FLW Outdoors
Published May 18, 2009

OKEECHOBEE CITY, Fla. (May 18, 2009) – Darrell Brackin of Okeechobee, Fla., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Everglades Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 26 pounds, 1 ounce. The victory earned Brackin $3,021 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Lake Seminole Regional Championship in Bainbridge, Ga., Oct. 22-24, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
                                                                                                                                               
Brackin said he caught the majority of his bass fishing a crankbait on ledges in the Kissimmee River.
                                                                                                                   
Rounding out the top five boaters are Jim Hurlock, Jr. of Lake Worth, Fla. (five bass, 24-3, $1,511); Jason Council of Casselberry, Fla. (five bass, 20-15, $1,007); Jason Danes of Winter Haven, Fla. (five bass, 17-9, $705) and Jeff McMillan of Belle Glade, Fla. (five bass, 16-9, $604).
 
Brackin took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $345 for a 8-pound, 4-ounce bass.
                                                                                                                    
John Haystead of Saint Cloud, Fla., earned $1,511 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces.
 
Haystead said he caught the majority of his bass on a cream and blue-back Rat-L Trap on ledges in the Kissimmee River.
                                                                                                                                                   
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Clyde Arnold of Coconut Creek, Fla. (five bass, 13-7, $755); George Davis of Moore Haven, Fla. (five bass, 13-0, $504); David Hunter of Williston, Fla. (five bass, 12-9, $327) and James Trudel of Lighthouse Point, Fla. (five bass, 12-9, $327).
                                                                                     
Dererk Savage of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., earned $172 as the co-angler Big Bass winner with a 9-pound, 5-ounce bass he caught on a June Bug-colored trick worm fished on a ledge in the Kissimmee River.
                                                                                                               
 The next Everglades Division event, a two-day Super Tournament, will be held on the Kissimmee River in Lake Wales, Fla., Sept. 19-20.
 
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 $2.5 million 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.



299