Siler wins BFL Super Tournament on Cherokee Lake

MORRISTOWN, Tenn. – Boater Guy Siler of Rutledge earned $7,136 Sunday as winner of the two-day, season-ending Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division Super Tournament on Cherokee Lake. His two-day total of 40 pounds, 14 ounces topped 127 fellow competitors in the Boater Division.

Siler caught 20 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to advance to Sunday’s competition, where he caught 20 pounds, 3 ounces to post the heaviest two-day weight and claim the win. He caught his tournament-winning bass cranking structure midlake. His margin of victory was a stunning 14 pounds, 8 ounces – second-place finisher Pat Eichmann of Nancy, Ky., posted a two-day total of 26 pounds, 6 ounces that earned him $3,568.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Brad Burkhart of Speedwell (25 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,933); Michael Livesay of Dandridge (23 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,635); and Brent Hoskins of Strawberry Plains (20 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,338).

Burkhart claimed $500 from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Nathan Light of Kingsport earned $1,270 as the Boater Division big-bass winner, thanks to a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass he caught flipping a jig to shallow cover.

Jeremy Ratliff of Rockwood earned $3,453 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 12 pounds, 7 ounces. He caught his bass in the upper-lake area on a jig and a spinnerbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jeff Thompson of Friendsville (12 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,726); Tim Dickerson of Russellville (12 pounds, 4 ounces, $935); Brad Roberts of Nancy, Ky. (12 pounds, 3 ounces, $791); and Leonard Mason of East Bernstadt, Ky. (10 pounds, 11 ounces, $647).

Dickerson claimed co-angler big-bass honors with a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught on a green pumpkin Brush Hog. He earned $605 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.

Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky., earned $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” boater points champion in the Mountain Division with 1,026 points for the season. Todd Combs of East Bernstadt, Ky., earned Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion honors and $500 in the Co-angler Division. He earned 888 points this season.

The top 30 boaters and co-anglers in the Mountain Division will advance to the Wheeler Lake regional, which will be held Oct. 19-23 in Rogersville, Ala. There they will compete against qualifying anglers from the Bulldog, LBL and Shenandoah 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.