Graves, Gulledge tie for win in BFL tournament on Red River

Boaters Billy Graves (right) of Montgomery, La., and Danny Gulledge of Crossett, Ark., each earned $2,647 May 21 when they tied for the win in the BFL Louisiana Division event on the Red River. Anglers: Danny Gulledge, Billy Graves.

May 21, 2005 • MLF • Archives

NATCHITOCHES, La. – Boater Billy Graves of Montgomery and Danny Gulledge, of Crossett, Ark., each earned $2,647 Saturday when they tied for the win in the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Louisiana Division event on the Red River. Gulledge won an additional $1,000 for being the highest finishing Ranger Cup participant. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Louisiana Division events.

Both anglers weighed limits of five bass weighing 14 pounds, 13 ounces. Gulledge fished Pool 4 and used a Lucky Craft Sammy and a War Eagle spinnerbait to catch his bass from shallow water. Graves used a jig on ledges that had grass in the Caushatta area to catch his limit.

Finishing third was Clyde Anderson of St. Gabriel with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces that earned him $1,154. Ronnie Eschete Jr. of Thibodaux claimed $899 as the fourth-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 5 ounces. In fifth was Robert Robinson of Mobile, Ala., with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces worth $738.

Kevin Lafleur of Opelousas took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $535 for a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a Norman Deep Little N.

Bill Fussell of Thibodaux bested the Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,732 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught on spinnerbaits and crankbaits around wood cover.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Royd Picard of Broussard (five bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $866); Chris Hults of Gautier, Miss. (five bass, 8 pounds, 14 ounces, $566); Rene Planchard of Baton Rouge (four bass, 8 pounds, 12 ounces, $441); and Jamie Floyd of Prarierville (three bass, 8 pounds, 5 ounces, $362).

Fussell earned $263 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 1-ounce bass he caught on a white spinnerbait.

The Louisiana Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Atchafalaya Basin near Belle River, La.

Following the regular season, the Louisiana 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 Louisiana Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Lake Ouachita Regional near Hot Springs, Ark., Oct. 18-22 where they will compete against Cowboy, Okie, and Ozark 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.