FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 8, 2005

For more information, contact:

> Jay Kumar, BassFan, (908) 832-5300, jaykumar@bassfan.com

Hackney Is No. 1 Angler In World
Going Into Forrest L. Wood Championship

Greg Hackney, the No. 1 angler in the world according to the State Farm-BassFan.com World Rankings, is on fire going into next week's Forrest L. Wood Championship.

This year Hackney had his first tour-level win, at the Bassmaster Tour event on Missouri's Table Rock Reservoir, and won the FLW Tour's Angler of the Year points race title -- after finishing an amazing 2nd in both the FLW Tour and Bassmaster Tour point races in 2004.

Is it any wonder that he's the No. 1-ranked angler in the world -- by an amazing 17-point margin?

"It's awesome," he said of being No. 1. "Put it this way: I wanted to do this, at this level, but I never dreamed I'd be where I am right now."

Still, he said his No. 1 ranking gives him confidence, a key part of any individual sport, including pro bass fishing. "When I first got to be No. 1, I thought it was a bad position (in terms of pressure). But it's kind of a driving force now. I kind of like it. It's a little pick-me-up when I get down."

As far as his chances at Hot Springs, Ark.'s Lake Hamilton, site of next week's Forrest L. Wood Championship, he said "it's too early to tell." He's from Arkansas originally (he now lives in Louisiana), but he's fished that lake only once before.

The FLW Tour's Forrest L. Wood Championship is the first of the two tour championships: The Bassmaster Tour's Bassmaster Classic is later this month. Both championships are the final qualifying events for the inaugural Cabela's Top Gun Championship, which for the first time ever will put the Top 25-ranked anglers in the world from both tours on one lake, Eagle Mountain Lake near Ft. Worth, Texas.

Hackney is a shoe-in for that event, but whether he remains No. 1 after next week remains to be seen.

For more on Top Gun, please go to www.bassfan.com/topgun. To see the entire State Farm-BassFan.com World Rankings list, please go to www.bassfan.com.

About BassFan:
BassFan LLC is a media company whose properties include the BassFan Radio network, BassFan TV, the BassFan Army membership program, and BassFan.com, which receives in excess of 40 million page views annually. BassFan provides the world's only daily coverage of tour-level professional bass fishing, and also created the sport's official World Rankings, title-sponsored by State Farm.

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Editors: For more information on the Cabela's Top Gun Championship, please see www.bassfan.com/topgun. A list of Forrest L. Wood Championship competitors by their World Rank follows this release.

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RANKED ANGLERS IN THE 2005 FORREST L. WOOD CHAMPIONSHIP
[all fields separated by 5 spaces -- asterisk indicates anglers on the Top Gun qualification bubble]

1. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA (1st)
6. Dave Lefebre Union City, PA (5th)
7. Brent Chapman Shawnee, KS (9th)
10. Matthew Herren Clay, AL (4th)
11. Anthony Gagliardi Prosperity, SC (3rd)
13. Takahiro Omori Emory, TX (15th)
*21. Scott Suggs Alexander, AR (12th)
*22. Toshinari Namiki Hachioji City, Japan (2nd)
*26. Dean Rojas Grand Saline, TX (38th)
*28. Kelly Jordon Mineola, TX (30th)
*27. Alton Jones Waco, TX (21st)
*31. Koby Kreiger Okeechobee, FL (6th)
*33. George Cochran Hot Springs, AR (16th)
*34. Alvin Shaw State Road, NC (28th)
*35. Zell Rowland Montgomery, TX (27th)
36. Dan Morehead Paducah, KY (46th)
37. Greg Pugh Cullman, AL (10th)
40. Chip Harrison, Jr. Bremen, IN (13th)
44. Larry Nixon Bee Branch, AR (24th)
45. Tracy Adams Wilkesboro, NC (44th)
47. Chad Grigsby Colon, MI (26th)
51. Randy Blaukat Lamar, MO (40th)
53. Andy Morgan Dayton, TN (42nd)
54. Rob Kilby Hot Springs, AR (34th)
55. Todd Faircloth Jasper, TX (11th)
57. Mickey Bruce Buford, GA (39th)
61. Mike Hawkes Sabinal, TX (17th)
67. Jeremiah Kindy Benton, AR (23rd)
70. Cody Bird Granbury, TX (14th)
71. Todd Ary Birmingham, AL (37th)
76. Gary Yamamoto Mineola, TX (7th)
81. Dwayne Horton Knoxville, TN (22nd)
82. John Murray Phoenix, AZ (31st)
83. Wesley Strader Spring City, TN (29th)
89. Mark Rose Marion, AR (32nd)
95. Robert Karbas, Jr. Wake Forest, NC (19th)
96. J.T. Kenney Frostburg, MD (8th)
97. Danny Correia Marlboro, MA (35th)
112. Vic Vatalaro Kent, OH (47th)
120. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL (36th)
134. Lendell Martin, Jr. Nacogdoches, TX (43rd)
137. Tom Monsoor La Crosse, WI (45th)
142. Sam Newby Pocola, OK (48th)
146. Sandy Melvin Boca Grande, FL (33rd)

NON-RANKED ANGLERS IN THE FLW CHAMPIONSHIP

FLW Tour Rookies
[to be ranked, an angler must fish a tour for two consecutive years]
> Ken Wick Star, ID (18th)
> Art Berry Hemet, CA (20th)
> Bobby Lane Lakeland, FL (25th)
> Michael Bennett Roseville, CA (41st)