Lake Seminole to host Wal-Mart BFL Regional

BAINBRIDGE, Ga. – The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will visit Lake Seminole near Bainbridge, Ga., Oct. 25-27 for one of seven no-entry-fee Regional Championships. During the tournament, hosted by Bainbridge-Decatur County Chamber of Commerce, top anglers from the Bulldog, Dixie, Everglades and Savannah River divisions will compete for a $60,000 prize package that includes a new Chevy truck and Ranger 519VX powered by Evinrude or Yamaha in the Boater Division and a $40,000 Ranger 519VX powered by Evinrude or Yamaha in the Co-angler Division.

Boater Jim Windham of Bonaire, Ga., and co-angler William Pickle of Jasper, Ga., will lead the Bulldog qualifiers on Lake Seminole while boater Patrick Dobbins of Opelika, Ala., and co-angler Roger Brown of Tallassee, Ala., lead the Dixie Division contingent. Boater Byron Childers of Coconut Creek, Fla., and co-angler Todd Schlueter of Englewood, Fla., are the No. 1 qualifiers from the Everglades Division, and boater Randy Childers of Anderson, S.C., and co-angler David Carmichael of Lincolnton, Ga., are the top qualifiers from the Savannah River Division.

Joining the top qualifiers from each division are three of the four Trudel brothers. Jeff Trudel of Coconut Creek, Fla., John Trudel of Lighthouse Point, Fla., and Jay Trudel of Boca Raton, Fla., all qualified for the Lake Seminole Regional Tournament through the Everglades division. James Trudel of Lighthouse, Fla., qualified for the Mississippi River Regional Tournament through the Ozark division.

Overall, 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers qualified from each of these divisions for a total field of 160 boats on Lake Seminole. The anglers qualified for the Regional Championship through a series of four one-day tournaments and a two-day Super Tournament in each of their respective divisions.

Bainbridge Boat Basin located at 100 Boat Basin Circle in Bainbridge will host daily takeoffs at 7 a.m. Bainbridge Boat Basin will also host Thursday and Friday’s weigh-ins beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in featuring the top six boaters and six co-anglers will be held at the Wal-Mart located at 500 E. Alice St. in Bainbridge beginning at 4 p.m. The winners will be determined by the heaviest total catch from all three days of competition.

Boaters and co-anglers who finish in the top six at the Lake Seminole Regional Championship will also advance to the $1 million no-entry-fee 2008 All-American championship presented by Chevy where they will fish for as much as $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing.

In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3 million. Additionally, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series for 2008 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Wal-Mart FLW Tour.

In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.

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.