CLEWISTON,
Fla. — Boater
Rick Burton
of Wellington earned $5,839 Sunday as
winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing
League Everglades Division Super
Tournament event on Lake Okeechobee.
The tournament earned Burton 300
points in the Boater Division.
Burton’s winning catch of 10 bass
weighed 34 pounds, 7 ounces. Burton
flipped grass mats in the Belle Glade
area with a black and blue
silver-flake craw to catch his bass.
The win was Burton’s second on Lake
Okeechobee for the year, making him
the points leader in the Everglades
Division for the 2005 season.
Rounding out the top-five pros are
Jimmy McMillan of Belle Glade (10
bass, 33 pounds, 14 ounces, $2,850);
Mark Lamb of West Palm Beach (10 bass,
33 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,390); Jim
Medlin of West Palm Beach (10 bass, 31
pounds, 3 ounces, $1,251); and Daryl
Deka of Wellington (10 bass, 30
pounds, 6 ounces, $1,112).
Lamb earned $1,100 as winner of the
big-bass award in the Boater Division,
thanks to an 8-pound, 9-ounce bass. He
earned an additional $500 as winner of
the Ranger Cup award.
James Trudel of Lighthouse Point
earned $2,920 as the co-angler winner,
thanks to 10 bass weighing 28 pounds,
10 ounces that he caught on
Rat-L-Traps and Yamamoto Senkos.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers
are Michael Cass of Lake Worth (10
bass, 25 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,425);
Greg Sorrell of Estero (10 bass, 23
pounds, 13 ounces, $695); Brian
Peterson of Jupiter (10 bass, 22
pounds, 1 ounce, $626); and Wyatt Boyd
of Winter Haven (10 bass, 22 pounds, 1
ounce, $556).
David Stout of Okeechobee earned $550
as the co-angler big-bass award winner
with a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Following the regular season, the
Everglades 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.
The top 40 Everglades Division boaters
and co-anglers based on year-end
points standings will advance to the
Lake Martin Regional near Alexander
City, Ala., Oct. 18-22 where they will
compete against Gator, Mississippi and
Savannah River 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.
