LAKE WALES, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2009) Boater Don Demott of Boca Raton, Fla., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Everglades Division tournament on the Kissimmee River Saturday with…
LAKE WALES, Fla. (Feb. 9, 2009) Boater Don Demott of Boca Raton, Fla., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Everglades Division tournament on the Kissimmee River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 31 pounds, 2 ounces. The victory earned Demott $4,119 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Seminole Regional Championship in Bainbridge, Ga., Oct 22-24, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
The fishing was exactly what I expected it to be, said Demott. The water was around 52 degrees and didnt warm up until later to about 56 degrees. It made the fishing slow. Some anglers struggled with the cooler water temperatures.
Demott knew how he was going to fish this tournament after practicing two weeks prior to the tournament. On Friday, he went back and checked a few spots and found the fish were still there. The conditions were similar to when he practiced which made the fish more predictable. It was all about being in the right place at the right time, Demott said.
Demott caught his limit using a Gambler BB Cricket River Bug on a 65-pound braid and a 4-inch Crawdaddy River Bug with 1-ounce screw-in weight.
What really made all the difference was my Minn-Kota Fortex 101 Trolling Motor, he said. It got me into those tighter spots the other anglers couldnt get to.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Kyle Walters of Palm Bay, Fla. (five bass, 24-0, $2,059); James Burdett of Mulberry, Fla. (five bass, 19-10, $1,374); Will Evans of Polk City, Fla. (five bass, 19-4, $961) and Rodney Marks of Tavares, Fla. (five bass, 19-7, $824).
Demott and Jack Hand of St. Cloud, Fla., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, each earning $282.50 for a 9-pound, 5-ounce bass.
Moses Wilson of Clewiston, Fla., earned $2,059 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught on a Yamamoto creature bait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bruce Bozman of St. Cloud, Fla. (five bass, 15-6, $1,030); Chuck Metheney of Lake Wales, Fla. (five bass, 14-1, $687); Jackie Barber of Cocoa, Fla. (five bass, 13-3, $480); and Dairent Beavers of Belle Glade, Fla. (five bass, 12-10, $395).
Kevin Copple of Lake Wales, Fla., earned $282 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching an 8-pound, 14-ounce bass.
The next Everglades Division event will be held on Lake Okeechobee in Okeechobee City, Fla., March 7.
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFLs 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 nations 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 fishings 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 Players 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 Players Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
