Pratt best boater at BFL event on James River

RICHMOND, Va. – Boater Kelly Pratt of Williamsburg, Va., earned $4,575 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division event on the James River. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Empire Division events and earned Pratt 200 points in the Boater Division.

Pratt’s winning catch of five bass weighed 13 pounds, 13 ounces.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Randy Waterman of Keysville, Va. (five bass, 12 pounds, 10 ounces, $2,288); David Carney of Yorktown, Va. (five bass, 12 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,525); Steven Esser of Waldorf, Md. (five bass, 10 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,068) and Todd Neale of Warrentown, Va.. (four bass, 10 pounds, 1 ounce, $915).

Waterman also won the Boater Division Big Bass Award with a 7-pound, 14-ounce bass earning him an additional $665.

Esser also took home an additional $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Bryan Chatham of Fredericksburg, Va., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,179 thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 14 ounces.

Chatham also took home an additional $312 for winning the Co-Angler Division Big Bass Award with a 4-pound, 3-ounces bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Cory Hatton of Colonial Heights, Va. (five bass, 8 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,090); Moo Bae of West Friendship, Md. (three bass, 8 pounds, 6 ounces, $725); Daniel Mox of Glen Burnie, Md. (four bass, 7 pounds, 9 ounces, $509); and Jason Henderson of Richmond, Va. (five bass, 7 pounds, 8 ounces, $436).

The Shenandoah Division’s next event will be their two-day Super Tournament that will take place on the Potomac River near Woodbridge, Va., Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

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 Shenandoah Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Kerr Lake Regional near Henderson, N.C., Oct. 12-14, where they will compete against Gator, Savannah River and South Carolina 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 FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 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 an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.