Thomas wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Lake Wateree

CAMDEN, S.C. – Boater Davey Thomas of Sumter, S.C., earned $4,217 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division event on Lake Wateree. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season South Carolina Division events and earned Thomas 200 points in the Boater Division.

Thomas’ winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 1 ounce.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Nelson Walker of Manning, S.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 11 ounces, $2,136); Bob Lingenfelter of Gilbert, S.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,424); Casey Evans of Cottageville, S.C. (five bass, 14 pounds, 7 ounces, $997); and Paul Wells of Union, S.C. (five bass, 13 pounds, 10 ounces, $854).

Walker took home an additional $750 for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup and Powered By Yamaha contingency awards.

Paul Wells also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $595 for a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass.

Todd Lawrence of Mount Pleasant, S.C., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,019 thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dean Talbert of Albemarle, N.C. (five bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,009); Ezell Mullinax Jr.of Gaffney, S.C., (three bass, 12 pounds, 1 ounce, $675) Joe Bridges of Robbinsville, N.C., (four bass, 10 pounds, 10 ounces, $471) and Randy Coleman of Gastonia, N.C. (five bass, 10 pounds, 8 ounces, $404).

Mullinax also earned $272 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass.

The South Carolina Division’s next event will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 1 on Lake Wylie near Lake Wylie, S.C., for the divisions two-day Super Tournament.

Following the regular season, the 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 South Carolina 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 Shenandoah 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.