Yohn best boater on Kissimmee River

LAKE WALES, Fla. – Boater Wayne Yohn of Polk City, Fla., earned $5,046 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Gator Division event on Kissimmee River. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Gator Division events and featured 154 boaters vying for the win, which earned Yohn 200 points in the Boater Division.

Yohn’s winning catch of five bass weighed 26 pounds, 12 ounces. He caught his limit of fish by casting and flipping Wave Worms around submerged structure.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Scott Visker of Lakeland, Fla. (five bass, 24 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,523); Lonnie Oneal of Valdosta, Ga. (five bass, 22 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,682); Rick Butler of Kissimmee, Fla. (five bass, 21 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,177) and Dave Thomas of Winter Park, Fla. (five bass, 18 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,009).

Tony Davis of Williston, Fla., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $770 for a 10-pound, 6-ounce bass. Davis also won $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Jeff Starr of Rockledge, Fla., earned $2,458 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught while flipping and casting a Zoom trick worm around underwater structure.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Cecil Hock of Valrico, Fla. (five bass, 14 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,229); Jeff Sullivan of Frostproof, Fla., (five bass, 13 pounds, 15 ounces, $817) Walt Starling of Live Oak, Fla., (five bass, 12 pounds, 9 ounces, $573) and Donald Strickland of Kissimmee, Fla. (five bass, 12 pounds, 5 ounces, $492).

Calvin Boyette of Wesley Chapel, Fla., earned $375 as the co-angler big-bass award winner, thanks to a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass.

The Gator Division’s next event will be held May 6 on the Kissimmee River near Lake Wales, Fla. The Gator Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 9-10 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Toho near Kissimmee, Fla.

Following the regular season, the Gator 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 Gator Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Kerr Lake Regional Championship near Henderson, N.C., Oct. 12-14 where they will compete against Savannah River, Shenandoah and South Carolina 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.