Rahuba wins BFL Super Tournament on Old Hickory Lake

GALLATIN, Tenn. – Gallatin resident Joseph Rahuba earned $5,870 Sunday as winner of the two-day, season-ending Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Music City Division Super Tournament on Old Hickory Lake. His two-day total of 24 pounds, 15 ounces topped 92 fellow competitors in the Boater Division.

Rahuba caught 12 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to advance to Sunday’s competition, where he caught 12 pounds, 3 ounces to post the heaviest two-day weight and claim the win. He caught his tournament-winning bass fishing main-river channels and creeks with a 3/8-ounce black and blue jig. The win concludes Rahuba’s rookie season in the BFL and marks his best career finish.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Chuck Moore of Mount Juliet (19 pounds, 3 ounces, $2,935); Tim Coates of Westmoreland (17 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,590); Drew Boggs of Lebanon (17 pounds, $1,345); and Erwin Cole of Murfreesboro (16 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,101).

Eric White of Anderson, Ala., earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Corey Miller of Old Hickory earned $920 as the Boater Division big-bass winner, thanks to a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass he caught on a drop-shot.

Sam Loveless of Somerset, Ky., earned $2,935 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 12 pounds, 12 ounces. He caught his bass on jigs and spinnerbaits on the back side of creeks. This is his first top-10 of the year in the Music City Division, but he also posted a ninth-place finish in the Mountain Division tournament on Lake Cumberland earlier this year.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Carathers of Spring Hill (10 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,467); Loyd Smith of Westmoreland (10 pounds, 7 ounces, $795); Wes Ward of Danville, Ala. (8 pounds, 4 ounces, $673); and Jason Larkin of Cottontown (8 pounds, 4 ounces, $550). Ties are resolved by day-one standings.

Carathers claimed co-angler big-bass honors with a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a black and blue jig. He earned $460 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.

Tim Staley of Dowelltown earned $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” boater points champion in the Music City Division with 1,066 points for the season. Curtis Cline of Westmoreland earned Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion honors and $500 in the Co-angler Division. He earned 1,018 points this season.

The top 30 boaters and co-anglers in the Music City Division will advance to the Columbus Pool regional, which will be held Oct. 19-23 in Columbus, Miss. There they will compete against qualifying anglers from the Cowboy, Illini and Seminole 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.