livingston Lures gift pack worth $250.
Anglers in both divisions who advance the most places up the leaderboard from Day 1 to Day 2 receive the “Allstate Good Hands, Great Day” award. Pro division angler Gary Clouse collected $250 by jumping 108 places from 160th to 52nd. Co-angler Mike Robinson picked up $150 by climbing 127 places from 156th to 29th.