Whitney Stephens of Piketon, Ohio, won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® final Buckeye Division tournament of the season on the Ohio River/Tanners Creek Sunday with a catch of nine bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces. The victory earned Stephens $4,540 and helped him qualify for
Whitney Stephens of Piketon, Ohio, won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® final Buckeye Division tournament of the season on the Ohio River/Tanners Creek Sunday with a catch of nine bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces. The victory earned Stephens $4,540 and helped him qualify for the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ga. Oct. 15-17, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Bill Lowen of North Bend, Ohio (10 bass, 15-6, $2,270); Mike Combs of Frenchburg, Ky. (nine bass, 11-6, $1,515); Chris Combess of Cincinnati, Ohio (six bass, 10-10, $1,059) and Kevin Spears of New Boston, Ohio (six bass, 10-6, $908).
Stephens took home the Boater Division Folgers Big Bass award, earning $532 for a 3-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught.
Mike Otto of Kettering, Ohio, earned $2,270 as the co-angler winner Sunday thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds that he caught on a plastic Paca Craw targeting wooden docks.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Cody Wayne-Hall of Xenia, Ohio (seven bass, 9-14, $1,135); Dennis Hughes of Bethel, Ohio (five bass, 9-1, $757); Steve Sorrell of Beavercreek, Ohio (5 bass, 7-7, $530); and Keith Humble of West Liberty, Ky. (five bass, 7-5, $454).
Otto earned $266 as the co-angler Folgers Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass.
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 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 has also taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports. Sign up for Players Advantage 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.
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