Brinson wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Lake Eufaula

Boater Donald Brinson of Bainbridge, Ga., earned $3,816 as winner of the Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on Lake Eufaula. Angler: Donald Brinson.

May 7, 2005 • MLF • Archives

EUFAULA, Ala. – Boater Donald Brinson of Bainbridge, Ga., earned $3,816 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on Lake Eufaula. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Bulldog Divison events and featured 120 boaters vying for the win, which earned Brinson 200 points in the Boater Division.

Brinson’s winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 12 ounces. Brinson targeted bedding bass with a watermelon lizard.

Brinson earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Finishing second was Mike Cleveland of Monticello, Ga., with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him $1,908. Danny Blount of Perry, Ga., claimed $1,249 as the third-place finisher thanks to four bass weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces. In fourth was Ken Greene of Lumpkin, Ga., with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce worth $971. In a three-way fifth-place tie was Justin Lanier of Macon, Ga., with four bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces and Carlos Sellers of Phenix City and Jason Smith of Leesburg, Ga., both with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 13 ounces. Each angler earned $682.

Skip Mundy of Cusseta, Ga., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $600 for a 7-pound, 2-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a buzzbait.

Jason Waddell of Louisville bested 120 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,908 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 11 pounds, 1 ounce that he caught on a black neon tube.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are William Hensley of McDonough, Ga. (four bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $954); Larry Burress of Monroe, Ga. (four bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $624); George Goodman Jr. of Monticello, Ga. (five bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $486); and Ryan Valentine of Jonesboro, Ga. (five bass, 8 pounds, 11 ounces, $399).

Andy Lopez of Hampton, Ga., earned $300 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a finesse worm.

The Bulldog Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 9-10 with a two-day Super Tournament on Clarks Hill Lake near Augusta, Ga.

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.