FINDLAY, Ill. – The Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Illini Division will stage the fourth of its five regular-season events July 24 on Lake Shelbyville near Findlay. The $32,850 event is expected to draw as many as 400 anglers to the Findlay area, with as many as 200 Boater Division competitors vying for a top award worth as much as $5,000 and as many as 200 Co-angler Division competitors fishing for as much as $2,500. Cash awards are based on a full field. Competitors will also be in the hunt for valuable points that count toward postseason competition.
Anglers will take off from Eagle Creek State Park in Findlay at 7 a.m. Weigh-in will also be held there beginning 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.
The Illini Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 2-3 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Ohio River in Golconda. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top 30 boaters and 30 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Columbus Pool Regional Oct. 19-23 in Columbus, Miss., where they will compete against qualifying anglers from the Cowboy, Seminole and Music City divisions for a slot in the 2005 All-American. The All-American awards a $100,000 cash prize to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler, making it one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points awarded to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winning angler, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings.
The BFL is comprised of 24 nationwide divisions, and the top 30 from each division advance to one of six regionals, each of which send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American. Anglers who fish all five regular-season tournaments 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.
If the July 24 tournament is not yet full, entries will be accepted at tournament registration July 23 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.
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.
For more information about the BFL or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site.
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. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com’s sponsor page. FLW Outdoors is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.