Wal-Mart FLW Wrap Up:  4 Year OK Pro Nets $260,000

Shreveport, LA:  9/14/02 - That was the amount on John Sappington's prize check following his first major tournament win as a professional. John, a Ardmore Oklahoma native, was all smiles in his Snickers shirt when he realized that his 9 lb. 12 oz. stringer beat out second place finisher, Gerald Swindle, by only 5 ounces. Swindle walked away with a $55,000 paycheck for the event.

Also finishing in the big money was Pat Fisher of Team Allsouth Fishing, with whom we talked with prior to the tourney, who captured 4th place at today's championship weigh-in.  Pat's co-angler, John Bruce, also managed to make a good showing nailing 22nd place in the co-angler division.

As predicted, the fishing was tough on this relatively small lake that has been stingy about giving up big bass this year.  We didn't see the results that we saw in the Lay Lake Bassmaster's Classic, but we did see throngs of fans and anglers alike all having fun at the festivities.  Isn't this a great sport? - Jim