Powley outfishes BFL field on Kentucky, Barkley lakes

KUTTAWA, Ky. – Boater Crispin Powley of Lavergne, Tenn., earned $5,394 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League LBL Division event on Kentucky/Barkley Lake. The tournament was the second of five regular-season LBL Division events and featured 193 boaters vying for the win, which earned Powley 200 points in the Boater Division.

Powley’s winning catch of five bass weighed 13 pounds, 11 ounces. He was fishing pre-spawn areas with a Carolina-rigged tube when he caught his bass.

Finishing second was Roger Pickard of Benton with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce that earned him $2,697. Ray Barga of Gilbertsville claimed $1,762 as the third-place finisher thanks to four bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces. In fourth was David Young of Mayfield with three bass weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces worth $1,373, and tying for fifth place was Joe Moya of Jasper, Ind., with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces and Mark Mauldin of Cleveland, Tenn., with four bass weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces. Each angler earned $1,030.

Barga earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Autry Hensley of Scottsville took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $965 for a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Senko.

Dick Maurer of Hillsboro, Mo., bested 193 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,697 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces that he caught on a Zoom lizard.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Maxey of Fishers, Ind. (three bass, 7 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,348); James Doty of Chandler, Ind. (three bass, 6 pounds, 12 ounces, $882); Charles Stallard of Louisville (two bass, 6 pounds, 6 ounces, $686); and Rodger Lutz of Kuttawa (two bass, 5 pounds, 8 ounces, $564).

Jim Fowler of Elizabethtown, Ind., earned $483 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught on a spinnerbait.

The LBL Division’s next event will be held May 7 on Kentucky/Barkley Lake near Kuttawa, followed by another event on Kentucky/Barkley Lake near Hardin June 25. The LBL Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Kentucky/Barkley Lake near Kuttawa.

Following the regular season, the LBL 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 LBL Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Cherokee Regional near Morristown, Tenn., Oct. 4-8 where they will compete against Buckeye, Illini and Piedmont 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.