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

LAKE WYLIE, N.C. – Boater Hank Cherry of Charlotte, N.C., earned 300 points and $6,574 Sunday as the winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division Super Tournament on Lake Wylie. He also earned a $1,500 Ranger Cup contingency bonus.

Cherry’s two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 26 pounds, 1 ounce.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Todd Auten of Lake Wylie (10 bass, 24 pounds, 13 ounces, $3,287); Brent Long of Catawba, N.C. (nine bass, 24 pounds, 9 ounces, $2,193); Eric Weir of Belmont, N.C. (nine bass, 24 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,534); and Michael Webster of York, S.C. (10 bass, 24 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,315).

Chris Carroll of Kings Mountain, N.C., won the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award with a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass that earning him $930.

Marco Malucelli of Fort Mill, S.C, earned $3,175 as the co-angler winner thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 2 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jackie Reilly of China Grove, N.C. (five bass, 10 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,587); Robert Byrdic of Lancaster, S.C. (five bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,059); John Allen of Concord, N.C. (three bass, 9 pounds, 3 ounces, $741); and Jeff Rikkard of Leesville, S.C. (five bass, 8 pounds, 8 ounces, $635).

Tom Turner of Concord, N.C., earned $442 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 4-pound, 9-ounce bass.

The top 40 South Carolina Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will now advance to the no-entry-fee Kerr Lake Regional Championship near Henderson, N.C., where they will compete against Gator, Savannah River and Shenandoah 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 South Carolina Division standings, browse 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.