Forehand wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Lake Apalachicola

Boater Ira Forehand of Wewahitchka, Fla., earned $3,216 as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Seminole Division event on Lake Apalachicola. Angler: Ira Forehand.

April 23, 2005 • MLF • Archives

WEWAHITCHKA, Fla. – Boater Ira Forehand of Wewahitchka earned $3,216 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Seminole Division event on Lake Apalachicola. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Seminole Division events and earned Forehand 200 points in the Boater Division.

Forehand’s winning catch of five bass weighed 13 pounds, 9 ounces. Forehand was fishing crankbaits and topwater lures in shallow water when he caught his bass.

Finishing second was Casey Gonzalez of Tampa with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him $1,608. Ron Klys of Gainesville and Chuck Corbin of Chipley tied for third place. Each angler caught five bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces worth $935. In fifth was John Kremer of Sanford with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces worth $672.

Johnathan Glover of Ocala took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $465 for a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a crankbait.

Gonzalez earned an additional $750 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha awards.

Keith Childree of Valdosta, Ga., earned $1,608 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces that he caught on a plastic worm.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Andy Jaap of Tallahassee (five bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $804); Cedric Reese of Tallahassee (five bass, 8 pounds, 2 ounces, $526); Kenneth Henry of Thomasville, Ga. (three bass, 8 pounds, 1 ounce, $409); and Douglas Wilemon of Citra (five bass, 6 pounds, 12 ounces, $336).

Chuck Hyer of Clermont earned $233 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a Gator buzz frog.

The Seminole Division’s next event will be held June 4 on Lake Seminole near Bainbridge, Ga. The Seminole Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on the St. John’s River near Palatka.

Following the regular season, the Seminole Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 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 Seminole Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Toho Regional near Kissimmee Oct. 4-8 where they will compete against Bama, Bulldog, and South Carolina division anglers for one of six slots in the 2006 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 $8.4 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 browse this Web site.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.