Smith wins Wal-Mart BFL event on Laurel Lake

LONDON, Ky. – Boater Rusty Smith of Somerset, Ky., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Mountain Division tournament on Laurel Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 15 ounces. The victory earned Smith $3,637 plus a $641 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.

Smith caught the majority of his fish midlake around treetops and stumps.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Jeff Sandusky of Mount Vernon, Ky. (five bass, 17-2, $2,140); Jack Poindexter of Livingston, Tenn. (five bass, 15-13, $1,426); Billy Murphy of Livingston, Tenn. (five bass, 14-6, $998); and Jeff Carman of Liberty, Ky. (five bass, 14-3, $856).

Milton Hammons of Burgin, Ky., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $605 for a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass.

Trent Adkins of East Bernstadt, Ky., earned $2,140 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 13 ounces that he caught while slow-rolling a spinnerbait on the main lake and in pockets.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dwight Coontz of Stanford, Ky. (five bass, 14-7, $1,070); Marshall Todd of Harrodsburg, Ky. (five bass, 13-8, $712); Jeff Beekman of Piketon, Ohio (four bass, 11-3, $499); and John Cook of Jamestown, Tenn. (three bass, 11-0, $428).

Wesley Bruner of Corbin, Ky., earned $302 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass.

The Mountain Division’s next event will be June 9 on Barren River in Glasgow, Ky. The final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 15-16 on Barren River in Glasgow.

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 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 241 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 Walmart.com.

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