CLINTON, Iowa. (Aug. 28, 2006) ? Boater Jeff Ritter of Prairie Du Chien, Wis., earned $3,514 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division event on the Mississippi River. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Great Lakes Division events and earned Ritter 200 points in the Boater Division.
Ritter's winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 7 ounces. He was throwing a topwater frog over shallow grass to catch his bass.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jason Leuenberger of Lacrosse, Wis. (five bass, 15 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,757); Bill Salzmann of Galena, Ill.. (five bass, 14 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,172); Mark Claerhout of Colona, Ill., (five bass, 13 pounds, 13 ounces, $820) and Bob Bungard of Muskego, Wis. (five bass, 13 pounds, 10 ounces, $703).
Leuenberger also won the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award with a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass that earning him $450.
Claerhout also took home an additional $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.
Doug Macchia of Kenosha, Wis., won the Co-angler Division and earned $1,757 thanks to three bass weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Tim Millett of St. Charles, Ill. (three bass, 7 pounds, 14 ounces, $879); Darren Katzung of Bagley, Wis. (four bass, 7 pounds $585); Aaron Pospisil of Marion, Iowa. (three bass, 6 pounds, 13 ounces, $410); and Kyle Schauf of Onalaska, Wis. and Wayne Stoner of Manhattan, Ill. tied for fifth, (three bass, 6 pounds, 5 ounces, $336).
Stoner also earned an additional $225 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 3-pound, 13-ounce bass.
The Great Lakes Division's next event will take place on the Mississippi River near Lacrosse, Wis., Sept. 16-17 for two-day Super Tournament, the division's fifth and final event.
The top 40 Great Lakes Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the no-entry-fee Fort Madison Regional Championship near Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 5-7, where they will compete against Illini, Michigan and Ozark anglers for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck in the Boater Division plus six slots in the no-entry-fee 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash 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 boater with the most points who advances the farthest at the All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha "Be the Best" points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances the farthest will earn $5,000 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 $8.8 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.
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, Stratos Owners' Tournament Trail, 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 exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.
For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com.
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 Wal-Mart.com.
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