JASPER, Texas (Sept. 27, 2004) - Boater Darryl Hunter of Spring earned $7,586 Sunday as winner of the two-day, season-ending Bass Fishing League Cowboy Division Super Bass Tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. His two-day total of 32 pounds, 14 ounces topped 139 fellow competitors in the Boater Division.
Hunter caught 19 pounds, 16 ounces Saturday to advance to Sunday's competition, where he caught 13 pounds, 8 ounces to post the heaviest two-day weight and claim the win. He caught his tournament-winning bass on a Zoom Horny Toad. Hunter has two career BFL victories, and both wins have come on Sam Rayburn.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Greg Fleming of Big Sandy (30 pounds, $3,793); David Truax of Beaumont (29 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,055); Bud Pruitt of Spring (29 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,739); and John Lemaire of Abbeville, La. (28 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,422).
Truax earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he earned another $250 from Yamaha because his boat is powered by a Yamaha outboard. Pruitt earned $1,390 as the Boater Division big-bass winner, thanks to a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a Berkley Power Tube.
Slade Dearman of Sam Rayburn earned $3,711 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 22 pounds, 5 ounces. He caught his bass on a Pop-R in shallow submerged grass. Dearman was the 2002 Cowboy Division co-angler points champion, and he has seven career top-10 finishes in the Cowboy Division.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Allan Shivers of Vidor (16 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,856); John Peebles of Seabrook (15 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,005); Bret Myers of Keller (15 pounds, 1 ounce, $851); and Darrell Noster of Houston (15 pounds, $696).
Chance Havard of Simsboro, La., claimed co-angler big-bass honors with an 8-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a Fluke. He earned $680 for his big bass.
Each of the BFL's 24 nationwide divisions features four one-day tournaments and one two-day Super Tournament within the regular season. In Super Tournament competition, the entire field competes on day one and the top 20 percent advances to day two, with the winners determined by the heaviest two-day catch weights. More money is awarded at Super Tournaments as well as more points that count toward year-end angler standings. In a Super Tournament, 300 points are awarded for first place, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on.