Walker wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Super Tournament on Lake Wylie

YORK, S.C. – Boater Nelson Walker of Manning earned $6,014 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division Super Tournament event on Lake Wylie. The tournament earned Walker 300 points in the Boater Division.

Walker’s winning catch of 10 bass weighed 30 pounds, 13 ounces. He threw crankbaits and jigs around channel bends with rock and brush to catch his bass. He earned an additional $1,500 as winner of the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha awards plus $1,000 as winner of the Garmin Grand award.

Finishing second was Tracy Adams of Wilkesboro, N.C., with 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 15 ounces that earned him $2,935. Norm Attaway of N. Augusta claimed $1,432 as the third-place finisher thanks to 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 4 ounces. In fourth was Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg with 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 6 ounces worth $1,289, and finishing fifth and earning $1,146 was Roger Pope of Statesville, N.C., with 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces.

Attaway took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $1,150 for a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass.

Junior Self of Vale, N.C., earned $2,893 as the co-angler winner, thanks to six bass weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces that he caught on jigs.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Calvin Jones of Raeford, N.C. (six bass, 13 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,412); Barker Plake of Hodges (six bass, 13 pounds, $689); Ricky Byrd of Independence, Va. (five bass, 10 pounds, 10 ounces, $620); and Rick Carlson of Gastonia, N.C. (five bass, 10 pounds, 3 ounces, $551).

John Wilson of Hazelwood, N.C., earned $545 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass.

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.

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 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.