Barnes best boater at BFL Super Tournament on Guntersville Lake

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Boater Dennis Barnes of Boaz earned $6,844 Sunday, as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bama Division Super Tournament event on Guntersville Lake. The tournament featured 143 boaters vying for the win, and earned Barnes 300 points in the Boater Division.

Barnes’ winning catch of 10 bass weighed 37 pounds, 13 ounces. He received an additional $1,000 for being a Ranger Cup participant.

Finishing second was Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., with 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 5 ounces that earned him $3,341. Marty Pritchett of Grant claimed $1,630 as the third-place finisher thanks to 10 bass weighing 36 pounds. In fourth was Ob Wilborn of Stevenson, with eight bass weighing 31 pounds, 3 ounces worth $1,467, and finishing fifth and earning $1,304 was Randall Tharp of Gardendale, with nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 13 ounces.

Kenny Carroll of Opelika took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $1,430 for a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass.

Steve Burchfield of Rainbow City bested 143 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $3,422 as the co-angler winner, thanks to seven bass weighing 23 pounds, 11 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers were Jeff Mason of Falkville (four bass, 21 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,670); Josh Driver of Hiram, Ga. (seven bass, 20 pounds, 8 ounces, $815); Wayne Sherbet of Pell City (seven bass, 19 pounds, 4 ounces, $733); and Danny Moss of Glencoe (five bass, 17 pounds, 5 ounces, $652).

Moss earned $715 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass.

Edward Gettys of Stevenson earned $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in Bama Boater Division. Justin Pruett of Cullman earned $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Bama Co-angler Division.

The top 40 Bama 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 Bulldog, Seminole and South Carolina 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 FLWOutdoors.com.

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.