Reynolds wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Smith Mountain Lake

Stanton picks up Co-angler Division win

MONETA, Va. – Boater Brandon Reynolds of Callands, Va., earned $5,735 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division event on Smith Mountain Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Shenandoah Division events and featured 187 boaters vying for the win, which earned Reynolds 200 points in the Boater Division.

Reynolds’ winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 7 ounces. He was fishing a prespawn pattern flipping jigs around docks to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Shayne Berlo of Vienna, Va. (five bass, 16 pounds, 3 ounces, $2,867); Robert Hudson of Lynchburg, Va. (five bass, 16 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,911); Ed Robtison of Roanoke, Va. (five bass, 15 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,388); and Andy Campbell of Madison Heights, Va. (five bass, 15 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,147).

Todd Harris of Pfafftown, N.C., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $935 for a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass.

James Hostelka of Fredericksburg, Va., earned $750 dollars for winning the Ranger Cup and powered by Yamaha contingency awards.

Richard Stanton of Locust Grove, Va., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,844, thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught while fishing a jig in deep water.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Paul Cosman of New Market, Md. (three bass, 11 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,422); Billy Reed of Yorktown, Va. (three bass, 10 pounds, 14 ounces, $948); Kevin Fizzano of Radford, Va. (three bass, 10 pounds, 1 ounce, $664); and Mike Wray of Chester, Va. (four bass, 9 pounds, 13 ounces, $569).

Kevin Bradbury of Dunkirk, Md., earned $460 as the co-angler big-bass award winner.

The Shenandoah Division’s next event will be held May 6 on Potomac River near Woodbridge, Va., followed by an event on Lake Gaston near Bracey, Va., June 3. The fourth event will be held July 23 on the James River and the Shenandoah Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 30-Oct. 1 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Potomac River near Woodbridge.

Following the regular season, the Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah 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 Gator, Savannah River 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.