Gettys gets Guntersville win in BFL tournament

Boater Edward Gettys of Stevenson, Ala., earned $5,500 as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bama Division event on Guntersville Lake. Angler: Edward Gettys.

March 5, 2005 • MLF • Archives

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Boater Edward Gettys of Stevenson earned $5,500 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bama Division event on Guntersville Lake. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Bama Division events and featured 200 boaters vying for the win, which earned Gettys 200 points in the Boater Division.

Gettys’ winning catch of five bass weighed 27 pounds, 11 ounces.

Finishing second was Johnny Belyeu of Gadsen with five bass weighing 24 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him $2,750. Eric Hill of Russellville claimed $1,800 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 23 pounds, 15 ounces. In fourth was David Gray of Section with five bass weighing 21 pounds, 3 ounces worth $1,400, and finishing fifth and earning $1,150 was Edward Ricklefs of Jasper, Tenn., with five bass weighing 20 pounds.

Belyeu won an additional $500 as the Ranger Cup award winner.

Timothy Little of Acworth, Ga., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $1,000 for an 8-pound bass.

Kyle McKinney of Rockmart, Ga., bested 200 Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,750 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 17 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Damon Taylor of Ringgold, Ga. (five bass, 15 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,375); Eddie Parker of Cleveland, Tenn. (four bass, 14 pounds, 8 ounces, $900); Justin Pruett of Cullman (3 bass, 13 pounds, 7 ounces, $700); and Roy L. Holmes of Rome, Ga. (five bass, 12 pounds, 9 ounces, $575).

Eric Stewart of Calhoun, Ga., earned $500 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with an 8-pound, 1-ounce bass.

The Bama Division’s next event will be held April 9 on Weiss Lake near Cedar Bluff, followed by another event on Guntersville Lake near Scottsboro May 7. The fourth qualifying event will be held June 4 on Neely Henry Lake near Gadsen. The Bama Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on Guntersville Lake near Scottsboro.

Following the regular season, the Bama Division boater with the most points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

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. The top 40 Bama Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Toho Regional near Kissimmee, Fla., Oct. 4-8 where they will compete against Bulldog, Seminole, and South Carolina Division anglers for one of six slots in the 2006 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize 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 $8.4 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. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse this Web site.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.