Martinez wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Jordan Lake

SANFORD, N.C. – Boater Michael Martinez of Lanexa, Va., earned $5,273 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division event on Jordan Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Piedmont Division events and earned Martinez 200 points in the Boater Division.

Martinez’s winning catch of five bass weighed 21 pounds, 11 ounces. He threw a black-and-blue jig on the shady side of bushes and lay-downs to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Boogie Atkins of Greenville, Va., and Mark Inman of Haw River, N.C., who tied for second (five and four bass, respectively, for 18 pounds, 8 ounces, $2,196 apiece); Bill Hunter of Dagsboro, Del. (four bass, 15 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,230); and Ricky Farr of Chesterfield, Va. (five bass, 15 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,055). Inman took home an additional $500 for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup participant.

Bo Grosvenor of Forest, Va., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $830 for an 8-pound, 11-ounce bass.

Kevin Fizzano of Radford, Va., and Jamie Baynard of Clayton, N.C., tied for the win on the Co-Angler Division with weights of 8 pounds, 5 ounces to earn $1,977 apiece thanks to one and two bass that they caught while throwing spinnerbaits and flipping lizards, respectively, onto the shady sides of willow trees.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are J.C. Young of Prince George, Va. (two bass, 8 pounds, $879); Thomas Bates of Appomattox, Va. (two bass, 6 pounds, 7 ounces, $615); and Tom Hebb of Glade Hill, Va. (one bass, 6 pounds, 2 ounces, $527).

Fizzano earned an additional $415 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with an 8-pound, 5-ounce bass.

The Piedmont Division’s next event will be held June 24 on Kerr Lake near Henderson, N.C., followed by an event again on Kerr Lake, Sept. 23-24 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 Piedmont Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Smith Mountain Regional Championship near Moneta, Va., Oct. 19-21 where they will compete against Empire, North Carolina and Northeast 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.