Hunt best boater in Wal-Mart BFL event on Ohio River

Boater Phil Hunt of Connersville, Ind., earned $4,766 as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on the Ohio River. Angler: Phil Hunt.

April 30, 2005 • MLF • Archives

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Boater Phil Hunt of Connersville earned $4,766 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Hoosier Division event on the Ohio River. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Hoosier Division events and featured 162 boaters vying for the win, which earned Hunt 200 points in the Boater Division.

Hunt’s winning catch of five bass weighed 10 pounds, 12 ounces. He was fishing sticks in 3-4 feet of water when he caught his bass. Hunt earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Garmin Grand award.

Finishing second was Kaoru O’Bryan of Crestwood, Ky., with five bass weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces that earned him $2,383. Sean Wieda of Cincinnati, Ohio claimed $1,558 as the third-place finisher thanks to four bass weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce. In fourth was Tim Puckett of Cross Plains with five bass weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces worth $1,213, and finishing fifth and earning $996 was Bill McDonald of Indianapolis with four bass weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

O’Bryan earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Jason Taylor of Walton, Ky., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $810 for a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a jig.

Bob Ungren of Jeffersonville earned $2,144 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 7 pounds that he caught on a tube.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Steve Jones of Indianapolis (three bass, four pounds, 10 ounces, $1,072); Darrell Jackson of Indianapolis (two bass, 4 pounds, 6 ounces, $700); Doug Ruster of New Palestine (three bass, 3 pounds, 9 ounces, $546); and Mike Chaudion of Cicero (one bass, 3 pounds, 7 ounces, $448).

Chaudion earned $348 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with his 3-pound, 7-ounce bass that he caught on a white tube.

The Hoosier Division’s next event will be held May 14 on Patoka Lake near Jasper, followed by an event on Monroe Lake near Bloomington June 18. The fourth-qualifying event will be held on the Ohio River near Cannelton July 23. The Hoosier Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Ohio River near Cannelton.

Following the regular season, the Hoosier 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 Hoosier Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Ohio River Regional near Paducah, Ky., Oct. 11-15 where they will compete against Arkie, Michigan, and Great Lakes 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.