SUMMERTON, S.C. – The $6.3 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will stage a $33,000 event on the Santee Cooper lakes May 22, the third of five regular-season Carolina Division events. As many as 200 Boater Division competitors will cast for a top award of $5,000, based on a full field, and as many as 200 co-anglers will compete for a top award of $2,500.
Competitors will launch from John C. Land III Marina in Summerton at 7 a.m., followed by the weigh-in, also held at the marina, at 3 p.m. The community is encouraged to attend the takeoff and weigh-in.
If the winning boater is a participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, he will receive a $1,000 bonus 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 his 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 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.
Anglers compete not only for prize money but also for valuable 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 Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings. Each of the BFL’s 24 nationwide divisions feature four one-day tournaments and one two-day Super Tournament to round out the regular season.
The top 30 boaters and 30 co-anglers based on year-end point standings advance to postseason regional competition, where they will compete against qualifying anglers from three other BFL divisions for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American. The All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing, with $100,000 cash going to the winning boater and $50,000 cash going to the winning co-angler.
Qualifying Carolina Division anglers will compete against Buckeye, Northeast and Savannah River division anglers in the Kerr Lake Regional, scheduled for Oct. 5-9 in Henderson, N.C. Anglers who fish all five regular-season events but do not advance to the regional may enter the Chevy Trucks Wild Card to compete for an All-American berth. The Wild Card as well as six regional events will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total field of 84 competitors.
The Carolina Division’s fourth regular-season event will be held on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C., June 19. The regular season will wrap up Sept. 18-19 with the two-day Super Tournament on Lake Wylie in York. For more information about the BFL or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com.
If the May 22 tournament is not yet full, entries will be accepted at tournament registration May 21 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Wal-Mart store located at 481 W. Boyce St. in Manning. 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.
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.