Bohannan best at BFL event on Grand Lake

MONKEY ISLAND, Okla. – Boater Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark., earned $4,553 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Ozark Division event on Grand Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Ozark Division events and featured 152 boaters vying for the win, which earned Bohannan 200 points in the Boater Division.

Bohannan’s winning catch of three bass weighed 12 pounds, 12 ounces. He was fishing around shallow flats with a 1/2-ounce Rat-L-Trap when he caught his bass. Bohannan won an additional $760 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass.

Finishing second was Dirk Sluyter of Russellville, Mo., with four bass weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces that earned him $2,277. James Young of House Springs, Mo., and Sheldon Gentry of Lohman, Mo., each claimed $1,325 with a tie third-place finish. Both anglers caught four bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces. Young won an additional $500 as the Ranger Cup award winner. Andre Dickneite of Freeburg, Mo., and Laurence Bean of Union, Mo., tied for fifth, each earning $869. Dickneite caught four bass weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces and Bean caught two bass weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces.

Marlin Ritzman of Camdenton, Mo., earned $2,138 as the co-angler winner, thanks to two bass weighing 8 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a jig. Ritzman won an additional $350 as the Co-Angler Division big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Johnny Porter of Springdale, Ark. (four bass, 8 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,069); Shannan D. Moseley of Lowell, Ark., (four bass, 8 pounds, $700); Kyle D. Hulsey of Bourbon, Mo., (two bass, 7 pounds, 8 ounces, $544); and Shannon Ingles of Taneyville, Mo., (three bass, 6 pounds, 5 ounces, $447).

The Ozark Division’s next event will be held April 30 on Lake of the Ozarks near Osage Beach, Mo., followed by an event on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo., May 14. The fourth-qualifying event will be held June 25 on Truman Lake near Clinton, Mo. The Ozark Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo.

Following the regular season, the Ozark 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 Ozark 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 Cowboy, Louisiana and Okie 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.