Koski wins BFL Super Tournament on Ross Barnett

RIDGELAND, Miss. – Boater Chuck Koski of Brandon earned $5,741 Sunday as winner of the two-day, season-ending Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division Super Tournament on Ross Barnett Reservoir. His two-day total of 22 pounds, 15 ounces topped 88 fellow competitors in the Boater Division.

Koski caught 11 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to advance to Sunday’s competition, where he caught 11 pounds, 12 ounces to post the heaviest two-day weight and claim the win. He caught his tournament-winning bass on a goby-colored tube. This is his second top-10 finish of the season – he also finished sixth on the Columbus Pool in March.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Ricky Smith of Union (19 pounds, 14 ounces, $2,870); Shannon Denson of Brandon (19 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,555); David Watkins of Caledonia (13 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,316); and Kyle Glasgow of Guin, Ala. (13 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,076).

Smith earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Calvin Buchanan of Tupelo earned $880 as the Boater Division big-bass winner, thanks to a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass.

Everett Culpepper of Purvis earned $2,870 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 13 pounds, 10 ounces. He caught his bass in lily pads with a lizard and a white spinnerbait. This was Culpepper’s third career win and his second top-10 of the season.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are John Breeden of Brandon (11 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,435); David Best of Bartlett, Tenn. (8 pounds, 10 ounces, $777); Charles Knowles of Terry (7 pounds, 9 ounces, $658); and Lance Graves of Raymond (7 pounds, 8 ounces, $538).

Skipper Livingston of West Point claimed co-angler big-bass honors with a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught on a 10 1/2-inch June bug worm along the outside edge of lily pads. He earned $440 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.

Shan Schoenrock of Carrollton, Ala., earned $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” boater points champion in the Mississippi Division with 1,045 points for the season. Sammy Mitchell of Russellville, Ala., earned Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion honors and $500 in the Co-angler Division. He earned 991 points this season.

The top 30 boaters and co-anglers in the Mississippi Division will advance to the Lake Seminole regional, which will be held Oct. 5-9 in Bainbridge, Ga. There they will compete against qualifying anglers from the Bama, Gator and Piedmont 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.