Grape gets Super Tournament win on Lake Guntersville

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Boater Jason Grape of Rainbow City, Ala., earned 300 points and $6,175 Sunday as the winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bama Division Super Tournament on Lake Guntersville. He also earned a $1,500 Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha bonus for a total of $7,675 in winnings.

Grape’s two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 43 pounds, 7 ounces and was caught on Bo’s jigs fished on river ledges and rats fished over matted grass.

“On the first day, we had our limit by 9:15 by fishing jigs on a river ledge,” he said. “We were waiting outside of the marina by 10 o’clock in the morning.”

Rounding out the top five boaters are David Gray of Section, Ala. (10 bass, 38 pounds, 6 ounces, $3,088); Sam Bass of Section, Ala. (10 bass, 35 pounds, 15 ounces, $2,060); Tim Buckner of Scottsboro, Ala. (10 bass, 35 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,441) and Marshall Deakins of Dunlap, Tenn. (10 bass, 34 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,235).

Ryan Anaya of Warrior, Ala., won the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award with a 7-pound, 3-ounce bass that earned him $847.

Wes Ward of Birmingham, Ala., earned $2,916 as the co-angler winner thanks to nine bass weighing 33 pounds, 13 ounces that he caught on jigs, 10 1/2 -inch worms and rats while fishing with Grape.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Kent Lodari of Seymour, Tenn. (six bass, 22 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,458); David Pollard of Carrollton, Ga. (six bass, 19 pounds, 2 ounces, $971); Tyler Ford of Tuscumbia, Ala. (five bass, 16 pounds, 3 ounces, $680) and Beaver Potterfield of Hollywood, Ala. (five bass, 14 pounds, 14 ounces, $583).

Curt McGuire of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., earned $394 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 6-pound, 13-ounce bass.

The top 40 Bama Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will now advance to the no-entry-fee Kentucky Lake Regional Championship near Gilbertsville, Ky., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Buckeye, Hoosier and Mountain Division anglers for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck in the Boater Division plus six slots in the no-entry-fee 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash 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 Boater Division points champion who advances the farthest at the All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances the farthest will earn $5,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

For complete Bama Division standings, check online at FLWOutdoors.com.

The $8.8 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.

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, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, 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 offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

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 Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.