Blaylock Wins Co-AOY

Berkley co-angler Stetson Blaylock of Benton, Arkansas, was named the 2008 Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s Castrol Co-angler of the Year following the tour’s final qualifier, the Chevy Open, on the Detroit River July 10-13. Blaylock won the title with a total of 1,013 points out of a possible 1,200 over six qualifying events and will enter the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Columbia, South Carolina, as the No. 1 co-angler seed.

“Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about Angler of the Year when the season started,” said the 20-year-old Blaylock, who has earned more than $158,000 in his FLW Outdoors career. “I just wanted to win an FLW Tour event. I had already qualified for the Cup through the FLW Series East-West Fish-Off. After winning the Wal-Mart Open, I completely changed my mindset and focused on Angler of the Year. ”

Rounding out the top five contenders for the Co-angler of the Year title were Barry Isbell of Trussville, Ala., with 992 points; Paul Mueller of Southbury, Conn., with 972 points; Hector Delagarza of Garland, Texas, with 960 points; and Bryan Talmadge of Pell City, Ala., with 919 points.

For winning Castrol Co-angler of the Year, Blaylock received a $2,500 Wal-Mart gift card plus a year’s supply of Castrol marine oil.

Blaylock started the FLW Tour season off with a 79th-place finish on Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla. After Lake Toho, he rebounded nicely with an eighth-place on Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala. At the National Guard Open on Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C., Blaylock finished 33rd. He then won $40,000 as the Wal-Mart Open champion on Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark., and took second at the FLW Tour event on Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes in Knoxville, Tenn. At the season’s final qualifying event on the Detroit River in Detroit, the Berkley co-angler took 70th place. Through six events, Blaylock has earned $55,900 this season, and will be competing for a top co-angler award of $50,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray Aug. 14-17. In his FLW Outdoors career, Blaylock has four victories and has finished in the top 10 17 times. Three of those four wins have come in the past nine months.

“I fish each tournament as though it’s the Forrest Wood Cup. That’s how hard I fish. Winning the FLW Series event on Pickwick last fall took the mental pressure off me where I didn’t have to think about that tournament that I haven’t won. From then on, my goal was to win an FLW Tour event.”

Blaylock said a key to his recent success has been Trilene’s new 100% Fluorocarbon line.

“I know for a fact that it’s the best line there is. That was a big key to my win on Beaver, getting bites on the lighter 20-pound-test line behind guys. A lot of my pros were using braid and they weren’t getting the bites I was. In Knoxville, I used the 12-pound test and a Berkley Sinking Minnow and finished second.”

In the foreseeable future, Blaylock plans to turn pro.

“I started fishing tournaments when I was 10 years old so I do have 10 years of experience. It’s a possibility for next year - we’ll see if things line up, but it’s definitely going to happen in the next few years.”

Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing?, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

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.

Dudley Wins AOY Title

David Dudley of Lynchburg, Virginia, added to his already impressive list of career accomplishments by winning the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title Friday at the Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s final 2008 qualifier, the Chevy Open on the Detroit River, Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair.

Although this is Dudley’s first Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title, his pro bass-fishing résumé is extensive. In fact, Dudley owns the FLW Outdoors career earnings record with more than $2.3 million in winnings. He was the youngest angler in history to surpass the $1 million milestone, a feat he accomplished in 2002 at 26 years old, and the $2 million milestone, a mark he pass in 2006 at the age of 30. Additionally, Dudley boasts five victories - two FLW Tour, including the Forrest Wood Cup, one Wal-Mart FLW Series, one Stren Series and the Ranger M1.

“I’ve achieved the FLW Outdoors grand slam,” said Dudley following Friday’s weigh-in. “I’ve been at this for 14 years, and I’ve won at every level in the professional ranks. Now I can add Angler of the Year to the list, and to me, that’s the most important.”

Dudley jumped from fifth place in the Angler of the Year standings to earn the title with 1,003 out of a possible 1,200 points after finishing the Chevy Open in 38th place. He just edged out National Guard pro Brent Ehler of Redlands, Calif., who finished second with 1,002 points after finishing in 16th place. Pretournament leaders, Evinrude pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., and Berkley pro Glenn Browne of Ocala, Fla., stumbled Friday, finishing 192 and 197, respectively.

Along with the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title, which annually goes to the sport’s most dominant bass angler, Dudley earned $65,000, including a new Ranger boat powered by Yamaha and $25,000 cash.

Dudley started the FLW Tour season off with a 67th-place effort on Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla. He then finished 43rd on Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala. At the Tour’s third qualifying event, the National Guard Open, on Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C., Dudley took 28th place. He earned a 26th-place finish in the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake in Rogers, Ark., in May and won on Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes in Knoxville, Tenn., last month.

Next up for Dudley is the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17. There he will face 76 other qualifiers from the FLW Tour, FLW Series, Stren Series Championship, BFL All-American and TBF National Championship for the sport’s biggest award, $1 million.

