Oneal wins BFL Super Tournament on Lake Seminole

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Boater Lonnie Oneal of Valdosta earned $5,611 Sunday as winner of the two-day, season-ending Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Seminole Division Super Tournament on Lake Seminole. His two-day total of 17 pounds, 4 ounces topped 84 fellow competitors in the Boater Division.

Oneal caught 7 pounds, 9 ounces Saturday to advance to Sunday’s competition, where he caught 9 pounds, 11 ounces to post the heaviest two-day weight and claim the win. This is his first career victory in the BFL but his second top-10 finish of the season. He finished 10th at the Seminole Division event on the Apalachicola River in May.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Patrick Pierce of Jacksonville, Fla. (16 pounds, 4 ounces, $2,806); Steve Bushore of Bainbridge (15 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,520); Bobby Smith of Panama City, Fla. (14 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,286); and Peter Jannotti of Jacksonville, Fla. (14 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,052).

Jonathan Jones of Jennings, Fla., earned $840 as the Boater Division big-bass winner, thanks to a 7-pound, 5-ounce bass.

Douglas Pitts of Bonifay, Fla., earned $2,739 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 15 pounds, 6 ounces. This is also his first victory in the BFL.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Donald Fussell of Jacksonville, Fla. (11 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,369); Brantly Morris of Quincy, Fla. (10 pounds, 15 ounces, $742); Robert Dice of Perry, Fla. (10 pounds, 8 ounces, $628); and Jason Bruner of Cottondale, Fla. (9 pounds, 13 ounces, $514).

Each of the BFL’s 24 nationwide divisions features four one-day tournaments and one two-day Super Tournament within the regular season. In Super Tournament competition, the entire field competes on day one and the top 20 percent advances to day two, with the winners determined by the heaviest two-day catch weights. More money is awarded at Super Tournaments as well as more points that count toward year-end angler standings. In a Super Tournament, 300 points are awarded for first place, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on.

Frank Streeter of Jacksonville, Fla., earned $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” boater points champion in the Seminole Division with 1,041 points for the season. Joe Parker of Trenton, Fla., earned Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion honors and $500 in the Co-angler Division. He earned 1,017 points this season.

The top 30 boaters and co-anglers in the Seminole Division will advance to the Columbus Pool regional, which will be held Oct. 19-23 in Columbus, Miss. There they will compete against qualifying anglers from the Cowboy, Illini and Music City divisions for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American. The All-American awards a $100,000 cash prize to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler, making it one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing.

Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to regional competition are eligible to fish the Chevy Trucks Wild Card for an All-American berth. Six nationwide regionals plus the Wild Card will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total field of 84 competitors.

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.