Owens wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Ohio River

Boater Roger Owens of Monroe, Ohio, was the winner of the July 9 BFL Buckeye Division event on the Ohio River. Angler: Roger Owens.

July 9, 2005 • MLF • Archives

LAWRENCEBURG, Ind. – Boater Roger Owens of Monroe, Ohio, earned $6,050 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Buckeye Division event on the Ohio River. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Buckeye Division events and featured 130 boaters vying for the win, which earned Owens 200 points in the Boater Division.

Owens caught his winning catch of four bass weighing 8 pounds, 14 ounces on crankbaits that he threw around laydowns on the south stretch of the river. He earned $4,050 for the victory plus an additional $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award and another $1,000 as winner of the Garmin Grand award.

Finishing second was Wes Campbell of Brookeville, Ohio, with three bass weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces that earned him $2,025. Bob Robinson of Springboro, Ohio, claimed $1,325 as the third-place finisher thanks to three bass weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces. In fourth was Gary Becker of St. Mary’s, Ohio, with five bass weighing 5 pounds, 15 ounces worth $1,031, and finishing fifth and earning $847 was Steve Floyd of Sabina, Ohio, with five bass weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces.

Gary Ginter of Maplewood, Ohio, took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $650 for a 4-pound, 2-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Zoom soft-plastic lure.

Fred Fox of Batavia, Ohio, bested 130 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,908 as the co-angler winner, thanks to three bass weighing 5 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a soft-plastic tube.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Shirley Richards of Harrison, Ohio (three bass, 4 pounds, 7 ounces, $954); Willie Dexter of Logan, Ohio (three bass, 4 pounds, 6 ounces, $624); Matthew Phillips of West Alexandria, Ohio (one bass, 4 pounds, $486); and Jeff Oaks of Medway, Ohio (three bass, 3 pounds, 10 ounces, $399).

Phillips earned $300 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with his 4-pounder. He caught his big bass on a spinnerbait.

The Buckeye Division’s next event will be held July 30 on the Ohio River near Maysville, Ky., followed by an event on Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio, August 20. The Buckeye Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio.

Following the regular season, the Buckeye 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 Buckeye 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 Illini, 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 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.