Greer outfishes field at BFL event on Bayou Black

GIBSON, La. – Boater Jimmy Greer of Ball earned $3,563 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Louisiana Division event on Bayou Black. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Louisiana Division events and earned Greer 200 points in the Boater Division.

Greer’s winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 3 ounces. Greer was flipping a lizard and a brushhog in the Lake Verette area when he caught his bass. Greer earned an additional $540 as winner of the big-bass award with a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass.

Finishing second was Ronnie Eschete Jr. of Thibodaux with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him $1,781. Bill England of Denham Springs claimed $1,168 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces. In fourth was Marc Lowenthal of Prairieville with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 9 ounces worth $907, and finishing fifth and earning $745 was Jake Impaspato of New Orleans with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces.

Lowenthal earned an additional $750 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha awards.

G.G. King of Baker earned $1,781 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds that he caught on a spinnerbait.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Alan Hults of Gautier, Miss. (three bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $891); Bill McCarty of Morgan City (five bass, 8 pounds, 9 ounces, $582); A J Weathers of Denham Springs (four bass, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, $453); and Dwane Lafleur of Lawtell (three bass, 8 pounds, $372).

Derwin Thomas of New Orleans earned $270 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a spinnerbait.

The Louisiana Division’s next event will be held May 21 on the Red River near Natchitoches. The Louisiana Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Atchafalaya Basin near Belle River.

Following the regular season, the Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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, 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.