Edwards wins BFL Super Tournament on Ohio River

CANNELTON, Ind. – Boater T.J. Edwards of Waldron earned $6,310 Sunday as winner of the two-day, season-ending Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division Super Tournament on the Ohio River. His two-day total of 15 pounds, 9 ounces topped 105 fellow competitors in the Boater Division.

Edwards caught 6 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to advance to Sunday’s competition, where he caught 8 pounds, 11 ounces to post the heaviest two-day weight and claim the win. Edwards also earned a $1,000 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he also earned a $1,000 bonus from Garmin for using Garmin electronics exclusively during the event. He finished in the top 10 in four out of five Hoosier Division events this season.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Larry Sisk of Evansville (13 pounds, 8 ounces, $3,155); Fujifilm pro Wes Thomas of Hanover (12 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,709); Bernie Miller of North Vernon (10 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,446); and Scott Bateman of Washington (8 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,183).

Craig Mills of Hamilton, Ohio, earned $1,050 as the Boater Division big-bass winner, thanks to a 3-pound, 3-ounce bass.

Steve Jones of Indianapolis earned $3,185 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 5 pounds, 6 ounces. The win completes a rookie season in which he ranked 20th among Hoosier Division co-anglers.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Benjamin Massie of Boswell (4 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,593); Chuck Logsdon of Lawrenceburg (4 pounds, $863); Chris Fint of Frankfort, Ky. (3 pounds, 15 ounces, $730); and Terry Knies of Sellersburg (3 pounds, 14 ounces, $597).

Kent Lee of Loveland, Ohio, claimed co-angler big-bass honors with a 3-pound, 6-ounce bass. He earned $520 for his big bass.

Each of the BFL’s 24 nationwide divisions features four one-day tournaments and one two-day Super Tournament within the regular season. In Super Tournament competition, the entire field competes on day one and the top 20 percent advances to day two, with the winners determined by the heaviest two-day catch weights. More money is awarded at Super Tournaments as well as more points that count toward year-end angler standings. In a Super Tournament, 300 points are awarded for first place, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on.

Todd Hensley of New Albany earned $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” boater points champion in the Hoosier Division with 1,064 points for the season. Matt Linton of South Bend earned Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion honors and $500 in the Co-angler Division. He earned 1,061 points this season.

The top 30 boaters and co-anglers in the Hoosier Division will advance to the Kentucky Lake regional presented by Yamaha, which will be held Oct. 12-16 in Gilbertsville, Ky. There they will compete against qualifying anglers from the Choo Choo, Great Lakes and Michigan divisions for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American. The All-American awards a $100,000 cash prize to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler, making it one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing.

Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to regional competition are eligible to fish the Chevy Trucks Wild Card for an All-American berth. Six nationwide regionals plus the Wild Card will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total field of 84 competitors.

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.