Hames tops boaters on Kentucky, Barkley lakes

BENTON, Ky. – Boater David Hames of Trezevant, Tenn., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League LBL Division tournament on Kentucky and Barkley lakes Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 21 pounds, 10 ounces. The victory earned Hames $5,100 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Fort Loudon-Tellico Lakes Regional Championship in Lenoir City, Tenn., Oct. 18-20, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Hames was throwing a suspending jerkbait around main-lake and secondary points to catch his quality-sized tournament limit of bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Mike Ward of Paris, Tenn. (five bass, 20-13, $3,000); Terry Bolton of Paducah, Ky. (five bass, 20-12, $2,000); Kevin Lasater of McKenzie, Tenn. (five bass, 20-2, $1,400) and Tim Griggs of Paducah, Ky. (five bass, 20-1, $1,200).

Kevin Springer of Benton, Ky., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $1,000 for a 7-pound, 13-ounce bass.

Bolton also took home additional prize money for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup participant.

Scott Duckworth of Murray, Ky., earned $3,000 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces that he caught while fishing a Lucky Craft 78DD around main lake points early in the day to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Rodger Lutz of Kuttawa, Ky. (five bass, 16-15, $1,500); Kevin Hancock of Madisonville, Ky. (five bass, 16-5, $1,000); Ryan Zwick of Harrison, Ohio (five bass, 16-3, $700) and Jeff Kellogg of Rockford, Mich. (five bass, 15-12, $600).

Russell Palmer of Lexington, Ky., earned $500 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 7-pound, 11-ounce bass.

All LBL Division evevents are held on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Their next event will be April 14 on in Cadiz, Ky., followed by a tournament May 19 in Paris, Tenn. The division’s fourth event will be held June 16 in Aurora, Ky., and the final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 29-30 in Benton, Ky.

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 Fort Loudon-Tellico Lakes 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.