Wright wins Walmart BFL Super Tournament on Lake Shelbyville

Sheldon Ayers of Anna, Ill., earns top honors in the Co-angler Division

FINDLAY, Ill. – John Wright of Shelbyville, Ill., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League Illini Division two-day Super Tournament on Lake Shelbyville Saturday with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 12 ounces. The victory earned Wright $4,324 and solidified his ticket to the Mississippi River Regional Championship in Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 1-3, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

“That’s the second Super Tournament that I’ve won,” said Wright, who has six wins and 32 top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors events. “I’ve been doing this a long time … back before the tournament records were being kept.”

Wright said he caught his bass fishing structure with a 5/8-ounce peanut butter-colored jig.

“I was targeting main-lake structure,” Wright said. “I never even got close enough to cast to the bank. I’ve fished this lake since the late 70s and spend a lot of time on this body of water. I knew what the fish would do and I just had tremendous confidence from my knowledge of this body of water. And I like to structure fish, so I was very confident.”

Rounding out the top five boaters are Brad Peters of Taylorville, Ill. (10 bass, 25-12, $2,162); Wayne Shaw of Urbana, Ill. (nine bass, 24-8, $1,441); Chad Kerr of Burlington, Iowa (10 bass, 23-9, $1,009) and Tom Silber of Labadie, Mo. (eight bass, 23-2, $865).

Kyle Danhausen of Kankakee, Ill., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $480 for a 5-pound, 15-ounce bass he caught.

Sheldon Ayers of Anna, Ill., earned $2,162 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to a two-day catch of seven bass weighing 18 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught fishing laydowns with a 7-inch plastic worm.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Williams of Cottage Hills, Ill. (nine bass, 17-9, $1,081); James Schubert of Mount Vernon, Ill. (eight bass, 17-8, $723); Derick Holmes of Effingham, Ill. (nine bass, 17-8, $505); and Tony Kirkpatrick of Mount Vernon, Ill. (six bass, 16-15, $432).

Tamela Lingle of Dongola, Ill., earned $240 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.

The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee 2010 Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. 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 $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series™ for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart 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.

Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.