Schoenrock takes top honors on Tunica Lake

TUNICA, Miss. – Boater Shan Schoenrock of Aliceville, Ala., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division tournament on Tunica Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces. The victory earned Schoenrock $3,727 plus a $657 Ranger contingency bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 18-20, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Schoenrock caught his bass throwing a Falcon spinnerbait on main-lake points.

Rounding out the top five boaters are David Roberts of Quitman, Miss. (four bass, 11-6, $2,193); Danny Carter of Hernando, Miss. (five bass, 10-13, $1,463); Brian Ingersoll of Cordova, Tenn. (four bass, 8-14, $1,023); and Darrell Moon of Corinth, Miss. (five bass, 8-5, $877).

Buster Ford of Ridgeland, Miss., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $620 for a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass.

Scott Watts of Nesbit, Miss., earned $2,118 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 10 pounds, 11 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jeff Johns of Terry, Miss. (three bass, 7-11, $1,059); Michael Hudspeth of Hernando, Miss. (three bass, 6-4, $706); Justin Sward of Vancleave, Miss. (two bass, 6-3, $494); and Lance Graves of Raymond, Miss. (two bass, 5-7, $424).

Grant Galloway of Houlka, Miss., earned $295 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass.

The division’s fourth event will be held June 30 on the Columbus Pool in Columbus, Miss., and the final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 8-9 on Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Miss.

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 Walmart.com.

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