Smith seals deal on Greers Ferry Lake in BFL tourney

GREERS FERRY, Ark. – Boater Brad Smith of Hartford, Ark., earned $4,720 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division event on Greers Ferry Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Arkie Division events, which earned Smith 200 points in the Boater Division.

Smith’s winning catch of five bass weighed 14 pounds. He threw an array of top water plugs to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Derek Suit of Benton, Ark. (five bass, 12 pounds, 14 ounces, $2,360); Mike Scoggins of Danville, Ark. (five bass, 12 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,574); Mitchell Paul of Bald Knob, Ark. (five bass, 11 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,101) and John Hill of Western Gove, Ark. (four bass, 11 pounds, 6 ounces, $944).

Mark Hensiek of England, Ark., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $695 for a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass.

Rick Shelton of Plainview, Ark., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,343, thanks to five bass weighing 10 pounds.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Lee Lybarger of Texarkana, Ark. (five bass, 9 pounds, $1,172); Kevin McDonald of Alexander, Ark., (five bass, 8 pounds, 9 ounces, $781) Robert Thorne of Cushman, Ark., (four bass, 8 pounds, 6 ounces, $547) and Marvin Abney of Mountain Home, Ark. and Ray Cates of Texarkana, Ark. tied for fifth (five bass, 8 pounds, 4ounces, $449).

Jeff Stephenson of Searcy, Ark., earned $345 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 5-ounce bass.

The Arkie Division’s next event will be held June 17 on Lake Dardanelle near Russellville, Ark., followed by the division two-day Super Tournament event on Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs, Ark., Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Following the regular season, the Arkie 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 Arkie Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Wright Patman Regional Championship near Texarkana, Texas, Oct. 19-21 where they will compete against Cowboy, Louisiana and Okie 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. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

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.