Junk wins Wal-Mart BFL Illini Division tourney

David Junk (left) of Quincy, Ill., topped 174 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Rend Lake with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned him $4,494 and 200 points in the Boater Division. Darrel Sollers of Herrin, Ill., claimed first place and $2,229 in the 170-competitor Co-angler Division with two bass weighing 10 pounds. Anglers: David Junk, Darrel Sollers.

April 20, 2002 • MLF • Archives

WHITTINGTON, Ill. – David Junk of Quincy, Ill., topped 174 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Rend Lake with three bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch earned him $4,494 and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Junk caught his limit on white tubes and lizards while targeting bedding fish in the south end of the lake.

The catch topped second-place boater Mark Jordan of Kevil, Ky., by 3 pounds, 9 ounces. Jordan finished the one-day tournament with a two-bass catch weighing 6 pounds worth $2,247. He also earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.

James Johnson of Woodlawn, Ill. (three bass, 5 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,348); Robert Atchison of Sesser, Ill. (one bass, 5 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,079); and John Wright of Shelbyville, Ill., (two bass, 4 pounds, 14 ounces, $989) rounded out the top five boaters.

Atchison earned boater big bass honors and $870 with a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass that he caught on a blue spinner bait.

Darrel Sollers of Herrin, Ill., claimed first place and $2,229 in the 170-competitor Co-angler Division with two bass weighing 10 pounds. He surpassed second-place co-angler Bobby Corn of Moberly, Mo., by 4 pounds, 1 ounce thanks to a crawdad colored tube he was flipping in grass along the lake’s north end. Corn finished with a three-bass catch weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces worth $1,121.

Roy Meyer of Teutopolis, Ill. (one bass, 4 pounds, $678); Ray Arning Jr. of Walnut Hill, Ill. (two bass, 3 pounds, 15 ounces, $545); and Tony Greene of Fairfield, Ill., (two bass, 3 pounds, 14 ounces, $501) rounded out the top five co-anglers.

Sollers earned big bass honors and $425 in his division with a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass.

The Wal-Mart BFL will visit the Ohio River May 4 for the second of five Illini Division events. The boater with the most points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 14-15 on the Ohio River, will be declared the Yamaha “Be the Best” Points Leader and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.

The top 30 Illini Division boaters and co-anglers will advance to regional competition presented by Yamaha Oct. 15-19 on Kentucky Lake near Gilbertsville, Ky., where they will go up against top competitors from the Great Lakes, Hoosier and Michigan divisions for a shot at qualifying for the Wal-Mart BFL All-American – one of the most lucrative post-season tournaments in competitive angling.

2002 BFL awards could reach $7 million based on full fields.