Simmons wins BFL event on Seminole

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Boater Jerry Simmons of Donalsonville earned $4,553 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on Lake Seminole. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Bulldog Division events and featured 148 boaters. Simmons accumulated 200 points in the Boater Division for the win.

Simmons’ winning catch of five bass weighed 22 pounds, 12 ounces. Simmons was fishing a Zoom Baby Brush Hog along outer cover edges in the Spring Creek area.

Finishing second was Roger Morrow of Griffin with four bass weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces that earned him $2,277. Ralph Mixon of Bonaire claimed $1,492 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces. In fourth was Karl Waller of Tallahassee, Fla., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces worth $1,159, and finishing fifth and earning $952 was Greg Gaston of Thomasville with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces.

Michael Washburn of Covington, Ga., caught the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass, earning $760 for an 8-pound, 8-ounce bass.

Mixon earned an additional $750 as the Ranger Cup and the Powered by Yamaha awards recipient.

Kenneth Price of Senoia earned $2,184 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a bream-colored Rat-L-Trap.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bob Hardin of Albany (three bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,092); Edwin Hunt of Duluth (three bass, 8 pounds, $715); Matt Bowen of Dacula (two bass, 7 pounds, 2 ounces, $556); and Clifford Avery of Bonaire (three bass, 7 pounds, $457).

Bennett Wilson of Albany earned $358 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass.

The Bulldog Division’s next event will be held March 12 on Lake Sinclair near Milledgeville, Ga., followed by an event on Lake Oconee near Madison, Ga., April 16 and an event on May 7 on Lake Eufaula near Eufaula, Ala. The Bulldog Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta, Ga.

Following the regular season, the Bulldog Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

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. The top 40 Bulldog boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Toho Regional near Kissimmee, Fla., where they will compete against Bama, Seminole, and South Carolina Division anglers for one of six slots in the 2006 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.