Christian,

the Savannah River Division points leader, won the Lake Gaston regional

to cap off a phenomenal season in which he won five BFL tournaments, including

the one Bulldog Division event that he entered. While he continues to

fish the BFL, Christian has now added EverStart Series tournaments to

his plate and has already claimed victory there once in 2003.

Eslinger qualified

for the All-American via the Chevy Trucks Wild Card, where he finished

third. The 2002 season was his first full season in the BFL.

Johnson won

the Chevy Trucks Wild Card to advance to his first All-American. He switched

to the Savannah River Division after two prior seasons in the Bulldog

Division.

Murphy also

qualified via the Chevy Trucks Wild Card, finishing fifth. Murphy has

fished the BFL since 1996, but 2002 was his first year to fish the full

schedule. Peek is another Chevy Trucks Wild Card contender, finishing

fourth in that event to advance to the All-American. He qualified for

the championship after his first year as a BFL angler.

Stone finished

second in the Chevy Trucks Wild Card ­ his second consecutive runner-up

Wild Card finish. Stone, a Choo Choo Division angler, finished 42nd at

last year's All-American.

Wild posted

a second-place finish at the Pearl River Regional and was ranked 21st

in 2002 Bama Division points standings. Wild, who is also an EverStart

Series pro, is fishing his first All-American.

Three co-anglers

from Georgia will compete in the All-American from the back of the boat.

They are Peter Babbini of Kennesaw, Dennis Hudson of Fortson and Sandy

Thornton of Elberton.

Babbini won

the Chevy Trucks Wild Card to advance to the All-American in his first

year of BFL competition. Hudson also advanced via the Chevy Trucks Wild

Card, finishing fourth to qualify for his second consecutive All-American.

Thornton finished fifth at the Lake Gaston Regional to earn his ticket

to the All-American after ranking 14th in year-end Savannah River Division

points standings.

As the Savannah

River Division points champion, Christian will also be competing for the

Yamaha "Be the Best" Points Championship and $10,000 cash.

The highest

finishing divisional points champion at the All-American earns the distinction.

The highest

finishing Ranger Cup participant at the All-American wins a 519VS Ranger

Boat and Ranger Trail trailer.

The 2002 Wal-Mart

Bass Fishing League comprised 26 divisions nationwide with five regular-season

events each. Anglers who finished in the top 30 in divisional points standings

were eligible to compete in one of seven regionals, six of which sent

six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American while a seventh sent

three boaters and three co-anglers.

Anglers who

competed in all five regular-season events within a division but did not

advance to a regional were eligible to compete in the Chevy Trucks Wild

Card, which also sent six boaters and six co-anglers for a total All-American

field of 90 competitors.

Competition

begins from Chocolotta Ramp in Mobile on May 29 following an official

practice day May 28. The full field (45 boaters and 45 co-anglers) competes

for two days, with co-angler competition concluding May 30 based on the

heaviest two-day accumulated weight. The top 10 boaters continue competition

May 31 with the winner crowned by the heaviest one-day weight. Weigh-ins

start at 3 p.m. daily at the Mobile Convention Center. There is no admission

fee to the weigh-ins, and the public is invited to attend the festivities.

The All-American

will bring national exposure to the nation's best weekend anglers when

highlights of the event are broadcast to 55 million subscribers of the

Outdoor Life Network. Because BFL competitors are weekend anglers and

not pros, the All-American and its lucrative cash awards present a unique

opportunity for qualifiers looking to launch a professional bass-fishing

career. Former All-American contenders who have become fishing superstars

on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour include Kellogg's pro Clark Wendlandt, Chevy

pro Tommy Biffle and four-time FLW Tour champion David Fritts.

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.

Wal-Mart and many of America's most respected companies support the BFL

and five other FLW Outdoors tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title

sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors

sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services

they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com.

FLW Outdoors

is named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood.

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