APPLING, Ga. (Feb. 9, 2009) Boater David Vaughn of Royston, Ga., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Savannah River Division tournament on Clarks Hill Lake Saturday with a three bass weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces.
APPLING, Ga. (Feb. 9, 2009) Boater David Vaughn of Royston, Ga., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Savannah River Division tournament on Clarks Hill Lake Saturday with a three bass weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory earned Vaughn $4,541 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 started out fishing clear water in practice and wasnt doing any good. The weather was bad and I only caught a 3-pound bass on Friday, said Vaughn. I didnt expect to do well at all.
Vaughn switched his technique on Saturday to fish dirty water. I fished a ditch that was 6 to 7 feet deep and then it dropped down to 10 to 12 feet deep, Vaughn said. He caught his winning fish on a jig-and-pig in heavy brush and trees.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Michael Anders of Pelzer, S.C. (five bass, 21-4, $2,270); Jessie Fitzgerald of Martinez, Ga. (five bass, 13-2, $1,514); Darren Ashley of Calhoun Falls, S.C. (five bass, 13-1, $1,060) and Travis Adams of Danielsville, Ga. (five bass, 11-2, $908).
Vaughn took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $660 for an 8-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Lesley Childers of Anderson, S.C. and Mark Chapman of Williamston, S.C. each earned $1,677 as the co-angler winners Saturday. Childers caught one bass weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce that she caught on a Texas rig. Chapman caught two bass weighing 9 pounds, 1 ounce.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jeremy Teal of Carnesville, Ga. (three bass, 8-10, $745); Kevin Landreth of Seneca, S.C. (three bass, 8-7, $522); Glenn Browning, Jr. of Canton, N.C. (three bass, 8-3, $447).
Childers earned $325 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 9-pound, 1-ounce bass.
The next Savannah River Division event will be held on the Lake Keowee in Seneca, S.C., March 14.
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.
