CLEWISTON, Fla. – Pro Jimmy McMillan of Belle Glade, Fla., caught a four-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $120,000 in the Walmart FLW Series BP Eastern Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee with a four-day catch of 19 bass weighing 74-4.
The catch gave him the win by a solid 13-pound margin over Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., who caught a total of 19 bass weighing 61-4 and earned $50,000.
“This is the best feeling in the world,” said McMillan, who is the 2008 Walmart FLW Series BP Eastern Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year. “This win is for my family. They are my biggest supporters.
“I went out looking for fish on Jan. 7 and found some key places that I knew I could catch fish during the tournament. This area had the right water quality and was perfect for bass. The bottom was made up of muscle beds and sand. After finding this area, I couldn’t wait for the tournament to start. I knew that the fish would be caught on the north end of the lake.”
McMillan caught all his bass this week from this key area that he found during practice. He used a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper and Sweet Beaver to catch his fish.
“Most of my fish came off the Skinny Dipper,” McMillan said. “The tail on this bait is the key. You have to hit the lanes and make it run just right for this to work. Being patient is very important. The fish will bite this bait every time. Even though the majority of my fish came off the Skinny Dipper I did catch a few fish on the Sweet Beaver. I used it to catch the fish that were on beds.”
McMillan opened the tournament in eighth place Wednesday with five bass weighing 19-10. On Thursday he added another five bass weighing 23-3 to capture the lead. He then caught five bass weighing 23-7 on Friday to make the crucial top 10 cut in first place.
Rounding out the top five pros are Shinichi Fukae of Mineola, Texas (20 bass, 59-9, $40,000); Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla. (18 bass, 58-3, $30,000) and Tom Mann Jr. of Buford, Ga. (18 bass, 57-4, $ 20,000).
Lunsford caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Pro Division Wednesday – an 10-pound, 3-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $500.
Overall there were 21 bass weighing 54 pounds, 4 ounces caught by six pros Saturday. The catch included one five-bass limits.
Larry Mullikin of Lauderhill, Fla., won the Co-angler Division and $20,000 Friday with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 38 pounds, 8 ounces followed by Robert Wood of Jupiter, Fla., in second place with 12 bass weighing 35-11 worth $10,000.
Mullikin opened the tournament in fifth place Wednesday with five bass weighing 15-10 while fishing with pro Tommy Rewis of Odenville, Ala. On Thursday he jumped to second place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 14-6 while fishing with pro Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas. He wrapped up the win Friday with a two-bass weighing 8-8 while fishing with pro David Carmichael of Lincolnton, Ga.
“I am speechless right now,” Mullikin said. “My dad has traveled with me to every FLW tournament for the past three years and this is the first one he missed. I wish he could be here to share this with me.”
Mullikin caught all of his fish this week on a Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper.
“I worked the bait on the top covering a lot of water,” Mullikin said. “Every once in a while I would drop it and the fish would follow it.
“I fished this bait in the open water and the thick grass. Most of my big fish came out of the grass.”
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are John Cochran of Springdale, Ark. (10 bass, 33-11, $7,500); Chip Brooks of Bradenton, Fla. (13 bass, 33-5, $5,000) and Tom Bowker of Terre Haute, Ind. (10 bass, 31-13, $4,000).
Al Odom of Chapin, S.C., caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Wednesday – an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $333.
Coverage of the Lake Okeechobee FLW Series tournament will be broadcast as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
The next FLW Series BP Eastern Division tournament, hosted by Eufaula Barbour County Chamber of Commerce, will be held April 1-4 on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Ala. Boats will launch from Lakepoint Resort State Park in Eufaula and the final weigh-in will be held at the Walmart located at 1252 S. Eufaula Ave. in Eufaula.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.