Penn outfishes field at BFL event on Kentucky, Barkley lakes - Major League Fishing

Penn outfishes field at BFL event on Kentucky, Barkley lakes

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Boater Shawn Penn of Eddyville, Ky., earned $3,943 June 4 as winner of the BFL Illini Division event on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes. Angler: Shawn Penn.
June 4, 2005 • MLF • Archives

GILBERTSVILLE, Ky. – Boater Shawn Penn of Eddyville earned $3,943 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Illini Division event on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Illini Division events and featured 124 boaters vying for the win, which earned Penn 200 points in the Boater Division.

Penn’s winning catch of five bass weighed 20 pounds. He was fishing ledges in Kentucky Lake with a brown jig when he caught his bass.

Finishing second was Bobby McMullin of Pevely, Mo., with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce that earned him $1,972. Mike Rushing of Paducah claimed $1,292 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 3 ounces. In fourth was Drew Lynch of Paducah with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 11 ounces worth $1,004, and finishing fifth and earning $824 was Mike Sheffer of Morganfield with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces.

McMullin earned an additional $750 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha awards.

Rushing took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $620 for a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a DD 22.

Chris Winston of Barnhart, Mo., bested 124 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,972 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds that he caught on soft-plastic worms.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ron Robinson of Carterville, Ill. (three bass, 8 pounds, 6 ounces, $986); Clint Kapp of Highland, Ill. (three bass, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, $644); Travis Gesell of Salem, Ill. (three bass, 7 pounds, 15 ounces, $502); and Larry L. Martin of Clarksville, Tenn. (three bass, 7 pounds, 12 ounces, $412).

Kapp earned $310 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught on a plastic lizard.

The Illini Division’s next event will be held July 9 on The Ohio River near Paducah. The Illini Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Shelbyville Lake near Findlay, Ill.

Following the regular season, the Illini 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 Illini Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Cherokee Regional near Morristown, Tenn., Oct. 4-8 where they will compete against Buckeye, LBL and Piedmont 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.