Williams wins Walmart BFL event on Lake Ouachita

Tierney tops Co-angler Division

MOUNT IDA, Ark. – Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division two-day Super Tournament on Lake Ouachita Sunday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 17 pounds, 1 ounce. The victory earned Williams $4,943 and solidified his ticket to the Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 15-17, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

“That one was completely unexpected,” said Williams. “Of course, it’s hard to win a tournament like that, but I never thought I had a chance to win it.

“I just went out and caught a limit real quick the second day. I just got lucky. I was on fish, and they were easy to catch.”

Williams said he caught nine keepers the first day of competition using a Norman Deep Little N crankbait and 11 keepers the next day on a Norman DD22, which is a big, deep-running crankbait.

Williams said he is looking forward to the Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Regional Championship in October.

“I love fishing there,” Williams said. “I was there two weeks ago and caught 150 a day. It’s an absolutely incredible fishery … the best fishery I’ve ever been on.”

Rounding out the top five boaters are Team Berkley pro Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Ark. (seven bass, 16-2, $2,471); Team PTSI’s Spencer Shuffield of Bismarck, Ark. (seven bass, 15-12, $1,648); Chris Darby of Mount Ida, Ark. (nine bass, 15-9, $1,153); and Team Land O’Lakes pro Jeremiah Kindy of Benton, Ark. (eight bass, 15-4, $989).

Tim Gartman of Conway, Ark., took home the Boater Division Folgers Big Bass award, earning $607 for a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a crankbait.

David Tierney of Fayetteville, Ark., earned $2,471 as the co-angler winner Sunday thanks to a two-day catch of nine bass weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught cranking flats with a deep-diving crankbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jimmy Burrow of Malvern, Ark. (five bass, 14-12, $1,236); Stan Cullipher of Malvern, Ark. (seven bass, 13-9, $822); Brian Choate of Conway, Ark. (six bass, 10-15, $577); and Samuel Hutson of Benton, Ark. (seven bass, 9-14, $494).

Burl Garrett of Benton, Ark., earned $304 as the co-angler Folgers Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass on a 10-inch soft-plastic worm in 20 feet of water.

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 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.

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 has taken fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports. Sign up for Player’s Advantage 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.