Maes wins Wal-Mart BFL Western Division tourney

John Maes of Roseville, Calif., topped 84 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Folsom Lake with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him $2,775 and 200 points in the Boater Division. Angler: John Maes.

March 23, 2002 • MLF • Archives

FOLSOM, Calif. – John Maes of Roseville, Calif., topped 84 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Folsom Lake with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces. The catch earned him $2,775 and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Maes, who also earned a $1,000 bonus from GARMIN for using a fixed-mount GARMIN Fishfinder or combination GPS/sounder, caught his limit on a jerk bait. The catch topped second-place boater James Novotny of Orangevale, Calif., by 1 pound, 1 ounce. Novotny finished the one-day tournament with a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce worth $1,387. He also earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.

Michael Bennett of Grass Valley, Calif. (five bass, 12 pounds, 5 ounces, $832); Bobby Trippe of Citrus Heights, Calif. (five bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces, $666); and Harry Chang of Yuba City, Calif., (five bass, 11 pounds, 7 ounces, $610) rounded out the top five boaters. Chang also earned boater big bass honors and $420 with a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass that he caught on a Carolina-rigged lizard.

Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League rookie Armando Palacios of Antelope, Calif., claimed first place and $1,387 in the 84-competitor Co-angler Division with tournament leading five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces. He surpassed second-place co-angler Michael Harmon of Cameron Park, Calif., by 5 pounds, 2 ounces thanks to an extremely productive red flake worm. Harmon finished with a five-bass catch weighing 10 pounds, 2 ounces worth $694.

Tony Radoumis of Reno, Nev. (five bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces, $416); Pat Wilson of Petaluma, Calif. (five bass, 9 pounds, 8 ounces, $333); and Darrell Hagood of Wilton, Calif., (five bass, 9 pounds, 2 ounces, $305) rounded out the top five co-anglers.

Palacios earned co-angler big bass honors and $210 with a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.
Overall, 63 five-bass limits were caught during the tournament.

The Wal-Mart BFL will visit the California Delta April 20 for the third of five Western Division events. The boater with the most points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Oct. 12-13 on Clear Lake will be declared the Yamaha “Be the Best” Points Leader and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.

The top 30 Western Division boaters and co-anglers will advance to regional competition Nov. 12-16 on Lake Havasu in Lake Havasu, Ariz., where they will go up against top competitors from the Colorado River division for a shot at qualifying for the Wal-Mart BFL All-American – one of the most lucrative post-season tournaments in competitive angling.

2002 BFL awards could reach $7 million based on full fields.

Sponsors of the 2002 Wal-Mart BFL are Wal-Mart, ALPO Pet Foods, BC Powder, BFGoodrich Tires, Castrol, Chevy Trucks, Coleman, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, FujiFilm, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Maxwell House, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepsi, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, Stren, US Bank, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards. Associate sponsors are Abu Garcia, Berkley, Eagle Claw, Laker, Plano and Solar Bat.