Allan Cagle of Deltona, Fla., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Everglades Division tournament on Lake Okeechobee Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 8 ounces. The victory earned Cagle $3,718 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.                                                                                                              

Cagle said he caught the majority of his fish casting a soft plastic frog to bedding fish.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Michael Woods of Okeechobee, Fla. (five bass, 19-12, $1,859); Rodney Marks of Tavares, Fla. (five bass, 19-11, $1,238); Steve Fairtrace of Okeechobee, Fla. (five bass, 17-1, $867) and Aymon Wilcox of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. (five bass, 17-0, $744).

Cagle took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $485 for a 7-pound, 9-ounce bass.                                                                                                                

Ron Buck of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., earned $1,859 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 5 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are James Trudel of Lighthouse Point, Fla. (five bass, 16-1, $929); Randy Paquette of Sarasota, Fla. (five bass, 15-5, $619); George Davis of Moore Haven, Fla. (five bass, 12-14, $434); and William Wood of West Palm Beach, Fla. (five bass, 11-5, $372).                                        

Elmore Watkins of Boynton Beach, Fla., earned $242 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass.                                                                                            

The next Everglades Division event will be held on the Kissimmee River in Lake Wales, Fla., March 28.

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.

Chad Gay

Last Updated ( Monday, 09 March 2009 )