Mercer wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Lake Seminole

Boater Richard Mercer of Dothan, Ala., earned $5,812 April 1 as winner of the BFL Bulldog Division event on Lake Seminole and an additional $955 for the big-bass award. Angler: Richard Mercer.

April 1, 2006 • MLF • Archives

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – Boater Richard Mercer of Dothan, Ala., earned $5,812 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division event on Lake Seminole. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Bulldog Division events and featured 191 boaters vying for the win, which earned Mercer 200 points in the Boater Division.

Mercer’s winning catch of five bass weighed 21 pounds, 5 ounces. He was sight fishing, throwing a green pumpkin lizard in spawning areas along sandbars to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Shane Bush of Graceville, Fla. (five bass, 19 pounds, 13 ounces, $2,906); Craig Reynolds of Bonifay, Fla. (five bass, 18 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,939); Terry Stevens of Marianna, Fla. (five bass, 18 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,356) and Greg Gaston of Thomasville, Ga. (five bass, 18 pounds, $1,162).

Mercer also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $955 for an 8-pound, 9-ounce bass.

The Ranger Cup contingency award went to boater Darryl Stewart of Solcomb, Ala., earning him $500 for being the highest finishing Ranger Cup participant.

Rick Tindell of Leesburg, Ga., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,829, thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught while flipping jigs.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Austin Spurlin of Fayetteville, Ga. (five bass, 16 pounds, 01 ounce, $1,414); Frank Godwin Jr. of Bainbridge (five bass, 14 pounds, 11 ounces, $945) James Hays of Villa Rica, Ga., (five bass, 13 pounds, 12 ounces, $660) and Larry Spivey of Grand Ridge, Fla. (five bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces, $566).

James Murphy of Phenix City, Ala., earned $457 as the co-angler big-bass award winner.

The Bulldog Division’s next event will be held May 6 on Lake Eufaula near Eufaula, Ala., followed by an event on West Point Lake near Lanette, Ala., June 3. The Bulldog Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 30-Oct. 4 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Oconee near Buckhead, Ga.

Following the regular season, the Bulldog 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 Bulldog Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end point’s standings will advance to the Lake Chickamauga Regional Championship near Hixson, Tenn., Oct. 12-14 where they will compete against Dixie, LBL and Music City 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.