Clapper wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Detroit River - Major League Fishing

Clapper wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Detroit River

Ohio boater picks up fourth Detroit River win, sixth overall BFL win
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Boater Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio, was the winner of the July 9 BFL Michigan Division event on the Detroit River. Angler: Steve Clapper.
July 9, 2005 • MLF • Archives

TRENTON, Mich. – Boater Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio, earned $3,596 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division event on the Detroit River. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Michigan Division events and featured 109 boaters vying for the win, which earned Clapper 200 points in the Boater Division.

Clapper’s winning catch of five bass weighed 23 pounds, 4 ounces. He was fishing deep rock piles with goby lures on the north shore of Lake Erie when he caught his limit of bass. Clapper earned an additional $545 as winner of the Boater Division big-bass award, thanks to a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass, plus another $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Finishing second was Scott Dobson of Clarkson with five bass weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces that earned him $1,798. Thomas Moleski of Elkhart, Ind., claimed $1,177 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 20 pounds, 13 ounces. In fourth was Joe Balog of Harrison Township with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 8 ounces worth $915, and finishing fifth and earning $752 was Robert Barta of Deerfield with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces.

Dan Manypenny of Streator, Ill., bested 109 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,798 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 19 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a tube bait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jay Ahonen of Ortonville (five bass, 18 pounds, 7 ounces, $899); Homer Stephens of Nobelsville, Ind. (five bass, 17 pounds, 9 ounces, $587); James Gargis of Mishawaka, Ind. (five bass, 17 pounds, 6 ounces, $458); and Travis Edgar of North Webster, Ind. (five bass, 16 pounds, 10 ounces, $376).

Michael Kramer of South Bend, Ind., earned $273 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a goby tube bait.

The Michigan Division’s next event will be held July 30 on Muskegon Lake near Muskegon, followed by an event on the Detroit River near Trenton Aug. 20. The Michigan Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Detroit River near Trenton.

Following the regular season, the Michigan 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 Michigan Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Ohio River Regional near Paducah, Ky., Oct. 11-15 where they will compete against Arkie, Hoosier and Great Lakes 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 browse 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.