Smotherman wins Wal-Mart BFL event on Toledo Bend

SHELBYVILLE, Texas – Boater Randy Smotherman of Shelbyville earned $2,981 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division event on Toledo Bend. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Cowboy Division events and earned Smotherman 200 points in the Boater Division.

Smotherman’s winning catch of five bass weighed 23 pounds, 5 ounces. Smotherman caught his bass while fishing a 9A Bomber around mid-lake ledges.

Finishing second was Mark Allen of Lindale with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him $1,491. Jimmy Hickman of Shreveport, La., claimed $975 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 1 ounce. In fourth was Glen Freeman of Converse, La., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces worth $759, and finishing fifth and earning $623 was Rick Carter of Alba with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces.

Allen earned an additional $750 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha awards.

Allen also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $415 for a 8-pound, 6-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a jig.

Bob Narron of Hemphill earned $1,491 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a wacky worm.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Billy Robbins Jr. of Navasota (five bass, 11 pounds, 15 ounces, $745); Lon Shipe of Tomball (four bass, 10 pounds, 2 ounces, $489); Larry Bolton of Seabrook (five bass, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, $379); and John Cox of Austin (four bass, 7 pounds, 7 ounces, $312).

Shipe earned $208 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass he caught on a Carolina-rigged baby brush hog.

The Cowboy Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Sam Rayburn Lake near Sam Rayburn.

Following the regular season, the Cowboy Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion 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 40 Cowboy Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Ouachita Regional near Hot Springs, Ark., Oct. 18-22, where they will compete against Louisiana, Okie and Ozark Division anglers for one of six slots in the 2006 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 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 visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.