COLUMBUS, Miss. – The top 30 boaters and the top 30 co-anglers from the Cowboy, Illini, Music City and Seminole divisions of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will fish in postseason competition on the Columbus Pool Oct. 19-23. The top six boaters and the top six co-anglers from the Columbus Pool Regional will then advance to the 2005 All-American, where they will compete for top awards of $100,000 and $50,000, respectively.
Anglers advanced to the regional by ranking in the top 30 in year-end points standings after five regular-season events. The Columbus Pool Regional is one of six nationwide competitions that will determine the 2005 All-American field. Each of the six regionals sends six boaters and six co-anglers, and anglers who did not qualify for regional competition but fished in all five regular-season events within their division can fish the Chevy Trucks Wild Card, which will also send 12 competitors for an All-American field of 84 competitors.
The winning boater at the regional receives a Chevy truck and an Evinrude- or Yamaha-powered Ranger boat, and the winning co-angler earns a Ranger powered by Evinrude or Yamaha. Oct. 19 and 20 are official practice days, with competition beginning Oct. 21. On days one and two, the full field competes to determine the top six who will advance to the final round based on accumulated weight. The six boaters and six co-anglers continue competition on day three, with the winners determined by the heaviest three-day catch weight. All 12 finalists automatically advance to the All-American.
Anglers will take off from Columbus Marina, located at 295 Marina Drive in Columbus, each morning, and Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins will also be held there. The final weigh-in Saturday will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 1913 Highway 45 N. in Columbus. The community is encouraged to attend daily takeoffs and weigh-ins.
Nationwide, the BFL is divided into 24 divisions – each featuring four one-day qualifying tournaments and a two-day Super Tournament. Under the BFL’s boater and co-angler format, boaters supply the boats, fish from the front deck and control boat movement throughout the competition. Co-anglers fish from the back deck and are competing against other co-anglers. Two hundred points are awarded to tournament winners, 199 points are presented for second, and so on except for the Super Tournament, where the winners earn 300 points, 299 points are given for second place, and so on.
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.