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FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL)
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(Mar. 12, 2007 - Prosperity, SC)... Boater Roger Pope of Statesville, N.C., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament on Lake Murray Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory earned Pope $4,691 plus an $827 Ranger bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship in Appling, Ga., Oct. 11-13, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Pope caught his limit fishing pockets with as and crankbaits.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Neil Huffstetler of Pomaria, S.C., (five bass, 20-13, $2,760); Richard Bystrzycki of Moncks Corner, S.C., (five bass, 20-0, $1,837); Greg Atkinson of Ridgeway, S.C., (five bass, 19-0, $1,288) and Shannon Jordan of Wagener, S.C., (five bass, 18-10, $1,104).
Rock Monteith of Columbia, S.C., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $885 for a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Lorenzo Portee of Ridgeway, S.C., earned $2,728 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught while fishing a spinnerbait around rocks and on points.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bo Price of Seneca, S.C., (five bass, 16-4, $1,364); James Freeman of Gastonia, N.C., (five bass, 13-2, $911); Jeff Rikard of Leesville, S.C., (five bass, 13-0, $591) and Jeff Penland of Leicester, N.C., (three bass, 13-0, $591).
Penland earned $437 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass.
The South Carolina Division’s next event will be May 12 on Santee Cooper Lakes in Summerton, S.C., followed by a tournament June 9 on Lake Wateree in Camden, S.C. The final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 22-23 on Lake Wylie in Lake Wylie, S.C.
Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the 2008 All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.
The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.
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 will offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 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 FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. |
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