Fletcher wins Wal-Mart BFL event on Lake Dardanelle

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Boater Mark Fletcher of Russellville earned $3,347 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Arkie Division event on Lake Dardanelle. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Arkie Division events and earned Fletcher 200 points in the Boater Division.

Fletcher’s winning catch of five bass weighed 14 pounds, 13 ounces. Fletcher fished a Texas-rigged worm around brush piles to catch his bass.

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

In a second-place tie were Doyle Cain of Royal and Clinton Mayfield of Hot Springs, each with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces worth $1,384. In fourth was Brandon Rhoden of Grapevine with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces worth $852, and finishing fifth and earning $700 was Daniel Kweekul of North Little Rock with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces.

Mike Jolly of Blytheville took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $500 for a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a tube.

Russell Richmond of Benton earned $1,674 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bryan Johnson of Pocahontas (two bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $837); Robert Bogard Jr. of Conway (three bass, 8 pounds, 1 ounce, $547); Billy Littleton of Batesville (two bass, 7 pounds, 8 ounces, $426); and Bill Hutton of Springdale (three bass, 7 pounds, 5 ounces, $350).

Johnson earned $250 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught on a crankbait.

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 visit FLWOutdoors.com.

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.