Mauldin wins Mountain Division event on Douglas Lake

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Mark Mauldin of Cleveland, Tenn., earned $4,569 Saturday as winner of the third regular-season Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division event, held on Douglas Lake near Sevierville. He caught five bass weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces to claim the win and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Mauldin caught his bass on the lower end of the lake with a Carolina-rigged crankbait. He also earned $885 as the Boater Division big-bass winner with a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass he caught on a Mann’s 30-Plus crankbait.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Guy Siler of Rutledge (five bass, 19 pounds, $2,285); Brian Holt of Newport (five bass, 16 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,554); Jim Bryant Jr. of Lancaster, Ky. (five bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,188); and Chad Baker of Piney Flats (five bass, 14 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,005).

Mark Hogue of Stanford, Ky., earned $500 from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.

Robert Hood of Somerset, Ky., claimed $2,090 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a five-bass catch weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught on a Carolina-rigged crankbait from the back of Mauldin’s boat.

Finishing second was Joe Leonard of Bristol, Va., with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces that earned him $1,045. In third was David Noe of Knoxville with a five-bass limit that weighed 10 pounds, 10 ounces worth $710. Tied for fourth were Tim Garland of London, Ky., and Matthew Reece of Irvine, Ky., with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces that earned each of them $501.

Reece earned $393 as the co-angler big-bass winner with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass that he caught on a Mann’s 20-Plus crankbait.

The Mountain Division’s next stop will be June 5 on Watts Barr Lake in Spring City, and the regular season will come to a close Oct. 2-3 with a two-day Super Tournament on Cherokee Lake in Morristown.

Following the regular season, the top 30 boaters and 30 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Wheeler Lake regional near Rogersville, Ala., Oct. 19-23, where they will compete against anglers from the Bulldog, LBL and Shenandoah divisions for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American. With a $100,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings. The Mountain Division boater who amasses the most points at the end of the regular season will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader, and the co-angler earning the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader in the Co-angler Division.

The $6.3 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 24 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site.

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. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com’s sponsor page.