Moye masters Lake Oconee for BFL win

MADISON, Ga. – Boater Brent Moye of Macon earned $4,081 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on Lake Oconee. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Bulldog Division events and featured 131 boaters vying for the win, which earned Moye 200 points in the Boater Division.

Moye’s winning catch of five bass weighed 16 pounds, 10 ounces. Moye was fishing a spinnerbait around banks and docks early in the morning when he caught his bass.

Finishing second was Mark Holloway of Loganville with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces that earned him $2,040. Joseph Stanfield of Loganville claimed $1,336 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces. In fourth was Frank Kitchens III of Oxford with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces worth $1,039. Jim Beavers of Manchester and Butch Tucker of Moultrie tied for fifth place. Each angler caught five bass weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces worth $779.

Robert Huff of Union Point took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $655 for a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a spinnerbait.

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

Kenneth Price of Senoia earned $2,025 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 18 pounds that he caught on a Brushhog.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Joel Milner of Talbotton (five bass, 17 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,012); Dennis Hudson of Fortson (five bass, 15 pounds, 13 ounces, $663); Bennett Wilson of Albany (3 bass, 12 pounds $515); and Chip Young of Covington (four bass, 11 pounds, 12 ounces, $423).

Randy Nicholson of Covington earned $325 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 1-ounce bass he caught on a crankbait.

The Bulldog Division’s next event will be held May 7 on Lake Eufaula near Eufaula, Ala. The Bulldog Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta.

Following the regular season, the Bulldog 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 Bulldog Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Toho Regional near Kissimmee, Fla., Oct. 4-8 where they will compete against Bama, Seminole and South Carolina 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.