GREENVILLE, Miss. – Ed Dunnaway of Brandon, Miss., topped 79 competitors on Lake Ferguson this weekend with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces to win $5,683 and 400 points on the boater side of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (BFL) Mississippi Division season finale.
After qualifying for the final round of the two-day Super Tournament in seventh place with an opening day catch of four bass weighing 10 pounds, 12 ounces, Dunnaway out fished runner up Steve Hatch of Long Beach, Miss., by 1 pound, 12 ounces to take the win. Dunnaway also received a $1,000 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.
Hatch qualified for the final round in fourth place with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 1 ounce and finished up with a final round catch weighing 9 pounds to win $2,842.
Charlie Long of Denham Springs, La., took third place and collected $1,421 with 9 pounds. Ronald Wilkinson of Denham Springs placed fourth and earned $1,232 with 8 pounds, 13 ounces, while Mark Rose of Marion, Ark., placed fifth and earned $1,137 with 8 pounds, 5 ounces.
Anthony Fulgham of Ethelsville, Ala., won the boater Big Bass Award and collected $790 with a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass on opening day
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $2,770 went to John Breeden of Brandon, Miss., who topped 77 competitors with a final round catch of four bass weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces. Second place in the division and $1,385 went to Steven West of Tupelo, Miss., with 6 pounds, 15 ounces, while Carl Graham of Collierville, Tenn., took third place and $692 with 4 pounds, 6 ounces.
West won the co-angler Big Bass Award of $385 with a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass on opening day.
James Hays of Meridian, Miss., landed the Divisional Points Championship and $1,000 with 1,121 points won during five regular season tournaments. Jimmy Ford of Purvis, Miss., landed the Co-Angler Points Championship and $500 with 1,303 points.
The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers in the Mississippi Division will advance to regional competition Oct. 16-20 on the Red River near Shreveport, La., where they will go up against top competitors from the Cowboy, Okie and Arkie divisions for a shot at qualifying for the BFL All-American, which features an estimated purse of $345,000 and ranks as one of the most lucrative post-season tournaments in competitive angling. The top two boaters and co-anglers may also qualify for the Ranger M1 tournament in Mobile, Ala., Feb. 27-March 2, 2002, where they can win up to $1 million in the world’s richest freshwater tournament.
Awards for the 2001 BFL season could reach $5.7 million based on full fields at each tournament.