Lance wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Weiss Lake

CENTRE, Ala. – Boater Davey Lance of Hartselle, Ala., earned $3,794 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bama Division event on Weiss Lake. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Bama Division events which earned Lance 200 points in the Boater Division.

Lance’s winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 12 ounces. He was flipping jigs into shallow cover in 1 to 2 feet of water to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Lee Pitts of Gaylesville, Ala. (five bass, 14 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,897); Wayne Boyd of Cedar Bluff, Ala. (five bass, 14 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,265); Johnny Belyeu of Gadsden, Ala. (five bass, 13 pounds, 9 ounces, $885) and Time Daniel of Fort Payne, Ala. (five bass, 13 pounds, 6 ounces, $759).

Pitts took home an additional $500 for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup participant.

James Stephens of Warrior, Ala., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $495 for a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass.

Mike Ruark of Hiram, Ga., won the Co-angler Division to earn $1,897 thanks to three bass weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce. Ruark also took home co-angler big bass honors with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass, earning him an additional $247.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jonathan Collins of Vinemont, Ala. (four bass, 11 pounds, 2 ounces, $949); Danny Moss of Glencoe, Ala., (five bass, 11 pounds, $633) Greg Gilley of Boaz, Ala., (five bass, 10 pounds, 5 ounces, $443) and Glen Ingram of Silver Creek, Ga. tied with Shane Robertson of Gadsden, Ala. (Five bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $363).

The Bama Division’s next event will be held Sept. 9-10 on Lake Guntersville near Scottsboro, Ala., for the divisions two-day Super Tournament.

Following the regular season, the 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 Bama Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship near Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 19-21 where they will compete against Buckeye, Hoosier and Mountain 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.