Lorenzo lands BFL win at Thousand Islands

Boater John Lorenzo of Kane, Pa., earned $4,276 as winner of the Aug. 20 Wal-Mart BFL Empire Division event at Thousand Islands. Angler: John Lorenzo.

August 20, 2005 • MLF • Archives

CLAYTON, N.Y. – Boater John Lorenzo of Kane, Pa., earned $4,276 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Empire Division event at Thousand Islands. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Empire Division events and featured 140 boaters vying for the win, which earned Lorenzo 200 points in the Boater Division.

Lorenzo’s winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 8 ounces. He threw a June bug Senko around shallow grass to catch his bass. He earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Finishing second was Joe Wolter of Rochester with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him $2,138. Jay KnapP of Clayton claimed $1,399 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces. In fourth was Eric Johnson of Bloomsberg, Pa., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces worth $1,088, and finishing fifth and earning $894 was Jamie Hartman of Poland, N.Y., with five bass weighing 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

Wolter took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $700 for a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Berkley Power Worm.

Michael Rinaldi of North Haledon, N.J., bested 140 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,138 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a black Berkley Power Worm.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Earl Purcell Jr. of Granville, Mass. (five bass, 15 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,069); Arthur Fry of Iselin, N.J. (five bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $700); Brian Keister of Sicklerville, N.J. (five bass, 15 pounds, 6 ounces, $544); and Roy Tucker II of Corning (five bass, 13 pounds, 15 ounces, $447).

Keister earned $350 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass he caught on a green-pumpkin Senko.

The Empire Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Champlain near Ticonderoga.

Following the regular season, the Empire 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 Empire Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Kerr Lake Regional near Henderson, N.C., Oct. 18-22 where they will compete against Mountain, Northeast and Music City 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.