Attaway wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Clarks Hill - Major League Fishing

Attaway wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Clarks Hill

Top three boaters all bring 20-pound-plus bags to scale
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Boater Norm Attaway of North Augusta, S.C., earned $3,613 as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division event on Clarks Hill Lake. Angler: Norm Attaway.
April 30, 2005 • MLF • Archives

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Boater Norm Attaway of North Augusta, S.C., earned $3,613 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division event on Clarks Hill Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season South Carolina Division events and earned Attaway 200 points in the Boater Division.

Attaway’s winning catch of five bass weighed 24 pounds, 2 ounces. He earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Garmin Grand award.

Finishing second was Bobby Stanfill of Greenwood, S.C., with five bass weighing 21 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him $1,807. Dale Gibbs of Martinez claimed $1,182 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 21 pounds, 7 ounces. In fourth was Trad Whaley of Abbeville, S.C., with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces worth $920, and finishing fifth and earning $756 was Davey Thomas of Sumter, S.C., with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 7 ounces.

Brent Long of Sherrills Ford, N.C., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $555 for a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass.

Wesley Story of Grovetown earned $1,724 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 19 pounds, 10 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Danny G. Ashley of Donalds, S.C. (five bass, 18 pounds, 15 ounces, $862); Jeff Rikard of Leesville, S.C. (five bass, 15 pounds, 13 ounces, $563); Stewart Price of Abbeville, S.C. (five bass, 15 pounds, 8 ounces, $439); and Ivan B. Settle of Inman, S.C. (five bass, 15 pounds, 3 ounces, $360).

Douglas Brown of Yemassee, S.C., earned $258 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 7-pound, 6-ounce bass.

The South Carolina Division’s next event will be held May 21 on Lake Hartwell near Seneca. The South Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Wylie near York.

Following the regular season, the South Carolina Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. The top 40 South Carolina Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Toho Regional near Kissimmee, Fla., Oct. 4-8 where they will compete against Bama, Bulldog, and Seminole division anglers for one of six slots in the 2006 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.