Bellar wins BFL event on Center Hill Lake

SILVER POINT, Tenn. – Boater Gene Bellar of Gainesboro earned $3,742 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Music City Division event on Center Hill Lake. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Music City Division events and featured 135 boaters vying for the win, which earned Bellar 200 points in the Boater Division.

Bellar’s winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 5 ounces, and he caught them on a chartreuse and white spinnerbait. Bellar also earned $675 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass.

Finishing second was Tim Staley of Dowelltown with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces that earned him $1,871. Chad Lannom of Mount Juliet claimed $1,272 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces. In fourth was Adam Wagner of Cookeville with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 1 ounce worth $973, and finishing fifth and earning $823 was Frank Lannom of Mount Juliet with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces. Chad and Frank Lannom are brothers.

Chad Lannom earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he earned another $250 from Yamaha because his boat was powered by a Yamaha outboard.

Danny Boggs of Fayetteville bested 134 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,857 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces that he caught on a jig and a spinnerbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Russell of Smyrna (five bass, 10 pounds, 7 ounces, $929); Bo Johnson of Gallatin (five bass, 10 pounds, 1 ounce, $631); Tony Byram of Nashville (five bass, 9 pounds, 7 ounces, $483); and Shane Welch of Cookeville (five bass, 9 pounds, 6 ounces, $409).

Jeff Glodoski of Springfield earned $335 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 11-ounce bass he caught on a Rat-L-Trap.

The Music City Division’s next event will be held May 8 on Old Hickory Lake near Gallatin, followed by an event on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Paris June 19. The Music City Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 18-19 with a two-day Super Tournament on Old Hickory Lake near Gallatin.

Following the regular season, the Music City Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader 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 30 Music City Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Columbus Pool regional near Columbus, Miss., Oct. 19-23, where they will compete against Cowboy, Illini and Seminole division anglers for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American. With a $100,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $50,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $6.3 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 24 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 this Web site.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com’s sponsor page.