Jones wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Table Rock Lake

BRANSON, Mo. – Boater Gary Jones of Kimberling City earned $4,226 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Ozark Division event on Table Rock Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Ozark Division events and featured 137 boaters vying for the win, which earned Jones 200 points in the Boater Division.

Jones’ winning catch of five bass weighed 23 pounds, 2 ounces. Jones threw a jig to postspawn bass in 8-10 inches of water to catch his bass.

In a second-place tie were Greg Bohannan of Rogers, Ark., and Bill Richey of Lampe, both with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces worth $1,747. In fourth was Jay Hulsey of Bourbon with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces worth $1,076, and finishing fifth and earning $884 was Lynn Sykes of Centerton, Ark., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces.

Tom Silber of Labadie took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $685 for a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass.

Jimmy Davis Jr. of Willard, who finished in sixth place with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 6 ounces worth 730, earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Steve Kiniry of Kansas City earned $1,849 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 21 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a jig. Kiniry earned an additional $288 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 7-pound, 10-ounce bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Timothy Vieth of Marthasville (five bass, 15 pounds, 11 ounces, $924); Jared Ballard of Fayetteville, Ark. (four bass, 14 pounds, 10 ounces, $605); Eric Brantley of Springfield (five bass, 13 pounds, 3 ounces, $471); and Rocky Austin of Hartville (five bass, 12 pounds, 14 ounces, $387).

The Ozark Division’s next event will be held June 25 on Truman Lake near Clinton. The Ozark Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 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 Cowboy, Louisiana, and Okie 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.