Butts wins Piedmont Division event on Lake Gaston

SOUTH HILL, Va. – Flash Butts of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., earned $4,898 Saturday as winner of the third regular-season Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division event, held on Lake Gaston near South Hill. He caught five bass weighing 14 pounds to claim the win and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Butts is currently ranked No. 1 in Piedmont Division points standings thanks to a second-place finish, an 11th-place finish and now a win during the 2004 season. He earned $1,000 as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he also earned $1,000 from Garmin for using only Garmin electronics during the event.

Tied for second were Kenneth Strickland of Greensboro, N.C., and Robert Conway of Fountain, N.C. Both anglers caught five-bass limits that weighed 13 pounds, 4 ounces to earn $2,057 each. In fourth was Greg Stallings of Dry Fork with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces that earned him $1,273, and in fifth was Jerry Cullom of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces worth $1,078.

Jerry Elder of Lynchburg earned $965 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner thanks to a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass.

Tim Gay of Wendell, N.C., claimed $2,423 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a five-bass catch weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Christopher Fabrizio of Kernersville, N.C. (five bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,212); George Smiley of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. (four bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $824); Jeff Smith of Reidsville, N.C. (four bass, 8 pounds, 14 ounces, $630); and Wesley Whitehead of Nashville, N.C. (three bass, 8 pounds, 7 ounces, $533).

Dan Glosson of Rougemont, N.C., claimed co-angler big-bass honors and $478 with a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass.

The Piedmont Division’s next stop will be June 12 on Kerr Lake in Henderson, N.C., and the regular season will come to a close Sept. 18-29 with a two-day Super Tournament that will also be held on Kerr Lake in Henderson, N.C.

Following the regular season, the top 30 boaters and 30 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Seminole regional near Bainbridge, Ga., Oct. 5-9, where they will compete against anglers from the Bama, Mississippi and Gator divisions for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American. With a $100,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. These points determine angler standings. The Piedmont Division boater who amasses the most points at the end of the regular season will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader, and the co-angler earning the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader in the Co-angler Division.

The $6.3 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 24 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. 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 visit FLWOutdoors.com’s sponsor page.