Brower wins Super Tournament on Lake Hamilton
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Mike Brower Jr. of Texarkana, Texas, topped 66 Boater Division competitors on Lake Hamilton this weekend with a five-bass catch weighing 9 pounds, 7 ounces. He earned $4,780 and 300 points for the win at the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division season finale.
After qualifying for the final round of the two-day Super Tournament in third place with an opening-day catch of five bass weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces, Brower out-fished runner-up Scott Teer of Dover, Ark., by 3 ounces to take the win. Brower caught his limit on day two using a top-water bait. He also earned a $1,000 bonus as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program and another $1,000 from GARMIN for using a fixed-mount GARMIN GPS/sounder.
Teer qualified for the final round in second place with five bass weighing 7 pounds, 14 ounces and finished up with a five-bass catch weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces to win $2,390.
Greg Ault of Hot Springs, Ark. (five bass, 7 pounds, $1,295); Matthew Mize of Ben Lomond, Ark. (four bass, 5 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,095); and Ronnie Ashley of Hot Springs, Ark., (three bass, 5 pounds, 5 ounces, $896) rounded out the top five boaters.
Chip Kelman of Pocahontas, Ark., took boater big-bass honors and $660 for a 2-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a jig.
Ricky Smith of Collinsville, Miss., topped 66 competitors in the Co-angler Division to take first place and $2,390 thanks to a final-round catch of four bass weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces. Second place in the division and $1,195 went to Randy Peek of Maumelle, Ark., with a four-bass catch weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces, followed by Cameron Warren of White Hall, Ark., in third place with three bass weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce worth $647.
Billy Wayne Lawrence of Hackett, Ark., won the co-angler big-bass award of $330 with a 2-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught using a white spinner bait.
Eric Ambort of Mabelvale, Ark., is the Arkie Division’s Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader, winning $1,000 for the 1,006 points he earned during five regular-season tournaments. Peek is the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader in the Co-angler Division. He earned $500 for his division-leading 988 points.
The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers in the Arkie Division will advance to regional competition Oct. 22-26 on the Pearl River near Slidell, La., where they will go up against top competitors from the Bama, Cowboy and Mississippi divisions for a shot at qualifying for the BFL All-American, one of the most lucrative postseason 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, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, FujiFilm, GARMIN, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepsi, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, Stren, U.S. Bank, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards.
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