Allen wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Super Tournament on Red River

NATCHITOCHES, La. – Boater Mark Allen of Lindale, Texas, earned $4,460 Sunday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division Super Tournament event on the Red River. The tournament earned Allen 300 points in the Boater Division.

Allen’s two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 26 pounds, 7 ounces. Allen fished around reeds in Pool 4, tossing a jig with watermelon-colored plastics to catch his bass. He earned an additional $1,500 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha awards.

Finishing second was Danny Gulledge of Crossett, Ark., with 10 bass weighing 21 pounds, 15 ounces that earned him $2,177. Dicky Newberry of Houston, Texas, claimed $1,062 as the third-place finisher thanks to 10 bass weighing 19 pounds, 4 ounces. In fourth was John Duffy of Pflugerville, Texas, with seven bass weighing 19 pounds worth $956, and finishing fifth and earning $850 was Thomas Cheaney of Houston, Texas, with 10 bass weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce.

G.G. King of Baker took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $670 for a 5-pound bass. He caught his big bass on a chartreuse and white buzzbait.

Bobby Barreraz of Center, Texas, earned $2,230 as the co-angler winner, thanks to 10 bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a Berkley Power Worm while fishing around stumps in 2 to 6 feet of water.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Brian Allen of Katy, Texas (10 bass, 17 pounds, $1,089); Rodney Schamerhorn of Leesville (nine bass, 14 pounds, 7 ounces, $531); John Cox of Austin, Texas (eight bass, 13 pounds, 12 ounces, $478); and Keith Lantrip of Katy, Texas (eight bass, 13 pounds, 7 ounces, $425).

Lon Shipe of Tomball, Texas, earned $335 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 5-ounce bass he caught on a Zoom Trick Worm.

Following the regular season, the Cowboy 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.

The top 40 Cowboy 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 Louisiana, Okie and Ozark 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.