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LaCrosse,
Wis. (June 11, 2007) – Boater Jeff Benson of Holmen, Wis., won
the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division tournament
on the Mississippi River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing
18 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned Benson $4,169 and placed
him one step closer to qualifying for the Mississippi River
Regional Championship in
Fort Madison
,
Iowa
, Oct. 4-6, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat
and a Chevy truck.
Rounding
out the top five boaters are Tim Pettit of Moline, Ill. (five
bass, 16-4, $2,453); Robert Heilman of Dakota, Minn. (five bass,
15-15, $1,635); Chet Hawkins of LaCrosse, Wis. (five bass, 15-9,
$1,145) and Jim Johnson of LaCrosse, Wis. (five bass, 14-8, $981).
Benson
took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning
$740 for a 5-pound bass.
Josh
Reynolds of
Holmen
,
Wis.
, earned $2,453 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five
bass weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces that he caught while throwing a
crankbait near weeds.
Rounding
out the top five co-anglers are K.C. Scabley of
Machesney Park
,
Ill.
(five bass, 13-0, $1,226); Jamie Gomez of
Onalaska
,
Wis.
(five bass, 12-5, $816); Chad Smith of Erie, Ill. (five bass,
12-2, $572) and Brian Caulum of
Holmen
,
Wis.
(five bass, 12-1, $491).
Smith
earned $370 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a
4-pound, 8-ounce bass.
The
Great Lakes Division’s next event will be June 30 on
Lake
Winneconne
in
Winneconne
,
Wis.
, followed by a tournament July 21 on the Mississippi River in
Wabasha
,
Minn.
The division’s fourth event will be held Aug. 11 on Prairie Du
Chien in Prairie Du Chien, Wis., and the final event of the
regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 8-9
on the Mississippi River in LaCrosse, Wis.
Following
the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40
co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will
advance to the no-entry-fee Mississippi River Regional
Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from
three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters
will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers
will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six
co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the
2008 All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1
million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning
boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the
All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events
in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the
All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008
Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million,
is the sport’s biggest championship.
The
$8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions
nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are
randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front
deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete from the back
deck against other co-anglers.
Named
after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW
Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series,
Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas
Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament
Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW
Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish
Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper
Series. These circuits will offer combined purses of nearly $43
million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart
and many of
America
’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and
its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors
sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of
tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit
Walmart.com.
For
more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit
FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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