Knight conquers BFL event on Chickamauga

HIXSON, Tenn. – Boater Jeff Knight of Cleveland earned $2,909 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division event on Lake Chickamauga. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Choo Choo Division events and earned Knight 200 points in the Boater Division.

Knight’s winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 11 ounces. Knight was fishing points with a 1/4-ounce Rat-L-Trap when he caught his bass. Knight earned an additional $405 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner thanks to a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.

Finishing second was Dennis Tweed of Charleston with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 1 ounce that earned him $1,455. Ryan Rigsby of Hixson claimed $951 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces. In fourth was Roy Dye of Chattanooga with three bass weighing 11 pounds, 11 ounces worth $741, and finishing fifth and earning $608 was Chad Reel of Dayton with four bass weighing 10 pounds, 13 ounces.

Shannon Devere of Berea, Ky., earned $500 as the Ranger Cup award winner.

Ben Bradley of Ooltewah earned $1,449 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 10 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a Bandit crankbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Roger Hicks of Rocky Face, Ga. (three bass, 9 pounds, 6 ounces, $725); Greg Leighty of Hixson (four bass, 9 pounds, 4 ounces, $472); Allen Lewis of Soddy Daisy (three bass, 9 pounds, $369); and Ronnie Burt of Hixson (three bass, 8 pounds, 12 ounces, $303).

Mark Pirkle of Cleveland earned $198 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound bass he caught on a jerkbait.

The Choo Choo Division’s next event will be held April 30 on Wheeler Lake near Rogersville, Ala., followed by an event on Lake Weiss near Cedar Bluff, Ala., May 21. The Choo Choo Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Watts Barr Lake near Rockwood.

Following the regular season, the Choo Choo 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 Choo Choo Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Clarks Hill Lake Regional near Augusta, Ga., Oct. 11-15 where they will compete against Dixie, North Carolina, and Shenandoah 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 website.

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.