CLAPPER WINS WAL-MART BASS FISHING LEAGUE EVENT ON THE DETROIT
RIVER TRENTON, Mich. (July 11, 2005) -
Boater Steve Clapper of Lima, Ohio earned $3,596 Saturday as
winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Michigan Division
event on the Detroit River. The tournament was the second of
five regular-season Michigan Division events and featured 109
boaters vying for the win, which earned Clapper 200 points in
the Boater Division. Clapper's winning catch of five bass weighed
23 pounds, 4 ounces. He was fishing deep rock piles with goby
lures on the north shore of Lake Erie when he caught his limit
of bass. Clapper earned an additional $545 as winner of the
Boater Division big-bass award, thanks to a 5-pound, 14-ounce
bass, plus another $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.
Finishing second was Scott Dobson of Clarkson with five bass
weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces that earned him $1,798. Thomas
Moleski of Elkhart, Ind., claimed $1,177 as the third-place
finisher thanks to five bass weighing 20 pounds, 13 ounces.
In fourth was Joe Balog of Harrison Township with five bass
weighing 20 pounds, 8 ounces worth $915, and finishing fifth
and earning $752 was Robert Barta of Deerfield with five bass
weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces. Dan Manypenny of Streator, Ill.,
bested 109 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,798 as
the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 19 pounds,
14 ounces that he caught on a tube bait. Rounding out the top
five co-anglers are Jay Ahonen of Ortonville (five bass, 18
pounds, 7 ounces, $899); Homer Stephens of Nobelsville, Ind.
(five bass, 17 pounds, 9 ounces, $587); James Gargis of Mishawaka,
Ind. (five bass, 17 pounds, 6 ounces, $458); and Travis Edgar
of North Webster, Ind. (five bass, 16 pounds, 10 ounces, $376).
Michael Kramer of South Bend, Ind., earned $273 as the co-angler
big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught
on a goby tube bait. The Michigan Division's next event will
be held July 30 on Muskegon Lake near Muskegon, followed by
an event on the Detroit River near Trenton Aug. 20. The Michigan
Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a
two-day Super Tournament on the Detroit River near Trenton.
Following the regular season, the Michigan Division boater with
the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha "Be the Best"
points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will
earn $500 as the Yamaha "Be the Best" points champion in the
Co-angler Division. Every angler who receives weight credit
in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner,
199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments,
which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for
third, and so on. The top 40 Michigan Division boaters and co-anglers
based on year-end points standings will advance to the Ohio
River Regional near Paducah, Ky., Oct. 11-15 where they will
compete against Arkie, Hoosier and Great Lakes Division anglers
for one of six slots in the 2006 All-American. With a total
purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going
to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler,
the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative
events in bass fishing. The $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing
League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition,
boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying
the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing
from the back deck against other co-anglers. For more information
or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L.
Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League
and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined
$30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old
organization is the purveyor of America's largest and most prestigious
fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart
Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament
Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League,
Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies
support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed
on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the
title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information
on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com
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