Douglas wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Wheeler Lake

Hazel Green, Ala., boater wins second consecutive Choo Choo Division tournament

DECATUR, Ala. – Boater Bryan Douglas of Hazel Green, Ala., earned $5,627 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division event on Lake Wheeler for his second consecutive victory. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Choo Choo Division events and featured 182 boaters vying for the win, which earned Douglas 200 points in the Boater Division.

Douglas’ winning catch of five bass weighed 13 pounds, 13 ounces. He threw Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits on drops and ditches with stumps and other submerged structures to catch his limit. Douglas also won the Choo Choo Division’s first event at Lake Guntersville near Scottsboro, Ala.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Derek Hicks of Rocky Face, Ga. (five bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $2,813); Daniel Whitaker of Phil Campbell, Ala. (five bass, 11 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,877); Rick Sanson of Winchester, Tenn. (three bass, 11 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,313) and Harry Smith of Decatur, Ala. (three bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,125).

Sanson also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $910 for a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.

Brett Woodruff of Moulton, Ala., bested 182 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,813 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught throwing a Rat-L-Trap.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Layne King of Owens Cross Roads, Ala. (three bass, 8 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,407); Mike Ryan of Joppa, Ala., (two bass, 8 pounds, 7 ounces, $938) Dale Carver of Dora, Ala., (three bass, 7 pounds, 1 ounce, $656) and Josh Driver of Hiram, Ga. (four bass, 6 pounds, 3 ounces, $563).

Brett Woodruff also earned $455 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5 pound 15 ounce bass.

The Choo Choo Division’s next event will be held April 29 on Weiss Lake near Centre, Ala., followed by an event on Neely Henry Lake near Gadsden, Ala., June 3. The Choo Choo Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 23-24 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Guntersville near Scottsboro.

Following the regular season, the Choo Choo Division boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 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 Choo Choo Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Demopolis Regional Championship near Demopolis, Ala., Oct. 19-21 where they will compete against Everglades, Mississippi and Seminole division anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 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 $8.8 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, as well as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ 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 $36.9 million through 241 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.