Devere, Hall tie for BFL win on Dale Hollow Lake

BYRDSTOWN, Tenn. – Boaters Shannon Devere of Berea, Ky., and Curtis Hall of Florence, Ky., tied for the win at Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division tournament on Dale Hollow Lake Saturday, each with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces each. The victory earned Devere and Hall $3,464 apiece and placed them each one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 18-20, where they could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Devere also took home an additional $1,000 for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup participant.

Rounding out the top five boaters are David Upchurch of Columbia, Ky. (five bass, 14-00, $1,710); Mike Devere of Berea, Ky. (five bass, 13-14, $1,198); and Tim McDonald of Lexington, Ky. (five bass, 13-11, $1,027).

Ted Grigsby of Stanford, Ky., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $800 for a 7-pound, 4-ounce bass.

Aaron Singleton of Lagrange, Ky., earned $2,528 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught while fishing a homemade jig and a shaky head worm in about 15 to 20 feet of water.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Kibbee McCoy of Crossville, Tenn. (four bass, 11-6, $1,264); Dexter Mason of East Bernstadt, Ky. (two bass, 7-6, $845); Eric Moore of Ludlow, Ky. (five bass, 7-1, $590) and Allen Brewer of London, Ky. (three bass, 7-00, $506).

Mitch Lewis of Greensburg, Ky., earned $390 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass.

The Mountain Division’s next event will be April 28 on Laurel River Lake in London, Ky., followed by a tournament June 9 on the Barren River in Glasgow, Ky. The final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 15-16 on the Barren River in Glasgow, Ky.

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 Kentucky 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 241 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.