Rhoden reigns over BFL event on Greers Ferry Lake

GREERS FERRY, Ark. – Boater Brandon Rhoden of Grapevine earned $3,497 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division event on Greers Ferry Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Arkie Division events and earned Rhoden 200 points in the Boater Division.

Rhoden’s winning catch of five bass weighed 13 pounds, 6 ounces. Rhoden was flipping a jig around bushes when he caught his bass.

Rhoden earned an additional $1,000 for the Garmin Grand award.

Finishing second was Mike Brower Jr. of Texarkana, Texas with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 13 ounces that earned him $1,748. Richard Pankey of Blytheville claimed $1,145 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 10 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth was Royce Davis of Higden with five bass weighing 10 pounds, 2 ounces worth $890, and finishing fifth and earning $731 was Les Miller of Morrilton with four bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces.

Brower took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $530 for a 4-pound, 9-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Carolina rig. He also won the Ranger Cup award, worth $500.

Jonathan McNeill of Lowell earned $1,666 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 9 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught on a finesse worm. McNeill earned an additional $245 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Terry Slauens of Shirley (four bass, 8 pounds, 5 ounces, $833); Jim Towers of Star City (five bass, 7 pounds, 10 ounces, $547); Billy Littleton of Batesville (four bass, 6 pounds, 11 ounces, $424); and Tony Smith of Benton (four bass, 6 pounds, 6 ounces, $348).

The next Arkie Division event will be held June 18 on The Arkansas River near Russellville. The Arkie Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hamilton near Hot Springs.

Following the regular season, the Arkie 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 Arkie 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 Hoosier, Great Lakes, and Michigan 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.