FINDLAY, Ill. – The Illini Division of the $6.3 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will visit Lake Shelbyville near Findlay May 22 for the second of five regular-season events. As many as 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers are expected to compete in the tournament, which will award as much as $32,850 in cash prizes, including as much as $5,000 cash for the Boater Division winner.
Eagle Creek State Park in Findlay will host takeoff and weigh-in at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. The community is encouraged to attend the takeoff and weigh-in. Anglers will compete for prize money as well as points that count toward postseason competition. 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 the season-ending Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 points for second, 298 for third, and so on.
The winning boater will earn as much as $5,000 cash based on a full field, and if the winner is a participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, he will receive another $1,000 from Ranger Boats and $500 from Yamaha if his boat is powered by Yamaha. (Ranger will award $500 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant if not the winner, and Yamaha will kick in $250 if the boat is powered by Yamaha.) If the winning boater uses only Garmin electronics during the event and at least one product is a qualifying unit, Garmin will award him another $1,000. Bombardier will award $1,000 to the winning boater if the winner’s boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude Direct Injection outboard. That’s a potential top award of $8,000 for anglers who meet contingency guidelines.
The winning co-angler will earn as much as $2,500 cash. The angler who catches the biggest bass of the day in the Boater Division will earn as much as $1,000, and the co-angler big-bass winner will earn as much as $500.
The top 30 boaters and co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 24 nationwide divisions are eligible to advance to postseason regional competition. Six regionals will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the 2005 All-American championship, which awards $100,000 to the winning boater. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to regional competition are eligible to compete in the Chevy Trucks Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a championship field of 84 competitors.
The top 30 Illini Division boaters and co-anglers will advance to the Columbus Pool Regional near Columbus, Miss., Oct. 19-23 and will compete against anglers from the Cowboy, Music City and Seminole divisions for an All-American slot.
Illini Division anglers will next visit the Ohio River in Golconda June 26 for the third regular-season event, followed by another event on Lake Shelbyville in Findlay July 24. The two-day Super Tournament will also be held on the Ohio River in Golconda Oct. 2-3. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com.
If the May 22 tournament is not yet full, entries will also be accepted at tournament registration, which will be held May 21 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Eagle Creek State Park. Entry fees are $150 for boaters and $75 for co-anglers. A $25 late fee also applies to entries taken on site along with a $25 membership fee for anglers who are not yet members of FLW Outdoors.
In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers. Each BFL division features four regular-season events followed by a two-day Super Tournament.
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 10 pros and co-anglers from each division of the EverStart Series 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, Ranger 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 is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.