Penn wins BFL Super Tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes

PARIS, Tenn. – Shawn Penn of Eddyville, Ky., caught 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 7 ounces to win $5,344 at the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League LBL Division Super Tournament, held this weekend on Kentucky and Barkley lakes near Paris. Penn bested 80 Boater Division competitors and earned 300 points at the tournament, which was the fifth and final LBL Division event of the regular season.

Penn caught five bass Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce and caught another five weighing 11 pounds, 6 ounces Sunday to win the event. He caught his tournament-winning bass on the north end of Kentucky Lake fishing a white and chartreuse spinner bait near shallow stumps.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Bobby Kilzer of Trenton (nine bass, 24 pounds, 15 ounces); Ramie Colson Jr. of Cadiz, Ky. (nine bass, 24 pounds, 6 ounces); Phil Cannady of Nashville (five bass, 24 pounds, 3 ounces); and Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky. (nine bass, 23 pounds, 14 ounces).

Bolton earned a $500 bonus as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and Cannady earned $800 as the big-bass award winner thanks to a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass.

Dwayne Charlton of Milan led 80 Co-angler Division competitors on day two to claim $2,672 as the Super Tournament co-angler winner. He caught two bass Saturday weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces and followed that up Sunday with three more bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces to earn the win with a two-day total of five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces. He caught his bass on a June bug worm.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Michael Aldridge of Falls of Rough, Ky. (five bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces); Rodger Lutz of Kuttawa, Ky. (seven bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces); Chad Allen of Vincennes, Ind. (six bass, 10 pounds, 10 ounces); and Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo. (three bass, 10 pounds, 1 ounce).

Norman Jackson of Princeton, Ky., took co-angler big-bass honors and $400 with a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass.

Ray Barga of Gilbertsville, Ky., is the LBL Division’s Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader, winning $1,000 for the 1,049 points he earned during five regular-season tournaments. Larry Martin of Clarksville is the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader in the Co-angler Division. He earned $500 for his division-leading 1,032 points.

The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers in the LBL Division will advance to regional competition Oct. 21-25 on Beaver Lake near Rogers, Ark., where they will go up against top competitors from the Great Lakes, Okie and Ozark divisions for a shot at qualifying for the BFL All-American, one of the most lucrative postseason tournaments in competitive angling.

The BFL comprises 24 divisions nationwide, each featuring five regular-season events that lead to one of six regionals. Four of the regular-season tournaments are one-day events, while the final event, a Super Tournament, is a two-day tournament that will award as much as $70,950 to participating anglers. Anglers who enter all five regular-season events in a division but do not advance to a regional may enter the Chevy Trucks Wild Card for a shot at qualifying for the All-American. The All-American field comprises 84 competitors – six boaters and six co-anglers from six regionals plus six boaters and six co-anglers from the Wild Card.

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 EverStart Series and ultimately the Wal-Mart FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament series. Each year the top 30 boaters and co-anglers from each BFL division are eligible to advance to the EverStart Series, and the All-American champions are eligible for Wal-Mart FLW Tour competition. The top 15 pros and co-anglers from the Central, Eastern and Northern divisions of the EverStart Series (top 10 from the Western Division) are eligible to advance to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour. Former BFL anglers who have become fishing superstars on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour include Kellogg’s pro Clark Wendlandt, Chevy pro Tommy Biffle and four-time FLW Tour champion David Fritts.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997.

FLW Outdoors and the Wal-Mart FLW Tour are named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.