Michael Auffenberg WINS Ohio River!
Ohio River (Tell City), July 15, 2006, by FLW Outdoors

1st Place Boater Michael Auffenberg

TELL CITY, Ind. - Boater Michael Auffenberg of Medora, Ind., earned $4,720 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on the Ohio River. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Hoosier Division events and earned Auffenberg 200 points in the Boater Division.

Auffenberg's winning catch of five bass weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces. He was throwing a homemade black jig around tree laydowns in creeks to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Ryan Deal of Haubstadt, Ind. (five bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $2,360); Ronnie Smith of Walton, Ky. (five bass, 8 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,574); Jack Smith of Pewee Valley, Ky., (five bass, 8 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,101) and Larry Sisk of Evansville, Ind. (five bass, 8 pounds,8 ounces, $944).

Deal also took home an additional $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Tom Forrester of Bloomington, Ind., took home $695 for winning the Boater Division big bass award with a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught on a worm in a shallow creek.

David Dede of Loveland, Ohio, won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,360 thanks to five bass weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dan Schlegel of Cincinnati, Ohio (four bass, 7 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,180); Larry Kitchel of Monticello, Ind. (five bass, 6 pounds, 11 ounces, $787); Jim Anderson of Dawson Springs, Ky., tied with Danny Robinson of Fairland, Ind. (Anderson five bass, Robinson 2 bass, 5 pounds, 11 ounces, $511).

Robinson also earned $347 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 6-ounce bass.

The Hoosier Division's next event will take place on Lake Monroe near Bloomington, Ind., Aug. 26 followed by their two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event, on Lake Monroe Sept. 23-24.

Following the regular season, the Hoosier Division boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha "Be the Best" points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 as the Yamaha "Be the Best" points champion in the Co-angler Division.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. The top 40 Hoosier Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end point's standings will advance to the Kentucky Lake Regional near Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Bama, Buckeye and Mountain anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com.

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, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, 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 offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, call (270) 252-1000.

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.