Loftin wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Super Tournament on St. Johns River

PALATKA, Fla. – Boater Charlie Loftin of St. Augustine, Fla., earned 300 points and $4,465 Sunday as the winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Seminole Division Super Tournament on the St. Johns River.

Loftin’s two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 27 pounds, 7 ounces. He fished a trick worm on a Carolina rig up and down the river traveling as far as Lake George to catch his winning two-day limit.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Jeff Fitts of Keystone Heights, Fla. (10 bass, 26 pounds, 1 ounce, $2,233); John Kremer of Sanford, Fla. (10 bass, 25 pounds, $1,488); Deryl Williams of Lake City, Fla. (seven bass, 24 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,042); and Bryan Hudgins of Orange Park, Fla. (10bass, 20 pounds, 15 ounces, $893).

Hudgins also took home $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Mason Brock of Marianna, Fla., won the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award with a 10-pound largemouth bass that earned him $510.

Ben Broughton of Day, Fla., earned $2,233 as the co-angler winner thanks to nine bass weighing 28 pounds, 2 ounces that he caught on a watermelon and red Senko fished around stumps and on flats.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike McClenaghan of Jacksonville, Fla. (eight bass, 18 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,116); Everette Back of East Palatka, Fla. (eight bass, 16 pounds, 13 ounces, $744); Sam Parker of Oviedo, Fla. (four bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces, $744) and Kevin Giddens of Moultrie, Ga. (nine bass, 12 pounds, $447).

Back also earned $255 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth bass.

The top 40 Seminole Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will now advance to the no-entry-fee Regional Championship near Demopolis, Ala., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Choo-Choo, Everglades and Mississippi Division anglers for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck in the Boater Division plus six slots in the no-entry-fee 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash 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 Boater Division points champion who advances the farthest at the All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances the farthest will earn $5,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

For complete Seminole Division standings, browse FLWOutdoors.com.

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 FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.