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Goodwin Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Event on Fort Gibson Lake

Category: press release

 May 4th, 2009 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified May 4th, 2009 at 12:00 AM

WAGONER, Okla. (May 4, 2009) – Shonn Goodwin of Moore, Okla., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Okie Division tournament on Fort Gibson Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces. The victory earned Goodwin $4,009 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the DeGray Lake Regional Championship in Arkadelphia, Ark., Oct. 22-24, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

“It was a tough day,” said Goodwin. “I was sick the whole weekend. So it felt great to win.

Due to the large number of storms in the area the day of the tournament, the lake was rising one foot every two hours almost canceling the event. “The fishing was really tough. Almost 60 percent of the guys fishing blanked in the tournament,” commented Goodwin.

He caught his limit fishing mid-lake in creeks throwing a black neon tube with 3/8-ounce weight. “The weather made a big difference but I did to find fish. The fish normally go to the banks but they suspended in the cover that was available in the higher waters.”

Rounding out the top five boaters are Shannon Prophet of Muskogee, Okla. (5 bass, 12-0, $2,005); Larry Rhea of Stigler, Okla. (4 bass, 9-15, $1,336); Keith West of Ada, Okla. (3 bass, 9-6, $935) and Clayton Coppin of Muskogee, Okla. (4 bass, 8-14, $802).

Earl Clinton of Stilwell, Okla., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $550 for a 6-pound, 2-ounce bass he caught.

Nathan McCartney of Waukomis, Okla., earned $2,005 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to 4 bass weighing 15 pounds, 13 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Don Benson of Eufaula, Okla. (4 bass, 12-2, $1,002); Mitch Meredith of Tahlequah, Okla. (5 bass, 11-5, $668); Steve Rutherford of Bentonville, Ark. (3 bass, 11-2, $468); and Mike Anderson of Barnsdall, Okla. (5 bass, 10-7, $401).

Nathan McCartney earned $275 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 10-ounce bass.

The next Okie Division event will be held on the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Okla., June 6.

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.

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.