Mississippi, Florida men take top places

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 2, 2007

DEMOPOLIS &8212; The winners of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Regional Tournament held here this weekend emerged on Saturday afternoon. After three days of fishing, Angler Ronald Yurko, of East Point, Fla., took the top prize in the Boaters Division. William Feyh, of Brandon, Miss., grabbed the honors in the Co-Anglers Division.

The frontrunners in the contest were based on the total weight of fish caught that were at least 14 inches in length. Yurko brought in a three-day total of 23 lbs. and 11 oz. Thomaston&8217;s own Jimmy Williams was not far behind with 23 lbs. and 4 oz. in the Boaters Division.

Williams&8217; fishing partner for the day, Feyh, happen to win on the co-angler side.

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Feyh&8217;s total weigh-in for the three days was 16 lbs. 8 oz.

Yurko, the big winner, won a Chevy truck and a Ranger 519VX.

He also immediately sold his truck that he won, because he had just bought a new truck. The boat worked out great, because he sold the one he used in the tournament to a Demopolis citizen.

To complete the Boaters Division, Williams, who finished second, received a check for $4,000. He also received an additional $500 check from Ranger Boats, one of the sponsors. The third place finisher was Val Osinski of Pompano Beach, Fla. He received $2,000; Brad McCulley of Batesville, Miss., received $1,600. Bryan Gregory, of Fort Payne, received $1,200; Randall Tharp, of Gardendale, received $1,000.

Feyh, the big winner in the Co-Anglers Division, won a Ranger 519VX. The rest of the field in the Co-Anglers Division was Mark Pirkle of Cleveland, Tenn., who finished behind Feyh, received $2,000; Lance Graves, Raymond, Miss., received $1,000; Glen Mire, Jackson, Miss., won $800; Brandon Bolton, West Point, Miss., $600; and Jason Ezell, Lucedale, Miss., $500.

All 12 qualifiers advance to the $1 million All-American Championship to be held in Louisville, Ky., on the Ohio River. The event will take place the first weekend of June 2007. The anglers get the opportunity to get in on the $140,000 prize in the Boaters Division or the $70,000 prize in the Co-Anglers Division.

The All-American Championship is an all-expense paid event. They will get flown in to the tournament.

The winning boater and co-angler at the All-American will also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million Forrest Wood Cup in Hot Springs, Ark., on Aug. 2-5, 2007.