Johnson wins Chevy Trucks Wild Card to advance to 2003 BFL All-American - Major League Fishing

Johnson wins Chevy Trucks Wild Card to advance to 2003 BFL All-American

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Craig Johnson of Martinez, Ga., caught five bass weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces during the final two days of competition on West Point Lake near Lanett, Ala., to lead the Chevy Trucks Wild Card field and advance to the 2003 All-American. Angler: Craig Johnson.
November 9, 2002 • MLF • Archives

LANETT, Ala. – Craig Johnson of Martinez, Ga., caught five bass weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces Friday and Saturday on West Point Lake near Lanett, Ala., to lead the Chevy Trucks Wild Card field and advance to the 2003 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League All-American, one of the most lucrative tournaments in bass angling.

Johnson caught his bass in partly cloudy conditions using a spinner bait. His winning catch topped runner-up Kenneth Stone of Silver Creek, Ga., by 1 pound, 8 ounces. Stone caught 10 bass over two days that weighed 14 pounds, 12 ounces.

The top six finishers in the Chevy Trucks Wild Card earned a berth in next year’s All-American, where the winning boater will take home $100,000 cash and the winning co-angler will earn $50,000 cash. Rounding out the All-American qualifiers in the Boater Division are Frank Eslinger of LaGrange, Ga. (seven bass, 14 pounds, 1 ounce); Tim Peek of Sharpsburg, Ga. (five bass, 12 pounds, 7 ounces); Martie Murphy of Thomaston, Ga. (nine bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces); and Randy Herren of Valley, Ala., (10 bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces).

The BFL is comprised of 26 divisions featuring five regular-season tournaments followed by postseason regional competitions featuring the top 30 boaters and co-anglers in final points standings. Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points. Seven BFL regionals, including the Wild Card, each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American while an eighth regional sends three boaters and three co-anglers, and anglers who fished all five regular-season tournaments within a division but did not advance to the regional could enter the Wild Card for a chance to compete in the All-American. More than 500 boaters and co-anglers visited West Point Lake last week for Wild Card competition.

Peter Babbini of Kennesaw, Ga., topped the co-angler field at the Chevy Trucks Wild Card with a two-day, nine-bass catch weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces.Peter Babbini of Kennesaw, Ga., topped the co-angler field with a two-day, nine-bass catch weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. He caught most of his bass on a crankbait. He out-fished his nearest competitor, Chris Gist of Rogersville, Ala., by just less than a pound. Gist finished with a seven-bass catch weighing 10 pounds, 6 ounces.

Rounding out the All-American qualifiers from the Co-angler Division are Larry Coleman of Saint Anne, Ill. (five bass, 10 pounds, 1 ounce); Dennis Hudson of Fortson, Ga. (five bass, 10 pounds); Brian Smith of Winston Salem, N.C. (five bass, 10 pounds); and Walter Whitman Jr. of Greensboro, N.C., (six bass, 9 pounds, 9 ounces).

The BFL is administered by FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing. Other FLW Outdoors-sanctioned tournament trails include the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, the EverStart Series, the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and the Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its five tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, browse this Web site.