Hoover wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Ross Barnett Reservoir

BRANDON, Miss. – Boater Mike Hoover of Jackson, Tenn., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division tournament on Ross Barnett Reservoir Saturday with a four-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 3 ounces. The victory earned Hoover $4,626 plus an $816 Ranger bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Kentucky Lake Regional Championship in Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 18-20, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Hoover caught his fish on a Bandit crankbait around lily pad stems in the Horseshoe Lake area.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Danny Walden of Columbus, Miss., (five bass, 16-05, $2,722); Ricky Houston of Marietta, Miss., (four bass, 16-04, $1,814); Reid Sanders of Newton, Miss., (five bass, 15-11, $1,270) and Christopher Eddy of Sandersville, Miss., (five bass, 14-11, $1,089).

Gene Bishop of Madison, Miss., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $865 for a 7-pound, 7-ounce bass.

Glenn Page of Union, Miss., earned $2,469 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to three bass weighing 10 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught while fishing jigs around stumps near Cone Creek.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mickey Ross of Laurel, Miss., (three bass, 10-08, $1,235); Heath Gilmore of Meridian, Miss., (four bass, 9-15, $823); David Andrews of Columbus, Miss., (four bass, 9-04, $576) and Mark Sullivan of Collinsville, Miss., (two bass, 8-11, $494).

Jimmy Tisdale of Ellisville, Miss., earned $372 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching an 8-pound, 7-ounce bass.

The Mississippi Division’s next event will be April 14 at Bay Springs in New Site, Miss., followed by a tournament May 12 at Tunica in Tunica, Miss. The division’s fourth event will be held June 30 on Columbus Pool in Columbus Pool, Miss., and the final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 8-9 on Lake Ferguson in Greenville, Miss.

Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Kentucky Lake Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the 2008 All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 will offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.

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.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.