Garrison grabs BFL win on Lake of the Ozarks

Boater Earl Garrison IV of Bull Shoals, Ark., earned $4,553 as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Ozark Division event on Lake of the Ozarks. Angler: Earl Garrison IV.

April 30, 2005 • MLF • Archives

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Boater Earl Garrison IV of Bull Shoals, Ark., earned $4,553 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Ozark Division event on Lake of the Ozarks. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Ozark Division events and featured 152 boaters vying for the win, which earned Garrison 200 points in the Boater Division.

Garrison’s winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 10 ounces. Garrison was fishing a jig in 3-5 feet of water when he caught his bass. He earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Garmin Grand award and another $1,500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award and Powered by Yamaha award.

Finishing second was Rick Lisek of Springfield with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him $2,277. Aaron Martin of Sullivan claimed $1,492 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 7 ounces. In fourth was Jimmy Davis Jr. of Willard with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces worth $1,159, and finishing fifth and earning $952 was James Young of House Springs with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 5 ounces.

William Martin of Saint Peters took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $760 for a 7-pound, 5-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Carolina-rigged lizard.

John Luzynski of St. Louis bested 152 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,277 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces that he caught on a Carolina-rigged brush hog.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Lee Anderson of Conway, Ark. (three bass, 10 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,138); Joe Waggoner of Carthage (three bass, 9 pounds, 15 ounces, $746); Timothy R. Vieth of Marthasville (three bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $580); and Jared Ballard of Fayetteville, Ark. (three bass, 9 pounds, 9 ounces, $476).

Chip Harrington of Belton earned $380 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught on a jig.

The Ozark Division’s next event will be held May 14 on Table Rock Lake near Branson, followed by an event on Truman Lake near Clinton June 25. The Ozark Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 9-10 with a two-day Super Tournament on Table Rock Lake near Branson.

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 Okie, Louisiana, and Cowboy 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.