|
ELLISON WINS FORT GIBSON LAKE BFL EVENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 HULBERT, Okla. (June 28, 2004) Boater Division competitor Blake
Ellison of Inola earned $3,309 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart
Bass Fishing League Okie Division event on Fort Gibson Lake in
Hulbert. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Okie
Division events. The regular season will wrap up Oct. 2-3 with a
two-day Super Tournament on Grand Lake in Grove.
Ellison bested 111 Boater Division competitors with a five-bass
catch weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces. He caught his
tournament-winning bass flipping a jig to rocky points midlake.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Gil Keener Jr. of Muskogee
(five bass, 14 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,654); Andy Carroll of Fort
Smith, Ark. (four bass, 11 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,125); Charles Lane
of Cushing (five bass, 11 pounds, 1 ounce, $860); and Allen Head of
Pryor (five bass, 10 pounds, 13 ounces, $728).
Carroll earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the
highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
Keener earned $555 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner with
a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass that he caught on a black/neon tube.
Joel Jacobs of Oklahoma City won the 105-competitor Co-angler
Division with a four-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces. He
caught his tournament-winning bass on a finesse jig and earned
$1,600 for the win.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mark Leach of Bartlesville
(three bass, 11 pounds, 1 ounce, $800); Brady Meador of Tulsa (three
bass, 8 pounds, 13 ounces, $544); Jeff Peterson of Jay (three bass,
6 pounds, 13 ounces, $416); and Wade Garcia of Alma, Ark. (two bass,
6 pounds, 1 ounce, $352).
Randy Smith of Joplin, Mo., caught a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass to win
Co-angler Division big-bass honors and $263. He caught his big bass
on a spinnerbait.
Following the regular season, the top 30 Okie Division boaters and
co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the
Toledo Bend regional near Many, La., Oct. 12-16. They will compete
against qualifying anglers from the Arkie, Louisiana and Ozark
divisions for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American, one of
competitive bass fishing’s most prestigious events. The winning
boater at the All-American will take home $100,000 cash, and the
winning co-angler will earn $50,000 cash.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns
points, with 200 points awarded 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.
These points determine angler standings. The Okie Division boater
who amasses the most points at the end of the regular season will
earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader, and the
co-angler earning the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be
the Best” points leader in the Co-angler Division.
Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a
division but do not advance to regional competition are eligible to
fish the Chevy Trucks Wild Card for an All-American berth. Six
nationwide regionals plus the Wild Card will each send six boaters
and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total field of 84
competitors.
The $6.3 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 24 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.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW
Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title
sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW
Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier
products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com.
###
Editor’s Note: Complete results and angler profiles are available in
the Media Center located at the top of FLWOutdoors.com. Ranger Cup
award winners are pending verification by Ranger Boats and thus are
unofficial at this time.
Editors, click here for tournament photos and for complete results:
http://pull.xmr3.com/p/235-94F1/50770447/website.html
|
