Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Tournaments Season Openers Slated for April 18th.

by Robin Thweatt

(Apr. 09, 2009 – Benton, KY)… The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will visit on April 18th for the third of five regular-season events listed below. As many as 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers are expected to compete in the tournament, which will award as much as $45,000 in cash, including a top award of $6,000 in the Boater Division.

If the winner is a participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, he or she will receive a $2,000 bonus from Ranger Boats. If the winner is not a Ranger Cup participant, Ranger will award $1,000 to the highest-finishing Ranger Cup participant. That’s a potential top award of $8,000 for anglers who meet contingency guidelines.

Bombardier will award $1,000 to the winning boater if the winner’s boat is equipped with a qualifying Evinrude E-TEC or Direct Injection outboard.

The winning co-angler will earn as much as $3,000 cash.

Big Bass awards of up to $1,000 and $500, respectively, will also be awarded in the Boater and Co-angler Divisions.

1. The Savannah River Division will visit Lake Hartwell in Clemson, S.C. Clemson Marina in Seneca will host the takeoff and weigh-in at 6:45 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

Anglers may register for the tournament online at the FLWOutdoors website or by calling (270) 252-1000. Onsite registration will be held April 17 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Walmart store located at 1636 Sandifer Blvd. in Seneca, S.C. Entry fees are $200 for boaters and $100 for co-anglers.

2. The Ozark Division will visit Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo. Kimberling Inn Resort in Kimberling City, Mo., will host the takeoff and weigh-in at 6:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

Anglers may register for the tournament online at the FLWOutdoors website or by calling (270) 252-1000. Onsite registration will be held April 17 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Walmart store located at 18401 State Highway 13 in Branson. Entry fees are $200 for boaters and $100 for co-anglers.

3. The Music City Division will visit Center Hill Lake in Sparta, Tenn. Ragland Bottoms Recreation Area in Sparta will host the takeoff and weigh-in at 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

Anglers may register for the tournament online at the FLWOutdoors website or by calling (270) 252-1000. Onsite registration will be held April 17 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Walmart store located at 515 W. Broad St. in Smithville, Tenn. Entry fees are $200 for boaters and $100 for co-anglers.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.

The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee $2.5 million Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour.

A two-day Super Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held on the Kissimmee River in Lake Wales, Fla., Sept. 19-20.

Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in the Everglades Division will advance to the Lake Seminole Regional Championship in Bainbridge, Ga., Oct. 22-24 and will compete against anglers from the Bulldog, Bama and Dixie divisions for an All-American berth.

In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.

Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.

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