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BENTON, Ill. (April 28, 2008) – Boater Keith Cloe of Sessier,
Ill., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League®
Illini Division tournament on Rend Lake Saturday with a
three-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory
earned Cloe $3,896 plus a $687 Ranger contingency bonus and
placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky Lake
Regional Championship in Benton, Ky., Oct. 2-4, where he could
ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Cloe caught his bass on the north end of Rend Lake flipping
bushes with a black and blue jig.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Toby Corn of West
Frankfort, Ill. (four bass, 9-12, $2,292); Juice Wright of
Dieterich, Ill. (four bass, 8-3, $1,529); Scott Freeman of
Chicago, Ill. (two bass, 6-15, $993) and Charles Rutherford of
Moro, Ill. (three bass, 6-15, $993).
Deno Ek of Perry, Mo., took home the Boater Division Snickers
Big Bass award, earning $675 for a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass he
caught flipping bushes.
Michael Watson of Chicago, Ill., earned $2,253 as the co-angler
winner Saturday thanks to one bass weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces
that he caught on a spinnerbait in deep brush.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Aaron Wehmeyer of
Smithton, Ill. (two bass, 5-10, $1,127); Terry Bassemier of
Carmi, Ill. (one bass, 5-8, $751); Brian Futch of Goreville,
Ill. (two bass, 5-3, $526) and David Yoho of Georgetown, Ill.
(one bass, 4-13, $451).
Watson earned $327 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after
catching his 5-pound, 11-ounce bass on a spinnerbait.
Illini Division anglers will visit Shelbyville Lake in
Shelbyville, Ill., May 17 for their second regular-season event,
followed by an event on the Ohio River in Golconda, Ill., June
28. The division’s fourth qualifying event will be held on
Shelbyville Lake in Findlay, Ill., July 19. A two-day Super
Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held
on the Ohio River in Golconda, Ill., Sept. 6-7.
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 Kentucky Lake
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 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 Forrest Wood Cup. This event,
featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest
championship.
Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season.
With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW
Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for
their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the
opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can
become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s
Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information
that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart
FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s
Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and
increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will
be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner.
Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for
Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart
gift card.
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.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder
of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization
in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more
than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through
230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish,
kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing
mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of
fantasy sports, $7.3 million.
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 Player’s Advantage,
visit FantasyFishing.com.
Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every
tournament. |
