Givens tops Boater Division at Harris Chain

Boater David Givens of Hernando, Fla., earned $3,426 March 18 as winner of the Wal-Mart BFL Seminole Division event on the Harris Chain of Lakes. Dennis Badzinski of Kissimmee, Fla., earned $1,561 as the co-angler winner. Anglers: David Givens, Dennis Badzinski.

March 18, 2006 • MLF • Archives

TAVARES, Fla. – Boater David Givens of Hernando, Fla., earned $3,426 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Seminole Division event on the Harris Chain of Lakes. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Seminole Division events and earned Givens 200 points in the Boater Division.

Givens’ winning catch of five bass weighed 21 pounds, 10 ounces. He was throwing a watermelon plastic worm in Lake Griffon to catch his bass. He earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Randy Hadden of Jacksonville, Fla. (five bass, 21 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,713); Trevor Fitzgerald of Ocala, Fla. (five bass, 20 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,141); Eric Lewis of Fruit Cove, Fla. (five bass, 19 pounds, 13 ounces, $799) and John Kremer of Sanford, Fla. (five bass, 17 pounds, 13 ounces, $685).

Hadden took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $430 for a 10-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a Bass Assassin Paddle Tail shad.

Dennis Badzinski of Kissimmee, Fla., earned $1,561 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces that he caught on a Chatterbait and a Zoom worm.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Stephen McKinnie of Umatilla, Fla. (five bass, 14 pounds, 9 ounces, $781); Cedric Perry of Tallahassee, Fla., (three bass, 13 pounds, 3 ounces, $521) Brad Bedgood of Ocala (three bass, 10 pounds, 6 ounces, $364) and Steven Brown of Altamonte Springs, Fla. (five bass, 10 pounds, 4 ounces, $312).

Perry earned $187 as the co-angler big-bass award winner, thanks to a 10-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a watermelon red Senko.

Seminole Division anglers will next visit the Apalachicola River in Wewahitchka, Fla., April 8 for their third regular-season event, followed by an event on Lake Seminole in Snead, Fla., April 29. A two-day Super Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held on the St. Johns River in Palatka, Fla., Sept. 23-24. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

Following the regular season, the Seminole 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 Seminole Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Demopolis Regional Championship near Demopolis, Ala., Oct. 19-21 where they will compete against Choo Choo, Everglades and Mississippi division anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 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 $8.8 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.