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Bishop Wins BFL on James River, VA

Category: Tournament

 Jun 23rd, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified Jun 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 AM

RICHMOND, Va.  (June 23, 2008) – Boater Jason Bishop of Richmond, Va., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League® Shenandoah Division tournament on the James River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce. The victory earned Bishop $3,020 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Albemarle Sound Regional Championship in Elizabeth City, N.C., Oct. 9-11, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

“We ran to the Chickahominy River in the morning and caught fish on topwater on some Pop-R lures and Zoom Trick Worms in green-pumpkin,” Bishop said. “Then we stayed with the good outdoor water the rest of the day and ran up to Richmond. We had a good day and caught fish everywhere we stopped.”

Bishop had 15 keeper bites fishing brush piles and wood and had a limit by 8:30 a.m.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Bobby Clarke of Virginia Beach, Va. (five bass, 12-05, $1,777); James Hoffmaster of Bunker Hill, W.Va. (five bass, 12-00, $1,185); Todd Harris of Pfafftown, N.C. (five bass, 11-11, $829) and Richard Owen of Chester, Va. (five bass, 11-05, $711).

Bishop took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $455 for a 5-pound bass he caught on a topwater lure.

Thomas Thompson of Arlington, Va., earned $1,753 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a Senko and creature baits in lay downs and timber.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mark Robertson of Henderson, N.C. (five bass, 10-04, $876); David Williams of Fredericksburg, Va. (five bass, 9-04, $585); Thomas Hassler of Woodstock, Va. (five bass, 8-14, $409) and Michael Trivette of Blackstone, Va. (five bass, 8-09, $351).

Daniel Towe of Salem, Va., earned $220 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a Carolina rig and Brush Hog.

A two-day Super Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held on the Potomac River in Woodbridge, Va., Sept. 13-14.

Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Albemarle Sound Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.
Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.

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