Allen aces BFL event on Lake Livingston

LIVINGSTON, Texas – Boater Mark Allen of Kemp, Texas, won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division tournament on Lake Livingston Saturday with a four-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned Allen $3,439 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Wright Patman Lake Regional Championship in Texarkana, Texas, Oct. 25-27, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Allen was throwing a combination of spinnerbaits and soft-plastics around shallow cover to catch his bass.

Allen also earned an additional $1,000 for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup contingency participant.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Trea Luedke of Montgomery, Texas (five bass, 13-4, $2,023); Jeff Jackowski of Tomball, Texas (five bass, 12-1, $1,348); John Cox of Austin, Texas (five bass, 11-14, $944) and Glen Freeman of Converse, La. (four bass, 11-10, $809).

Jeff Kitchens of Henderson, Texas, took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $555 for a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass.

Brian Shook of Lumberton, Texas, earned $2,023 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce that he caught while fishing a soft-plastic worm targeting bedding bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Kyle Robinson of Anna, Texas (four bass, 7-11, $1,011); John Littleton of Humble, Texas (two bass, 7-1, $674); Gerald Holub of Crosby, Texas (two bass, 5-7, $472) and Jeffrey Wharton of Humble, Texas (two bass, 5-00, $405).

Myron Sims of Quitman, Texas, earned $277 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 5-ounce bass.

The Cowboy Division’s next event will be March 17 on Lake Conroe in Conroe, Texas, followed by a tournament April 14 on Toledo Bend in Hemphill, Texas. The division’s final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 29-30 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper, Texas.

Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Wright Patman Lake Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the 2008 All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete 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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 will offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.

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.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.