Williams wins BFL tournament on Columbus Pool

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Boater Jimmy Williams of Thomaston, Ala., earned $4,686 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League MIssissippi Division event on Columbus Pool. The tournament was the third of five regular-season MIssissippi Division events and featured 138 boaters vying for the win, which earned Williams 200 points in the Boater Division.

Williams’ winning catch of five bass weighed 16 pounds, 13 ounces. He threw a Texas-rigged brush hog in 6-feet of water around grass and cypress trees to catch his bass. Williams also took home an additional $2,000 for winning the Ranger Cup and Bombardier Bonus awards.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Reid Sanders of Newton, Miss. (five bass, 15 pounds, 12 ounces, $2,343); Austin Jones of Morehead, Miss. (five bass, 15 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,562); Tim Fox of Meridian, Miss. (five bass, 14 pounds, 12 ounces, $1093) and David Roberts of Quitman, Miss. (five bass, 13 pounds, 9 ounces, $937).

Austin Jones also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning him an additional $690 for a 7-pound bass.

Johnny Moorman of Greenwood, Miss., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,343 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces that he caught while throwing a Texas rigged Brush hog in 2-feet of water around submerged structure. Moorman also took home an additional $345 for netting the co-angler division big bass award with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robert Pierce Jr. of Brandon, Miss. (four bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,172); Scott Newton of Stringer, Miss., (four bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $781) Justin Sward of Vancleave, Miss., (four bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $547) and Ben Hand of Memphis, Tenn. (five bass, 7 pounds, 13 ounces, $469).

The MIssissippi Division’s next event will be held June 17 on the Mississippi River near Greenville, Miss., followed by their two-day Super Tournament on Ross Barnett Lake near Jackson, Miss. Sept. 16-17.

Following the regular season, the Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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 Choo Choo, Everglades 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.