Benjamin wins Walmart BFL event on Ohio River - Major League Fishing

Benjamin wins Walmart BFL event on Ohio River

Smith winner in Co-angler Division
Image for Benjamin wins Walmart BFL event on Ohio River
Boater Dwight Benjamin of Felicity, Ohio, won the Aug. 8 BFL Buckeye Division tournament on the Ohio River to earn $3,289. Angler: Dwight Benjamin.
August 8, 2009 • MLF • Archives

MAYSVILLE, Ky. – Dwight Benjamin of Felicity, Ohio, won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division tournament on the Ohio River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces. The victory earned Benjamin $3,289 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 15-17, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Benjamin said he caught the majority of his limit throwing a spinnerbait in brush piles on the main river, approximately 15 miles from the ramp.

Rounding out the top five boaters are John Keal of Milford, Ky. (five bass, 8-3, $1,644); Ken Barker of Middletown, Ohio (three bass, 7-13, $1,097); Clyde McNaron of Trenton, Ohio (five bass, 7-8, $767); and John Carter of Felicity, Ohio (four bass, 7-1, $658).

Craig Mills of Hamilton, Ohio, and Randy Dyke of Waverly, Ohio, tied for the Boater Division Big Bass award, each earning $197 for a 3-pound, 11-ounce bass.

Charlie Smith of Florence, Ky., earned $1,644 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass Charlie Smith of Florence, Ky., earned $1,644 as the co-angler winner of the Aug. 8 BFL Buckeye Division event.weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Andrew Helton of Lucasville, Ohio (three bass, 4-12, $822); David Palmer of Port Clinton, Ohio (two bass, 4-2, $549); Trent Norman of Cincinnati, Ohio (one bass, 3-14, $384); and Kenneth Garrison of Hamilton, Ohio (two bass, 3-12, $329).

Trent Norman earned $197 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 3-pound, 14-ounce bass.

The final Buckeye Division event, a two-day Super Tournament, will be held on the Ohio River in Lawrenceburg, Ind., Sept. 12-13.

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.