LANETT, Ala. – The Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will bring postseason competition and as many as 400 anglers to West Point Lake near Lanett, Ala., Nov. 5-9 for the Chevy Trucks Wild Card.
Anglers from across the nation will vie for six spots in the 2003 All-American, where the winning boater will receive $100,000 cash and the winning co-angler will win $50,000 cash. With such rich cash purses, the All-American remains one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.
Wild Card qualifiers competed in all five regular-season events in one of the BFL’s 26 divisions but did not finish inside the top 30 in divisional points standings and thus missed qualifying for one of seven regional championships. The 2002 All-American winner, Eddie Waits of Pine Bluff, Ark., advanced to the All-American through Wild Card competition.
Anglers will take off from Southern Harbor Resort in Lanett. Following three practice days, the full field will compete for two days to determine the top six anglers who will advance to the All-American.
Six regionals will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American, a seventh regional will send three boaters and three co-anglers and the Wild Card will send six boaters and six co-anglers for a total of 90 competitors.
Each of the BFL’s 26 divisions featured four one-day qualifying tournaments and a two-day Super Tournament during the 2002 season. Under the BFL’s boater and co-angler format, boaters supply the boats, fish from the front deck and control boat movement throughout the competition. Co-anglers fish from the back deck and are competing against other co-anglers. Two hundred points are awarded to tournament winners, 199 points are presented for second and so on except for the Super Tournament, where the winners earn 300 points, 298 points are given for second place and so on. These points determine angler standings throughout the season.
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 EverStart Series and ultimately the Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series. Each year the top 30 BFL boaters and co-anglers from each division are eligible to advance to the EverStart Series, and All-American champions are eligible for Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition. The top 10 pros and co-anglers from each of the EverStart Series’ three divisions are eligible to advance to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Former BFL anglers who have become fishing superstars on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour include Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt, Chevy pro Tommy Biffle and four-time FLW Tour champion David Fritts.
Sponsors of the 2002 Wal-Mart BFL are Wal-Mart, ALPO Pet Foods, BC Powder, BFGoodrich Tires, Castrol, Chevy Trucks, Conseco, Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, FujiFilm, Garmin, Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Maxwell House, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepsi, Poulan, Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, Stren, U.S. Bank, Weed Eater and Yamaha Outboards.
To enter a tournament, register online or call FLW Outdoors at (270) 252-1000.