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Lake Okeechobee and Florida Everglades |
Caraballo wins Castrol Co-Angler of the Year title
26.Jul.2007
 BENTON,
Ky. — Gain co-angler Jess Caraballo of Danbury, Conn., was named the 2007
Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s Castrol Co-angler of the Year following the tour’s final
qualifier, the Chevy Open, on the Detroit River July 12-15. Caraballo won the
title with a total of 1,008 points out of a possible 1,200 over six qualifying
events and will enter the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Castrol in Hot Springs,
Ark., next week as the No. 1 co-angler seed.
“I am very excited to be named Castrol Co-angler of the Year,” said Caraballo,
who has amassed more than $68,000 in career winnings with FLW Outdoors since
2003. “It all came down to the Detroit River tournament. I had a bad first day,
and I knew that I had to come back in order to get enough points to win the
title. I was in the last flight to weigh-in, and at that point I was really
nervous. After I weighed in I felt so great. I couldn’t believe that I had won.
I was just hoping to make top-10 so I could fish pro next year.”
Rounding out the top five contenders for the Co-angler of the Year title were
Spencer Shuffield of Bismark, Ark., with 977 points; David Hudson of Jasper,
Ala., with 962 points; Kenta Kimura of Livingston, Texas, with 960 points; and
Ken Murphy of Meridian, Miss., with 952 points.
For winning Castrol Co-angler of the Year, Caraballo received a $2,500 Wal-Mart
gift card plus a year’s supply of Castrol marine oil.
Caraballo started the FLW Tour season off with a third-place finish worth $9,000
on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. “It never crossed my mind after my third-place
finish at Lake Travis that when it was said and done, I would win the title. It
wasn’t until the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake that I thought that it might
become a reality,” Caraballo said.
After Lake Travis, he then finished 16th on Fort Loudoun-Tellico Lakes in
Knoxville, Tenn., before earning his second top-10 finish at the National Guard
Open on Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C. At the Wal-Mart Open on Beaver Lake in
Rogers, Ark., he finished 48th. He then placed 53rd at the Potomac River in
Washington and finished up the qualifying season with a 73rd-place finish at the
Chevy Open on the Detroit River in Detroit. Through six events, Caraballo has
earned $20,250 this season, and he will be competing for a top co-angler award
of $40,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug.
2-5. In his FLW Outdoors career, Caraballo has finished in the top 10 eight
times.
“This season I practiced with Gabe Bolivar, and it was a great learning
experience,” Caraballo said. “He knows right where to find the fish, and he
helped me prepare for each event.”
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors
administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart
Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia,
Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour,
Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish
Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These
circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW
Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors
sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament
fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse
FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
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