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CADIZ,
Ky. (April 16, 2007) – Boater Tommy Ellis of Paris, Tenn., won
the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League LBL Division tournament on
Kentucky and Barkley Lakes Saturday with a five-bass catch
weighing 26 pounds, 5 ounces. The victory earned Ellis $4,940 and
placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Fort
Loudon-Tellico Lakes Regional Championship in
Lenoir City
,
Tenn.
, Oct. 18-20, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger
boat and a Chevy truck.
Ellis
also took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award,
earning $955 for a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass.
Ellis
was throwing a combination of jigs and a Senko to catch his
quality-sized tournament-limit of bass.
Rounding
out the top five boaters are Ronald Peckenpaugh of Louisville,
Ky., (five bass, 21-8, $2,906); Tony Roberts of Metropolis, Ill.
(five bass, 21-1, $1,939); Ronnie Grant of Columbia, Ky., (five
bass, 20-2, $1,356) and Donnie Williams of Paris, Tenn. (five
bass, 19-14, $1,162).
Richard
Holt of
Camden
,
Tenn.
, also earned $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup
participant.
Daniel
Effinger of Evansville, Ind., and Gus Peace of Panama City, Fla.,
tied for first in the co-angler divisions earning them each $2,179
Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces that he
caught while fishing a finesse worms and Zoom Brush Hogs around
main-lake laydowns and other submerged structure..
Rounding
out the top five co-anglers are Jaret Strickland of Newburgh, Ind.
(five bass, 15-4, $971); Kevin McCullough of Greencastle, Ind.,
(four bass, 15-2, $678); and Dennis Taylor of Fulton, Ky. (five
bass, 14-6, $581).
Doug
Aebersold of
Louisville
,
Ky.
, earned $477 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a
6-pound, 12-ounce bass.
All
LBL Division events are held on
Kentucky
and
Barkley
Lakes
. The next event will be May 19 out of
Paris
Landing
State Park
in
Paris
,
Tenn.
, followed by a tournament June 16 out of the Kenlake Marina in
Aurora
,
Ky.
The division’s final event of the regular season will be a
two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 29-30 out of the Kentucky Dam
Marina in
Gilbertsville
,
Ky.
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 Fort Loudon-Tellico Lakes 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
Wal-Mart.com.
For
more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit
FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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