KURTZ WINS WAL-MART BASS FISHING LEAGUE EVENT ON THE MISSISSIPPI
RIVER PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (July 25, 2005) - Boater Ben Kurtz
of Elkhorn earned $3,911 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart
Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division event on the Mississippi
River. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Great
Lakes Division events and earned Kurtz 200 points in the Boater
Division. Kurtz's winning catch of five bass weighed 16 pounds,
8ounces. Kurtz caught his fish early in the morning around grass
while throwing topwater lures. Finishing second was Rollie Truehl
of Deforest with five bass weighing 16 pounds that earned him
$1,956. Jeff Herburger of Dubuque, Iowa, claimed $1,280 as the
third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds,
11 ounces. In fourth was Curt Erpenbach of Morris, Ill., with
five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces worth $996, and finishing
fifth and earning $818 was Jeff Benson of Holmen with five bass
weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces. Herburger took Boater Division
big-bass award honors, earning $615 for a 4-pound, 4-ounce bass.
He caught his big bass on a jig. Truehl earned an additional
$500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award. Michael Parve of West
Bend earned $1,956 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass
weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces that he caught on a jig and pig.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Neil Lemaster of Ft.
Madison, Iowa (five bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $978); Andy Lafave
of Racine (five bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces, $640); Anthony Woitach
of Milwaukee (five bass, 11 pounds, 15 ounces, $498); and Klaus
Kuester of Forest Park, Ill. (five bass, 11 pounds, 11 ounces,
$409). Derek Meier of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earned $308 as the
co-angler big-bass award winner with a 3-pound, 12-ounce bass
he caught on a scum frog. The Great Lakes Division's next event
will be held Aug. 20 on the Mississippi River near Wabasha.
The Great Lakes Division will wrap up its regular season Oct.
1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Mississippi River
near Prairie Du Chien. Following the regular season, the Great
Lakes 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
Great Lakes 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 Michigan 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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