or additional information, please contact:
Dave Washburn, communications director, (270) 252-1607
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HERBURGER WINS WAL-MART BASS FISHING LEAGUE SUPER TOURNAMENT ON
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (Sept. 16, 2002) – Jeff Herburger of Dubuque,
Iowa, topped 101 Boater Division competitors on the Mississippi River
this weekend with a five-bass catch weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces. He
earned $6,186 and 300 points for the win at the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing
League Great Lakes Division season finale.
After qualifying for the final round of the two-day Super Tournament
in seventh place with an opening day catch of five bass weighing 14
pounds, 4 ounces, Herburger out-fished runner up Jeff Ritter of Prairie
du Chien, Wis., by 5 ounces to take the win. Herburger caught his limit
on day two using a buzz bait.
Ritter qualified for the final round in sixth place with five bass
weighing 14 pounds, 6 ounces and finished up with a five-bass catch
weighing 14 pounds to win $3,093.
Stuart Arthur of Milwaukee (five bass, 13 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,675);
Bob Matthies of Cicero, Ill. (five bass, 13 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,418);
and Clay Peterson of Madison Lake, Minn., (five bass, 12 pounds, 9
ounces, $1,160) rounded out the top five boaters.
Matthies earned a $500 bonus as the highest finisher in the Ranger Cup
incentive program. Tony Puelz of Garnavillo, Iowa, won the boater
big-bass award and collected $1,010 with a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass.
David Sabourin of Burlington, Wis., topped 101 competitors in the
Co-angler Division to take first place and $3,093 thanks to a
final-round catch of five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces. Second
place in the division and $1,547 went to David Ondrla of Elmhurst, Ill.,
who also caught a five-bass catch weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces (ties are
broken based on the previous day’s weight), followed by Mike Sather of
Rothschild, Wis., in third place with five bass weighing 11 pounds, 3
ounces worth $838.
Robin Piwoni of Kenosha, Wis., won the co-angler big-bass award of
$505 with a 4-pound, 6-ounce bass that he caught using a top-water frog.
The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers in the Great Lakes Division
will advance to regional competition presented by Yamaha Oct. 15-19 on
Kentucky Lake near Gilbertsville, Ky., where they will go up against top
competitors from the Hoosier, Illini and Michigan divisions for a shot
at qualifying for the BFL All-American, one of the most lucrative
postseason tournaments in competitive angling.
2002 BFL awards could reach $7 million based on full fields.
Sponsors of the 2002 Wal-Mart BFL are Wal-Mart, ALPO Pet Foods, BC
Powder, BFGoodrich Tires, Castrol, Chevy Trucks, Conseco, Energizer,
EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, FujiFilm, Garmin,
Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepsi, Poulan,
Ranger Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, Stren, U.S. Bank, Weed
Eater and Yamaha Outboards.