Brown wins Walmart BFL event on Douglas Lake - Major League Fishing

Brown wins Walmart BFL event on Douglas Lake

Spradlin best co-angler
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Boater Randy Brown of Mosheim, Tenn., won the May 9 BFL Volunteer Division tournament on Douglas Lake to earn $4,271. Angler: Randy Brown.
May 9, 2009 • MLF • Archives

KODAK, Tenn. – Randy Brown of Mosheim, Tenn., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division tournament on Douglas Lake Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 14 ounces. The victory earned Brown $4,271 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.

Brown said he caught the majority of his bass by fishing deep with a jig and Carolina rig.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Tim Smiley of White Pine, Tenn. (five bass, 18-10, $12,136); Larry Neal of Piney Flats, Tenn. (five bass, 15-2, $1,424); Sonny Lee of Knoxville, Tenn. (five bass, 12-12, $997); and Tim Wyatt of Crossville, Tenn. (five bass, 12-8, $854).

Burton Bryan of Sevierville, Tenn., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $595 for an 8-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught.

Tony Spradlin of Lafollette, Tenn., earned $2,100 as the co-angler winner of the May 9 BFL Volunteer Division event.Tony Spradlin of Lafollette, Tenn., earned $2,100 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces. Spradlin said he caught the majority of his bass on a crankbait and a spinnerbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Michael Boggs of Lily, Ky. (five bass, 10-2, $1,050); Darrell Jewell of Loudon, Tenn. (four bass, 9-14, $701); Michaels Johnson of Bristol, Va. (four bass, 9-11, $490); and Timmy Cales of Peterson, W.Va. (five bass, 9-6, $402).

Michael Johnson earned $292 as the co-angler Big Bass winner with a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass he caught.

The next Volunteer Division event will be held on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn., June 6.

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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