Huls wins BFL Super Tournament on Lake Okeechobee

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – John Huls of Lakeland caught nine bass weighing 42 pounds, 13 ounces to win $8,320 at the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Gator Division Super Tournament, held this weekend on Lake Okeechobee near Okeechobee. Huls bested 161 Boater Division competitors and earned 300 points at the tournament, which was the fifth and final Gator Division event of the regular season.

Huls caught five bass Saturday weighing 30 pounds, 4 ounces and caught another four weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces Sunday to win the event. He caught his tournament-winning bass on a Gambler Crawdaddy. He also earned a $1,000 bonus from Garmin for using a fixed-mount Garmin Fishfinder or combination GPS/sounder during the event. He won another $1,610 as the big-bass award winner thanks to an 8-pound, 6-ounce bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Jim Murphy of Ocala (10 bass, 39 pounds, 5 ounces); Curtis Lewis of West Palm Beach (10 bass, 37 pounds, 15 ounces); Bobby Lane of Lakeland (10 bass, 34 pounds, 2 ounces); and Jim Taylor of Bokeelia (10 bass, 34 pounds, 1 ounce).

Lewis earned a $500 bonus as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.

James Folks of Melbourne led 155 Co-angler Division competitors on day two to claim $4,024 as the Super Tournament co-angler winner. He caught five bass Saturday weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces and followed that up Sunday with five more bass weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces to earn the win with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 6 ounces. He used a 10-inch Gambler Worm to score the win, his first.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Abshire of Cape Coral (10 bass, 26 pounds, 11 ounces); George Greene of Port St. Lucie (10 bass, 23 pounds, 5 ounces); Michael Dwyer of Satellite Beach (10 bass, 23 pounds, 2 ounces); and James Gregg of Englewood (eight bass, 23 pounds).

Paul Lowery of Lake Worth took co-angler big-bass honors and $765 with a 7-pound, 11-ounce bass.

Eric Bozeman of Bloomingdale, Ga., is the Gator Division’s Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader, winning $1,000 for the 1,003 points he earned during five regular-season tournaments. Michael Beard of Oakland Park is the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader in the Co-angler Division. He earned $500 for his division-leading 977 points.

The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers in the Gator Division will advance to regional competition presented by Yamaha Oct. 21-25 on Clarks Hill Lake near Thomson, Ga., where they will go up against top competitors from the Choo Choo, Mountain and Piedmont divisions for a shot at qualifying for the BFL All-American, one of the most lucrative postseason tournaments in competitive angling.

The BFL comprises 24 divisions nationwide, each featuring five regular-season events that lead to one of six regionals. Four of the regular-season tournaments are one-day events, while the final event, a Super Tournament, is a two-day tournament that will award as much as $70,950 to participating anglers. Anglers who enter all five regular-season events in a division but do not advance to a regional may enter the Chevy Trucks Wild Card for a shot at qualifying for the All-American. The All-American field comprises 84 competitors – six boaters and six co-anglers from six regionals plus six boaters and six co-anglers from the Wild Card.

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the EverStart Series and ultimately the Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series. Each year the top 30 boaters and co-anglers from each BFL division are eligible to advance to the EverStart Series, and the All-American champions are eligible for Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition. The top 15 pros and co-anglers from the Central, Eastern and Northern divisions of the EverStart Series (top 10 from the Western Division) are eligible to advance to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Former BFL anglers who have become fishing superstars on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour include Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt, Chevy pro Tommy Biffle and four-time FLW Tour champion David Fritts.

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.

FLW Outdoors and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour are named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.