Mauldin makes grade in BFL event on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes - Major League Fishing

Mauldin makes grade in BFL event on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes

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Boater Mark Mauldin of Knoxville, Tenn., won the March 21 BFL Volunteer Division tournament on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes to earn $4,541. Angler: Mark Mauldin.
March 21, 2009 • MLF • Archives

LENOIR CITY, Tenn. – Mark Mauldin of Knoxville, Tenn., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division tournament on the Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 23 pounds, 4 ounces. The victory earned Mauldin $4,541 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Norman Regional Championship in Lake Norman, N.C., Oct. 22-24, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

“I had all my fish halfway through the day,” said Mauldin. “So the second half of the day, I helped my co-angler and ran the troller motor for him so he could fish.”

Mauldin fished the lower end of Fort Loudoun on deeper points with a jerkbait.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Glenn Carter of Rockwood, Tenn. (four bass, 16-8, $2,270); Brandon Coulter of Knoxville, Tenn. (five bass, 15-7, $1,514); Kendale Roach of Knoxville, Tenn. (four bass, 14-0, $1,060); and Joe Lee of Knoxville, Tenn. (five bass, 12-0, $908).

Kendale Roach took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $660 for a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass he caught.

Marvin Taylor, Jr. of Enka, N.C., earned $2,236 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass weighing 12 pounds.

Marvin Taylor Jr. of Enka, N.C., earned $2,236 as the co-angler winner of the March 21 BFL Volunteer Division event.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Rick Etherton of Friendsville, Tenn. (three bass, 11-3, $1,118); James Taylor of Chilhowie, Va. (two bass, 8-2, $745); Paul Dabney of Knoxville, Tenn. (three bass, 8-1, $522); and Todd Pippin of Bristol, Tenn. (three bass, 7-13, $447).

Jonathan Saddler of Bristol, Tenn., earned $325 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass.

The next Volunteer Division event will be held on the South Holston Reservoir in Bristol, Tenn., April 18.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.

The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee 2010 Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour.

In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.

Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.

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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.