Gilliland wins Wal-Mart BFL event on Lake Monroe

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Boater Robert Gilliland of Bloomington earned $4,368 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on Lake Monroe. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Hoosier Division events and featured 143 boaters vying for the win, which earned Gilliland 200 points in the Boater Division.

Gilliland’s winning catch of five bass weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces. He fished main-lake structure with a black and blue jig to catch his bass.

Gilliland earned an additional $2,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Garmin Grand awards.

Finishing second was Leroy McGregor of Vincennes with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces that earned him $2,184. Bill Bauer of Carmel claimed $1,427 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces. In fourth was John Melton of Corydon with five bass weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces worth $1,112, and finishing fifth and earning $913 was Tom Rea of Marion with four bass weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

Craig Mills of Hamilton, Ohio took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $715 for a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a green-pumpkin centipede.

Doug Hunt of Danville earned $2,082 as the co-angler winner, thanks to one bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught on a Zoom brush hog. Hunt also earned an additional $338 as winner of the co-angler big-bass award.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Matt McCoy of Indianapolis (one bass, 6 pounds, $1,041); Mike Chaudion of Cicero (three bass, 5 pounds, $680); David Brown of Bloomington (one bass, 4 pounds, 13 ounces, $530); and Mark Dehart of Brownstown (two bass, 4 pounds, 9 ounces, $435).

The Hoosier Division’s next event will be held July 23 on the Ohio River near Cannelton. The Hoosier Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg.

Following the regular season, the Hoosier 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 Hoosier Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Ohio River Regional near Paducah, Ky., Oct. 11-15 where they will compete against Arkie, Great Lakes and Michigan 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 visit FLWOutdoors.com.

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.