Sanders best boater in Super Tournament on Ohio River

GOLCONDA, Ill. – Boater Steve Sanders of Vienna, Ill., earned 300 points and $5,632 Sunday as the winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Illini Division Super Tournament on the Ohio River.

Sanders’ two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 20 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Ivan Maxwell of Tunnel Hill, Ill. (10 bass, 18 pounds, 4 ounces, $2,816); Randy Stroup of Peoria, Ill. (10 bass, 18 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,877); David Bortner of Marion, Ill., (10 bass, 17 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,314) and Dale Greene of Mount Vernon, Ill. (10 bass, 17 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,126).

Anton Silvester of Stauton, Ill., won the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award with a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass that earned him $735.

Stroup took home an additional $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Rick McGuire of Warrenton, Mo., earned $2,816 as the co-angler winner thanks to 10 bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Tim Hunt of La Place, Ill. (nine bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,408); Timothy Mott of Bloomington, Ill. (10 bass, 12 pounds, 2 ounces, $941); Bradley Smith of Troy, Ill., (eight bass, 12 pounds, 1 ounce, $657) and Scott Jones of Shorewood, Ill.. (eight bass, 11 pounds, 6 ounces, $563).

Jerry Dye of Hume, Ill., earned $367 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 3-pound, 2-ounce bass.

The top 40 Illini Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will now advance to the no-entry-fee Fort Madison Regional Championship near Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 5-7, where they will compete against Great Lakes, Michigan and Ozark anglers for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck in the Boater Division plus six slots in the no-entry-fee 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash 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 Boater Division points champion who advances the farthest at the All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances the farthest will earn $5,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

For complete Illini Division standings, check online at FLWOutdoors.com.

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.

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.

For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

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.