Rigsby best BFL boater at Old Hickory Lake

GALLATIN, Tenn. – Boater Dave Rigsby of Lebanon, Tenn., earned $4,235 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Music City Division event on Old Hickory Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Music City Division events and featured 118 boaters vying for the win, which earned Rigsby 200 points in the Boater Division.

Rigsby’s winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 5 ounces. He was flipping a Zoom Vibe Craw around submerged logs to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Jeff Lokken of Lebanon, Tenn. (five bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $2,118); Jason Sain of Beechgrove, Tenn. (five bass, 14 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,413); Adam Wagner of Cookeville, Tenn. (five bass, 14 pounds, 2 ounces, $988) and Lewis Jewell of Bethpage, Tenn. (five bass, 13 pounds, 14 ounces, $847).

Chad Lannom of Mount Juliet, Tenn., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $590 for a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass. Boater Larry Holland Jr. of Murfreesboro, Tenn., took home $750 for being the highest placing participant in the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha contingency programs.

Randy White of Christiana, Tenn., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,118, thanks to four bass weighing 10 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught while throwing a black and blue jig around submerged logs and grass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Barton of Lebanon, Tenn. (five bass, 8 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,059); John Case of Murfreesboro, Tenn., (four bass, 8 pounds, 9 ounces, $706) Matt Stanley of Sparta, Tenn., (five bass, 8 pounds, 4 ounces, $494) and Gregory Goodwin of Louisville, Ky. (three bass, 8 pounds, 2ounces, $424).

Chris Haynes of Nashville, Tenn., earned $295 as the co-angler big-bass award winner.

The Music City Division’s next event will be held June 17 on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes near Buchanan, Fla., followed by the divisions two-day Super Tournament on Old Hickory near Gallatin Sept. 30- Oct. 1.

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