Vicchio victorious at Cherokee Lake

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. – Boater Ken Vicchio of Bluff City, Tenn., earned $4,938 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division event on Cherokee Lake. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Mountain Division events and earned Vicchio 200 points in the Boater Division.

Vicchio also netted an additional $1,000 per award for being the first-place finisher enrolled in the Ranger Cup and Bombardier Bonus contingency programs.

Vicchio’s winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 10 ounces. He was throwing a white jig in and around bushes and willow trees in 2 to 6 feet of water to catch his fish.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Rex Huff of Corbin, Ky. and Perry Neathery tied for second (five bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces, $2,057); Jarrod Hembree of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 16 pounds, $1,152); and Tee Watkins of East Point, Ky. (five bass, 15 pounds, 10 ounces, $988).

Mike Williams of Lancaster, Ky., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $362 for a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a green-pumpkin jig.

Dexter Mason of East Bernstadt, Ky., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,403 thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Michael Livesay of Dandridge, Tenn. (five bass, 12 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,201); Robert Reeder of Corbin, Ky. (four bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $806); Steve Ward of Simpsonville, Ky. (three bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces, $561); and Michael Casada of Pine Knot, Ky. (four bass, 9 pounds, 15 ounces, $481).

Randall Christopher of Irvine, Ky., earned $745 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass.

The Mountain Division’s next event will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 23-24 on the Barren River near Scottsville, Ky.

Following the regular season, the Mountain 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 Mountain Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Kentucky Lake Regional near Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Bama, Buckeye and Hoosier 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 and nine other national tournament circuits offering a combined $35.5 million in awards through 235 events in 2006. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren 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, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series 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.