07-02-2009, 11:10 AM
Scottsville, Kentucky - Michael Bean of Bowling Green, Kentucky, won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Mountain Division tournament on the Barren River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 20 pounds, 11 ounces. The victory earned Bean $3,794 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Norman Regional Championship in Lake Norman, N.C., Oct. 22-24, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
"I knew it would take at least 20 pounds to win and at the time I weighed in my fish I didn't think I had it," said Bean, after winning his first BFL tournament. "I stayed and watched the rest of the tournament in the shade sitting on pins and needles."
Bean had his limit by 8:15 a.m. "The first limit I had came from back in a creek fishing a stump row off of a point with a Carolina rig. I culled two more times on the main lake fishing points with a DD22 Root Beer crankbait. And that's all the fish I had for the day."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Gary Morrison of Scottsville, Ky. (five bass, 17-12, $1,897); Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky. (five bass, 17-11, $1,265); Talmadge Marcum of McKee, Ky. and Kevin Snider of Elizabethtown, Ky. tied for fourth (five bass, 17-10, $822).
Bean took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $495 for a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught.
William Masters of Berea, Ky., earned $1,897 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Christopher Davis of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 14-14, $949); Lucas Devere of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 14-11, $633); Tyler Moberly of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 13-13, $443); and Gerald Williams of Scottsville, Ky. (five bass, 13-12, $379).
Derek Kantosky earned $247 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass.
The next Mountain Division event will be the Super Tournament held on the Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn., Sept. 19-20.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL's 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.
The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee $2.5 million Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series™ for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour®.
In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.
As the nation's leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour - bass fishing's most lucrative tournament circuit.
Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player's Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player's Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
www.FLWOutdoors.com
Media Contact
Robin Thweatt (270) 252-1627 or rthweatt@flwoutdoors.com
"I knew it would take at least 20 pounds to win and at the time I weighed in my fish I didn't think I had it," said Bean, after winning his first BFL tournament. "I stayed and watched the rest of the tournament in the shade sitting on pins and needles."
Bean had his limit by 8:15 a.m. "The first limit I had came from back in a creek fishing a stump row off of a point with a Carolina rig. I culled two more times on the main lake fishing points with a DD22 Root Beer crankbait. And that's all the fish I had for the day."
Rounding out the top five boaters are Gary Morrison of Scottsville, Ky. (five bass, 17-12, $1,897); Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky. (five bass, 17-11, $1,265); Talmadge Marcum of McKee, Ky. and Kevin Snider of Elizabethtown, Ky. tied for fourth (five bass, 17-10, $822).
Bean took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $495 for a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught.
William Masters of Berea, Ky., earned $1,897 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Christopher Davis of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 14-14, $949); Lucas Devere of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 14-11, $633); Tyler Moberly of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 13-13, $443); and Gerald Williams of Scottsville, Ky. (five bass, 13-12, $379).
Derek Kantosky earned $247 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass.
The next Mountain Division event will be the Super Tournament held on the Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn., Sept. 19-20.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL's 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.
The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee $2.5 million Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series™ for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour®.
In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.
As the nation's leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour - bass fishing's most lucrative tournament circuit.
Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player's Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player's Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
www.FLWOutdoors.com
Media Contact
Robin Thweatt (270) 252-1627 or rthweatt@flwoutdoors.com