Wagner wins BFL tourney on Percy Priest Lake

SMYRNA, Tenn. – Boater Adam Wagner of Cookeville, Tenn., earned $4,839 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Music City Division event on Percy Priest Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Music City Division events and featured 146 boaters vying for the win, which earned Wagner 200 points in the Boater Division.

Wagner’s winning catch of five bass weighed 20 pounds, 13 ounces. He threw a green-pumpkin jig along steep, rocky banks to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Richard Anderson of Lebanon, Tenn. (five bass, 16 pounds, 13 ounces, $2,419); Jeff Baker of Hendersonville, Tenn. (five bass, 15 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,614); Thomas Hunnell of Ashland City, Tenn. (five bass, 14 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,129) and Tim Coates of Westmoreland, Tenn. (three bass, 12 pounds, 7 ounces, $968).

Rick Corbin of Rockwood, Tenn., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $730 for a 7-pound, 2-ounce bass.

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

Marty Phillips of Murfreesboro, Tenn., earned $2,309 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught while fishing a Lucky Craft LV-500 around stumps on a mud flat.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Perry Crague of Hendersonville, Tenn. (four bass, 13 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,155); Troy Rogers of Lebanon, Tenn. (three bass, 7 pounds, 6 ounces, $770); Kenny Botts of Tompkinsville, Ky., (three bass, 6 pounds, 15 ounces, $539) and Mark Pirkle of Cleveland, Tenn. (three bass, 6 pounds, 13 ounces, $462).

Craig Allen of Lebanon, Tenn., earned $340 as the co-angler big-bass award winner, thanks to a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass.

Music City Division anglers will next visit Center Hill Lake in Silverpoint, Tenn., April 1 for their second regular-season event, followed by an event on Old Hickory Lake in Gallatin, Tenn., May 6. The division’s fourth qualifying event will be held at Kentucky Lake in Buchanan, Tenn., June 17. A two-day Super Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held on Old Hickory Lake in Gallatin Sept. 30-31. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

Following the regular season, the Music City Division boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 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 Music City Division boaters and co-anglers will advance to the Lake Chickamauga Regional Championship near Hixson, Tenn., Oct. 12-14 and will compete against anglers from the Bulldog, Dixie and LBL divisions for an All-American slot. The top 40 anglers from each division may also advance to the Stren Series in 2007.

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 $8.8 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.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, as well as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.

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.