Rikard wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Hartwell Lake

Boater Greg Rikard of Leesville, S.C., earned $3,481 May 21 as winner of the BFL South Carolina Division event on Hartwell Lake. Angler: Greg Rikard.

May 21, 2005 • MLF • Archives

SENECA, S.C. – Boater Greg Rikard of Leesville earned $3,481 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division event on Hartwell Lake. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season South Carolina Division events, which earned Rikard 200 points in the Boater Division. Rikard also earned the $1,000 Garmin Grand award, $1,000 Ranger Cup award and $500 Powered by Yamaha award for a grand total of $5,081.

Rikard’s winning catch of five bass weighed 15 pounds, 14 ounces. He used a topwater up the river to catch his keepers in the overcast conditions.

Finishing second was Nelson Walker of Manning, with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces that earned him $1,741. Keith Kirby of Gaffney claimed $1,140 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces. There was a three-way tie for fourth place. Brad Fowler of Pendleton, Wayne Jeffcoat of Chapin and Larry Moss of Prosperity all caught five bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces to earn $738.

Keith Ashley of Greenwood took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $520 for a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a topwater lure.

Robert Lynn of Savannah, Ga., earned $1,741 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught on a Zoom Fluke.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Mike Billie of Cowpens (four bass, 11 pounds, 3 ounces, $870); Jerald Givens of Canvas, W.V. (four bass, 10 pounds, 6 ounces, $568); Kyle Johnson of Georgetown (five bass, 9 pounds, 12 ounces, $443); and Donnie Rhodes of Laurens (five bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $364).

Wyman Weeks of Liberty, Bryan Cothran of Belton and Givens earned $86.67 each as the co-angler big-bass award winners. All three caught a 4-pound, 9-ounce bass.

The South Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 24-25 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Wylie near York.

Following the regular season, the South Carolina 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 South Carolina 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 Bama, Bulldog, and Seminole 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.