Freeman wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Sam Rayburn

SAM RAYBURN, Texas – Boater Glenn Freeman of Converse, La., earned $4,507 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division event on Sam Rayburn Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Cowboy Division events and featured 149 boaters vying for the win, which earned Freeman 200 points in the Boater Division.

Freeman’s winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 10 ounces. Freeman fished a 1/2-ounce perch color spinnerbait in two feet of water near the 147 Bridge area to catch his limit.

Finishing second was Dean Morgan of Port Arthur with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces that earned him $2,253. Morgan won an additional $500 as the Ranger Cup award winner. Keith Stout of Ragley, La., claimed $1,477 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces. In fourth was Tony Marino of Beaumont with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 6 ounces worth $1,147, and finishing fifth and earning $942 was Jeff Wooldridge of Lafayette, La., with five bass weighing 16 pounds.

In addition, Marino took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $745 for an 8-pound, 4-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Senko.

Ken Denney of Willis bested 147 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,223 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a spinnerbait. Denney won an additional $368 as the Co-angler Division big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Keith Lantrip of Katy (five bass, 14 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,112); Bill Mohon of Houston (five bass, 13 pounds, 3 ounces, $726); Chad Turely of League City (four bass, 12 pounds, 12ounces, $566); and John Moon of Burton, Mich. (five bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces, $465).

The Cowboy Division’s next event will be held April 9 on Toledo Bend Lake near Hemphill, followed by an event on Richland Chambers Lake near Corsicana May 7. The fourth qualifying event will be held June 18 on Toledo Bend Lake near Shelbyville. The Cowboy Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Sam Rayburn Lake near Sam Rayburn.

Following the regular season, the Cowboy Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

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. The top 40 Cowboy Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Ouachita Regional near Hot Springs, Ark., Oct. 18-22 where they will compete against Louisiana, Okie and Ozark division anglers for one of six slots in the 2006 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 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.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.