Byrd wins BFL tourney on Lake Guntersville

Lee Byrd of Moody, Ala., topped 200 BFL Boater Division competitors March 8 on Lake Guntersville with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces. Angler: Lee Byrd.

March 8, 2003 • MLF • Archives

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Lee Byrd of Moody topped 200 Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League competitors Saturday on Lake Guntersville with five bass weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch earned him $5,000 and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Byrd’s catch topped second-place boater Gary Howington of Hokes Bluff by 15 ounces. Howington finished the one-day tournament with a five-bass catch weighing 19 pounds, 4 ounces worth $2,500.

Tim Gore of Albertville (four bass, 19 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,700); Daniel Whitaker of Phil Campbell (five bass, 18 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,300); and Carey Cranford of Gadsden (five bass, 17 pounds, 10 ounces, $1,100) rounded out the top five boaters.

Gore earned $1,000 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner thanks to a 9-pound, 8-ounce bass. Cranford earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program.

Stanley Morris of Boaz claimed first place and $2,500 in the 200-competitor Co-angler Division with four bass weighing 17 pounds, 6 ounces. He surpassed second-place co-angler Bill Stephens of Fort Payne by 1 pound, 4 ounces. Stephens finished with a five-bass catch weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces worth $1,250.

Corey Bradley of Chattanooga, Tenn. (five bass, 16 pounds, 1 ounce, $850); Buck Lance of Fyffe (three bass, 15 pounds, 4 ounces, $650); and Frank Patrick of Rome, Ga. (five bass, 14 pounds, 6 ounces, $550) rounded out the top five co-anglers.

Gary Garrick of Dickinson earned big-bass honors and $500 in his division with an 8-pound, 4-ounce bass.

The Wal-Mart BFL will visit Wheeler Lake April 5 for the second of five Choo Choo Division events. The boater with the most points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 6-7 on Guntersville 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 Choo Choo Division boaters and co-anglers will advance to regional competition Oct. 21-25 on Clark Hill Lake near Thomson, Ga.., where they will go up against top competitors from the Gator, Mountain and Piedmont divisions for a shot at qualifying for the Wal-Mart BFL All-American – one of the most lucrative postseason tournaments in competitive angling.

As much as $6 million will be awarded in the 2003 Wal-Mart BFL.

For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please browse this Web site.