After the final bass were weighed at the conclusion of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s 2004 season, Team Kellogg’s reigned supreme as the undisputed king of Division I in the unofficial sponsor-team competition. In Division II, Team Skippy’s grip on the top spot was nearly as resolute.
Division I
The pro anglers clad in the colors of Kellogg’s started the season at No. 1 and never relinquished the top spot in the overall standings. By the time the regular season ended at Lake Champlain in late June, Kellogg’s was ahead of its closest competitor by more than 31 points.
The dominance of Team Kellogg’s was anchored by consistent angling among its pros, but punctuated by the superior performances of two team members: Dave Lefebre of Erie, Pa., and Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas.
In only his second year on the FLW Tour, Lefebre contributed two top-10 finishes to the Kellogg’s cause. Lefebre started the season off right with a fifth-place finish at Lake Okeechobee in January. Only two events later in March, Lefebre earned his first tour-level win and 200 points for the team on Old Hickory Lake.
Wendlandt, who has graced the front of his sponsor’s Corn Flakes cereal box as a two-time FLW Angler of the Year, contributed precious points with a fourth-place finish on Beaver Lake in April. But Wendlandt’s consistency throughout the season was even more valuable to Team Kellogg’s and propelled him into fourth place in the standings among all FLW pros by the end of the regular season.
Team Castrol kept Kellogg’s honest throughout the season, holding down the No. 2 spot in the Division I standings after all but one event, but couldn’t surpass the enduring leader. Team Snickers briefly held the runner-up position in the overall standings after topping all teams at the Atchafalaya Basin tournament, but lost its footing and ultimately finished the season in fourth place.
Division II
Skippy had climbed to the top of the overall standings among Division II’s sponsor teams after the third event of 2004. The team enjoyed that vantage for the remainder of the regular season and finished the year a whopping 40 points ahead of the No. 2 team.
The consistent fishing prowess of Team Skippy’s Jason Kilpatrick of Satsuma, Ala., paved the way to the top of the standings in the first half of the season. Then the second-year FLW Tour pro hit pay dirt in the second half of the regular season, sealing the deal for Skippy.
Kilpatrick earned 194 points for the team with a seventh-place finish at Beaver Lake in April, which marked his first FLW top-10. He struck again with his second top-10 finish, 10th place, to close out the regular season at Lake Champlain in June.
Once Team Skippy hit the top of the charts midseason, it held a comfortable lead in the overall Division II standings – leading by 36 points or better – until the sponsor-team competition and FLW Tour regular season had come to a close.
Tyson, BFGoodrich Tires grab event wins to close out season
Though Kellogg’s and Skippy earned the ultimate prizes for the sponsor-team season, two other teams cashed in with year-end wins at Lake Champlain near Plattsburgh, N.Y. Taking top honors in Division I was Team Tyson, while Team BFGoodrich Tires was the Division II victor.
Tyson’s charge for a last-minute Division I win was led by John Crews of Jetersville, Va., who fished his way to a noteworthy 15th-place finish.
BFGoodrich Tires edged out seasonal champ Team Skippy to register an event win at Lake Champlain in Division II. The one-two punch of Team BFGoodrich Tires’ Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., and Chad Grigsby of Colon, Mich., knocked the rest of the competitors out of contention. Martin aimed high and hit his mark with an amazing first-place finish, while Grigsby contributed greatly with a 13th-place finish.
Explanation of team scoring
Points in the 2004 sponsor-team race were earned during the FLW Tour’s six qualifying events and monitored throughout the season. Standings are based on the average number of points earned by a team’s anglers as assigned in the FLW Tour’s Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year competition.
Final overall standings for sponsor teams competing unofficially on the 2004 FLW Tour have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Kellogg’s – 815.80
2. Castrol – 784.60
3. Tyson – 728
4. Snickers – 699.91
5. Fujifilm – 674.17
6. 7UP – 608
7. Land O’Lakes – 581
Division II (teams with two or fewer anglers)
1. Skippy – 857
2. Banana Boat – 817
3. BFGoodrich Tires – 780
4. Pedigree – 695
5. Lawry’s – 691
6. Ozark Trail – 677
7. Energizer – 447
Each of the 14 sponsor teams competed June 23-26 in the most recent FLW Tour event at Lake Champlain, and results from that tournament have been tallied:
Division I – Lake Champlain results (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Tyson – 139
2. Snickers – 132.33
3. Fujifilm – 113.50
4. Kellogg’s – 113.40
5. Castrol – 110
6. Land O’Lakes – 102.50
7. 7UP – 95.33
Division II – Lake Champlain results (teams with two or fewer anglers)
1. BFGoodrich Tires – 194
2. Skippy – 191
3. Banana Boat – 187
4. Lawry’s – 157
5. Pedigree – 119.50
6. Energizer – 114
7. Ozark Trail – 68
Sponsored anglers were in rare form on Lake Champlain, registering several top-20 finishes. Other top-notch performances at Lake Champlain among anglers on sponsored teams – in addition to those already highlighted – included these: an outstanding fourth-place finish from Fujifilm’s Randy Blaukat, an impressive seventh-place finish from Team Snickers’ Chris Baumgardner, a strong 14th-place finish from Team Banana Boat’s Kevin Vida, and a solid 17th-place finish from Team Land O’Lakes member Jerry Williams.