Gnewikow top boater at Wal-Mart BFL Regional Championship on Kerr Lake

Boater David Gnewikow of Mount Juliet, Tenn., earned a fully rigged Ranger 519VX and a new Chevy truck as winner of the BFL Regional event on Kerr Lake.

October 22, 2005 • MLF • Archives

HENDERSON, N.C. – Boater David Gnewikow of Mount Juliet, Tenn., earned a fully rigged Ranger 519VX and a new Chevy truck Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Regional event on Kerr Lake. The top 40 boaters and the top 40 co-anglers from the Empire, Mountain, Northeast and Music City divisions competed in the three-day event.

Gnewikow’s winning three-day catch of 15 bass weighed 37 pounds, 2 ounces. In addition to the new truck and boat, Gnewikow earned a ticket to the 2006 $1 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League All-American, one of the most prestigious tournaments in bass fishing, where the winning boater will earn up to $140,000 and the winning co-angler will earn $70,000. Gnewikow threw a Carolina-rig and crankbaits around points in the lower end of the main channel to catch his bass.

The top six boaters and the top six co-anglers fishing the event also earned a berth into the All-American. Rounding out the top six boaters were Christopher Carmell of Stuarts Draft, Va. (15 bass, 32 pounds, 14 ounces, $6,000); Terry Steele of Sparta, Tenn. (13 bass, 32 pounds, 9 ounces, $3,000); Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky. (13 bass, 31 pounds, 8 ounces, $2,500); Robert Soley of Ewing, N.J. (12 bass, 28 pounds, $2,000); and Joe Hunt of Lincoln University, Pa. (nine bass, 21 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,800).

Monson earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Lance Cahoon of Haskell, N.J., earned a new Ranger boat as the co-angler winner, thanks to a three-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught on a Carolina-rigged green-pumpkin Senko.

Rounding out the top six co-anglers were Thomas Prowant of Lewisburg, Pa. (eight bass, 19 pounds, 7 ounces, $3,000); Mike Williams of Lancaster, Ky. (six bass, 16 pounds, $1,500); Gregory Mallus of Gaithersburg, Md. (seven bass, 12 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,250); Brandon Wallen of Monticello, Ky. (six bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,000); and Dan Phillips Jr. of Aberdeen, Md. (five bass, 11 pounds, 7 ounces, $900).

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 nine other national tournament circuits including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $35 million through 235 events in 2006.

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.