Coverage of Dudley’s historic Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year win on the Detroit River will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast internationally to more than 429 million households in such countries as Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely-distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world.

The Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title is determined by the total accumulated points from six regular-season events. Two hundred points are awarded for a win, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on.

Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing?, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

Land O’Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakesinc.com) is a national, farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales of more than $8 billion. Land O’Lakes is a Fortune 500 company which does business in all 50 states and more than 50 countries. It is a leading marketer of a full line of dairy-based consumer, foodservice and food ingredient products across the United States; serves its international customers with a variety of food and animal feed ingredients; and provides farmers and ranchers with an extensive line of agricultural supplies (feed, seed, and crop protection products) and services. Land O’Lakes also provides agricultural assistance and technical training in more than 25 developing nations.

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.

Canterbury Claims ROY

Odenville, Alabama, native Scott Canterbury, who made his mark in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League before qualifying for the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, won the 2008 Duracell Rookie of the Year award with 817 points over six qualifying events.

With those 817 points, Canterbury also qualified for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup by finishing the season ranked in the top 40 overall. He was followed in the Duracell Rookie of the Year standings by pro Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Ala., with 789 points; pro Kyle Mabrey of McCalla, Ala., with 770 points; pro Rob Digh of Denver, N.C., with 760 points; and pro Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas, who made the top-10 cut Friday and could finish the season with as many as 729 points. For winning Duracell Rookie of the Year, Canterbury earned $1,000 and a year’s supply of Duracell batteries.

“Winning rookie of the year was a goal I had at the very start,” Canterbury said. “It’s an awesome accomplishment. It’s been a long journey to get to this point, and now I’m looking forward to fishing the Forrest Wood Cup.”

Canterbury started the FLW Tour season off with a dismal 158th-place effort on Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla. After Toho, he rebounded nicely with back-to-back top-10 finishes on Lewis Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala., and Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C. In those two tournaments alone, Canterbury earned $91,000 - finishing second and third respectively. At the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake, the rookie pro took 64th place and a check worth $10,000. He earned a 69th-place finish at the Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes in Knoxville, Tenn., and wrapped up the qualifying season with a 93rd-place finish on the Detroit River in Detroit.

In roughly a month, Canterbury will head to Columbia, S.C., for the no-entry-fee Forrest Wood Cup presented by BP and Castrol on Lake Murray. There he will face 76 other qualifiers from the FLW Tour, FLW Series, Stren Series Championship, BFL All-American and TBF National Championship for the sport’s biggest award - $1 million. For a complete list of Forrest Wood Cup qualifiers, visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Last year’s Duracell Rookie of the Year, Bryan Thrift, finished fifth in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race with a total of 966 points. The Duracell Rookie of the Year title is determined by the total accumulated points from six regular-season events. Two hundred points are awarded for a win, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on.

Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing?, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

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.

Shaw Wins Chevy Shootout

High winds meant rough waters for the anglers competing in the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Chevy Open on the Detroit River, but in the end Team Kellogg’s pro Alvin Shaw of State Road, N.C., caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 39 pounds, 11 ounces to win $200,000. Shaw topped his closest rival, Team Pringles pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, by only 3 ounces to earn the win and 200 points toward qualifying for the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup in Columbia, S.C., where the winner will earn as much as $1 million – the biggest award in bass fishing – Aug. 14-17.

“This feels so great I can’t even explain it,” said Shaw, who now has won more than $716,000 in FLW Outdoors events. “It feels good to put in a good practice and come out on top. That’s just what it boils down to.

“I had to stick with what I was doing, wind or no wind,” Shaw added. “If I could get there, I felt like I could catch fish. The wind actually made me stay on areas longer because it was impossible to run.”

Throughout the competition, Shaw targeted small isolated clumps of grass, rocks and sand in 12 to 16 feet of water on Lake St. Clair. He said instead of employing the time-tested method of dragging a tube that is so popular on the area waters, he elected to cast it with baitcasting equipment and 8-pound-test line. Shaw pulled a green-pumpkin gold flake tube to the top of the grass, held it there and then popped the tube out of the grass. Most of the strikes occurred when he popped the tube free. Shaw said he culled only twice Sunday.

“I knew I had a chance to win after the first day of the tournament,” Shaw said. “I didn’t know how good these spots were in practice. You don’t go out there and hammer them in practice. You just try to go around and get a feel for what’s going on. I thought I could make a top 100 and maybe even a top 50 for a $10,000 check.

“But after the first day I said, ‘These fish are talking to me,’” Shaw added. “They’re coming to me.”

