PROSPERITY, S.C. – Boater Roger Pope of Statesville, N.C., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament on Lake Murray Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 7 ounces. The victory earned Pope $4,691 plus an $827 Ranger bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship in Appling, Ga., Oct. 11-13, where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Pope caught his limit fishing pockets with as and crankbaits.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Neil Huffstetler of Pomaria, S.C., (five bass, 20-13, $2,760); Richard Bystrzycki of Moncks Corner, S.C., (five bass, 20-0, $1,837); Greg Atkinson of Ridgeway, S.C., (five bass, 19-0, $1,288) and Shannon Jordan of Wagener, S.C., (five bass, 18-10, $1,104).
Rock Monteith of Columbia, S.C., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $885 for a 7-pound, 1-ounce bass.
Lorenzo Portee of Ridgeway, S.C., earned $2,728 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 9 ounces that he caught while fishing a spinnerbait around rocks and on points.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bo Price of Seneca, S.C., (five bass, 16-4, $1,364); James Freeman of Gastonia, N.C., (five bass, 13-2, $911); Jeff Rikard of Leesville, S.C., (five bass, 13-0, $591) and Jeff Penland of Leicester, N.C., (three bass, 13-0, $591).
Penland earned $437 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass.
The South Carolina Division’s next event will be May 12 on Santee Cooper Lakes in Summerton, S.C., followed by a tournament June 9 on Lake Wateree in Camden, S.C. The final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 22-23 on Lake Wylie in Lake Wylie, S.C.
Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Clarks Hill Lake Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the 2008 All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.
The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete 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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 will offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 238 events in 2007.
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.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.