Caraballo wins Castrol Co-Angler of the Year title

Coming in with the heaviest catch in the finals was Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., a 16-pound, 4-ounce limit. He finished third for the pros with 57-14. Photo by Jeff Schroeder. Angler: Jess Caraballo.

July 26, 2007 • MLF • Archives

BENTON, Ky. – Gain co-angler Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., was named the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s Castrol Co-angler of the Year following the tour’s final qualifier, the Chevy Open, on the Detroit River July 12-15. Caraballo won the title with a total of 1,008 points out of a possible 1,200 over six qualifying events and will enter the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs, Ark., next week as the No. 1 co-angler seed.

“I am very excited to be named Castrol Co-angler of the Year,” said Caraballo, who has amassed more than $68,000 in career winnings with FLW Outdoors since 2003. “It all came down to the Detroit River tournament. I had a bad first day, and I knew that I had to come back in order to get enough points to win the title. I was in the last flight to weigh-in, and at that point I was really nervous. After I weighed in I felt so great. I couldn’t believe that I had won. I was just hoping to make top-10 so I could fish pro next year.”

Rounding out the top five contenders for the Co-angler of the Year title were Spencer Shuffield of Bismark, Ark., with 977 points; David Hudson of Jasper, Ala., with 962 points; Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas, with 960 points; and Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., with 952 points.

Castrol For winning Castrol Co-angler of the Year, Caraballo received a $2,500 Wal-Mart gift card plus a year’s supply of Castrol marine oil.

Caraballo started the FLW Tour season off with a third-place finish worth $9,000 on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. “It never crossed my mind after my third-place finish at Lake Travis that when it was said and done, I would win the title. It wasn’t until the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake that I thought that it might become a reality,” Caraballo said.

After Lake Travis, he then finished 16th on Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes in Knoxville, Tenn., before earning his second top-10 finish at the National Guard Open on Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C. At the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark., he finished 48th. He then placed 53rd at the Potomac River in Washington and finished up the qualifying season with a 73rd-place finish at the Chevy Open on the Detroit River in Detroit. Through six events, Caraballo has earned $20,250 this season, and he will be competing for a top co-angler award of $40,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 2-5. In his FLW Outdoors career, Caraballo has finished in the top 10 eight times.

“This season I practiced with Gabe Bolivar, and it was a great learning experience,” Caraballo said. “He knows right where to find the fish, and he helped me prepare for each event.”

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 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.