Shaw opened the tournament Thursday in 10th place with five bass weighing 20-04. He jumped to second place Friday with a five-bass catch weighing 20 pounds, 15 ounces to advance into the final round of 10 pros with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41 pounds, 3 ounces. On Saturday, weights were cleared, and Shaw caught five bass weighing 20-14 to advance to the final day of competition in first place. Shaw added another five bass weighing 18-13 to his final-round total Sunday.

Vatalaro caught a final-round total of 10 bass weighing 39-08 to claim second place and $50,000.

“I couldn’t do much more than I did, no doubt about it,” Vatalaro said. “I just worked my hardest and didn’t lose any fish and I played the cards the only way I could play them.”

Vatalaro was targeting underwater bushes near sandy spots in 18 to 20 feet of water and caught 25 keepers from his spot on Lake St. Clair on a green tube Saturday.

“Yesterday I lost one fish,” Vatalaro said. “What can you do? Out of all of those fish I caught, I lost one good one.”

The $150,000 difference in first and second place meant Vatalaro’s shortcoming cost $50,000 an ounce.

“I mean … 3 ounces,” Vatalaro said. “$150,000 for 3 ounces. That’s amazing.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros were Mark Modrak of China Township, Mich. (10 bass, 31-04, $40,000); Team Chevy pro Kim Stricker of Howell, Mich. (10 bass, 26-04, $35,000); Team BP pro J.T. Kenney of Port Charlotte, Fla. (nine bass, 25-01, $30,000); David Reault of Livonia, Mich. (eight bass, 21-14, $28,000); Team Duracell pro Michael Bennett of Lincoln, Calif. (eight bass, 21-08, $26,000); Keith Monson of Burgin, Ky. (eight bass, 18-11, $24,000); Keith Combs of Del Rio, Texas (six bass, 16-13, $22,000) and David McCrone of Minnetonka, Minn. (two bass, 6-15, $20,000).

Overall there were 40 bass weighing 121 pounds, 1 ounce caught in the Pro Division Sunday. The catch included six five-bass limits.

Tournament pros aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing, which offers $7.3 million in cash and prizes, FLW Outdoors presents anyone with the opportunity to land the catch of a lifetime. Players in the lucrative new fantasy sports league can become virtual pros by signing up for Player’s Advantage, which provides exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and receive a complimentary $15 Wal-Mart gift card.

On Saturday, Mark Frickman of Grand Ledge, Mich., won the Co-angler Division and $30,000 Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 4 ounces followed by Mike Weidman of Burton, Mich., in second place with five bass weighing 17-9 worth $10,000.

Frickman opened the tournament in 53rd place Thursday with five bass weighing 15-01 while fishing with Team Duracell pro Brennan Bosley of Benton, Ark. On Friday he jumped into fifth place on the strength of a five-bass catch weighing 17-10 while fishing with Team Castrol pro Carl Svebek of Siloam Springs, Ark. He wrapped up his win while fishing with Team Pringles pro Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio.

“This is unbelievable,” said Frickman, who won the first FLW Tour event he fished Saturday. “This was my treat for the year — to fish my first FLW Tour event.

“I just can’t describe it,” Frickman added. “To start out 53rd on Day 1 and making it to the finals and then winning … don’t ever, ever give up. Be positive. Do the right thing.”

Frickman credits the Berkley Gulp! Goby as the key to his championship title. Frickman said he caught between 20 and 25 fish during the course of the day, including about 20 keepers.

“I was throwing 3-pounders back at 8:30 this morning,” Frickman said. “It was just phenomenal.”

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are J.B. Young of Deer Park, Texas (five bass, 16-03, $9,000); Jerry Weisinger of Wyandotte, Okla. (three bass, 11-08, $8,000); Andrew Lemle of Perrysburg, Ohio (five bass, 11-07, $7,000); Team National Guard co-angler Diane Delagarza of Garland, Texas (four bass, 10-04, $6,000); Scott Gibson of Biloxi, Miss. (three bass, 6-11, $5,000); Ron Fabiszak of South Bend, Ind. (one bass, 4-02, $4,000); Team Wal-Mart co-angler Hector Delagarza of Garland, Texas (one bass, 2-09, $3,000) and Todd Robbins of Romulus, Mich. (one bass, 1-13, $2,000).

Hector and Diane Delagarza shared the weigh-in stage Saturday as the first husband and wife in FLW Outdoors history to make a top 10 together.

Overall there were 33 bass weighing 101 pounds, 6 ounces caught in the Co-angler Division Saturday. The catch included four five-bass limits.

Coverage of the Chevy Open will be broadcast to 81 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) subscribers in the United States on Aug. 31 and Sept. 7 as part of the “FLW Outdoors” television program. “FLW Outdoors” is also broadcast in Canada on WFN (World Fishing Network) and to more than 429 million households in the United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East through a distribution agreement with Matchroom Sport, making it the most widely distributed fishing program in the world. The program airs Sunday mornings at 11 Eastern time in most markets. Check local listings for times in your area.

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.

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