Warfield wins West Point Lake tourney

LANETT, Ala. – Boater Brad Warfield of Sharpsburg, Ga., earned $5,349 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on West Point Lake. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Bulldog Division events.

Warfield’s winning catch of five bass weighed 20 pounds, 5 ounces. He was throwing a Carolina-rigged Redbug Zoom Ole’ Monster worm to catch his bass. Warfield also earned an additional $1,000 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Ashley Newell of Fitzgerald, Ga. (five bass, 14 pounds, 2 ounces, $2,675); Kip Carter of Oxford, Ga. (four bass, 12 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,782); Darryl Stewart of Slocomb, Ala. (four bass, 12 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,248) and Wayne Markham of Sycamore, Ga. (four bass, 10 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,070).

Stewart took home Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning him an additional $850 for an 8-pound, 3-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a finesse worm.

Chester Sexton of Stockbridge, Ga., bested the Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,474 with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught on a Chatterbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Kevin Barwick of Stockbridge, Ga. (five bass, 10 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,237); Mike Bruning of Villa Rica, Ga. (four bass, 9 pounds, 14 ounces, $824); Darryl Johnson of Flowery Branch, Ga., tied with Rick Tindell of Leesburg, Ga. (three and five bass, 9 pounds, 13 ounces, $536); and Dennis Gaddy of Hogansville, Ga. (five bass, 9 pounds, 1 ounces, $454).

Joseph Milford of Lanett, Ala., earned $377 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a Lemon Pepper Finesse Worm.

The Bulldog Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 30-Oct. 1 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Oconee near Buckhead, Ga.

Following the regular season, the Bulldog 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 Bulldog Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Chickamauga Regional near Hixson, Tenn., Oct. 12-14, where they will compete against Dixie, LBL, and Music City 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.