Griffin wins Wal-Mart BFL Piedmont Division tourney - Major League Fishing

Griffin wins Wal-Mart BFL Piedmont Division tourney

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Ray Griffin of Henderson, N.C., topped 200 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Kerr Lake with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him $5,000 and 200 points in the Boater Division. Angler: Ray Griffin.
April 20, 2002 • MLF • Archives

HENDERSON, N.C. – Ray Griffin of Henderson, N.C., topped 200 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Kerr Lake with five bass weighing 19 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him $5,000 and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Griffin, who also earned a $1,000 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, caught his limit on spinner baits and jigs while fishing wood cover in the lower end of the lake. The catch topped second-place boater Tim Jacobs of Clayton, N.C., by 2 pounds, 3 ounces. Jacobs finished the one-day tournament with a four-bass catch weighing 17 pounds, 12 ounces worth $2,500.

Stephen Williams of Raleigh, N.C. (five bass, 15 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,500); Cavin Young of Chester, Va. (five bass, 14 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,200); and Norman Mullinax of Wilmington, N.C., (four bass, 14 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,100) rounded out the top five boaters.

Ricky Farr of Chesterfield, Va., earned boater big bass honors and $1,000 with a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass that he caught on a Zara spook while fishing shoals in about 6 feet of water. He finished in eighth place overall with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 9 ounces.

Jeff Savage of Louisburg, N.C., claimed first place and $2,500 in the 200-competitor Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces.Jeff Savage of Louisburg, N.C., claimed first place and $2,500 in the 200-competitor Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 11 ounces. He surpassed second-place co-angler Barry Wood of Winston Salem, N.C., by 12 ounces. Wood finished with a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 15 ounces worth $1,250.

Jason Cogar of Kernersville, N.C. (five bass, 11 pounds, 3 ounces, $750); Tim George of Kittanning, Pa. (five bass, 9 pounds, $575); and Gary Smoak of Newport News, Pa., (five bass, 9 pounds, $575) rounded out the top five co-anglers.

Savage and Wood tied for big bass honors with a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass each. Both men earned $250 for their bass.

Overall, 47 five-bass limits were caught during the tournament.

The Wal-Mart BFL will return to Kerr Lake June 1 for the third of five Piedmont Division events. The boater with the most points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 28-29 on Kerr Lake, will be declared the Yamaha “Be the Best” Points Leader and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.

The top 30 Piedmont Division boaters and co-anglers will advance to regional competition Oct. 22-26 on Lake Seminole near Bainbridge, Ga., where they will go up against top competitors from the Carolina, Choo Choo and Gator divisions for a shot at qualifying for the Wal-Mart BFL All-American – one of the most lucrative post-season tournaments in competitive angling.

2002 BFL awards could reach $7 million based on full fields.