GADSDEN, Ala. – Boater Terry Tucker of Gadsden, Ala., earned $5,057 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division event on Lake Neely Henry. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Choo Choo Division events.
Tucker’s winning catch of five bass weighed 16 pounds, 1 ounce. He was throwing a Prowler Jig on deep ledges in the upper lake area to catch his bass.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Steve Burchfield of Rainbow City, Ala. (five bass, 15 pounds, 2 ounces, $2,528); Mike Ary of Dalton, Ga. (five bass, 14 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,685); Marshall Deakins of Dunlap, Tenn. (five bass, 13 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,180) and Phillip Dukes of Rainsville, Ala. (five bass, 13 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,011).
Chad Wood of Chatsworth, Ga., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $780 for a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Texas-rigged Watermelon Candy Zoom Brush Hog.
Michael Deramus of Odenville, Ala., bested the Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,523 with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces that he caught flipping submerged structure with a Chatterbait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Danny Moss of Glencoe, Ala. (five bass, 11 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,262); Shane Breeden of Chickamauga, Ga. (five bass, 11 pounds, 9 ounces, $841); Mark Pirkle of Cleveland, Tenn., tied with Ben Yates of Charleston, Tenn. (five bass, 9 pounds, 13 ounces, $547); and Clayton Bentley of New Market, Ala. (five bass, 9 pounds, 4 ounces, $463).
Breeden earned an additional $385 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound bass he caught in shallow water on a Chatterbait.
The Choo Choo Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 23-24 with a two-day Super Tournament on lake Guntersville near Scottsboro, Ala.
Following the regular season, the Choo Choo Division boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 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 Choo Choo Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Demopolis Regional near Demopolis, Ala., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Everglades, Mississippi, and Seminole anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 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 $8.8 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 FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.