I decided last night I needed to study up on Elite Series newcomer Wesley Strader. Steve Bowman and I are covering him this morning, and we followed him yesterday as well.
Strader is currently sitting in first place here at Kentucky Lake with 59 pounds 9 ounces and a 13 ounce lead over Skeet Reese.
I already liked the fellow Tennessee Volunteer, and enjoyed his sense of humor. The native of Spring City, Tenn. is 46 years old and he was a tour pro at FLW for 21 years before moving to the Elite Series this year. Here are some details on his FLW career, where he had 17 Cup appearances:
– 273 tournaments
– $1,572,098 in earnings
– 3 wins
– 42 top tens
– 5th place finish on Kentucky Lake in May 2002
B.A.S.S. career
– 33 tournament (mostly Opens)
– 3 Elite tournaments
– 2 Bassmaster Classics
– 1 win, at the Bass Pro Shops Southern Open on Kissimmee in 2016
– 6 top ten finishes (that could change to 7 today)
– Current spot in AOY: 24. He and Skeet Reese both have 227 points, but total weight is the tie breaker and Reese has more weight
– Previous Elite finishes: 31 at Lake Martin, 74 at Grand Lake
– Family: Stephanie (wife), Madison (daughter)
– Hobbies: deer hunting, duck hunting
Total tournaments as a pro: 306
Total earnings as a pro: $1,764,818
Some of those key numbers could get a nice boost if he can retain the lead here on Championship Monday.