Szuba takes top honors on Jordan Lake

Boater Wally Szuba of Cary, N.C., earned $4,279 March 25 as winner of the BFL North Carolina Division event on Jordan Lake. Angler: Wally Szuba.

March 25, 2006 • MLF • Archives

APEX, N.C. – Boater Wally Szuba of Cary, N.C., earned $4,279 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division event on Jordan Lake. The tournament was the second of five regular-season North Carolina Division events and earned Szuba 200 points in the Boater Division.

Szuba’s winning catch of five bass weighed 25 pounds, 3 ounces. He threw a combination of crankbaits and spinnerbaits around riprap in 3 to12 feet of water to catch his limit.

Rounding out the top five boaters are John Wagner Jr. of Archdale, N.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 10 ounces, $2,140); Marcus Tucker of Winston Salem, N.C. (three bass, 15 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,426); Ramon Stockham of Greensboro, N.C. (three bass, 13 pounds, 1 ounce, $998) and Greg Sapp of Pleasant Garden, N.C. (three bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces, $856).

Wagner also took home $500 for taking part in the Ranger Cup contingency program that pays $1,000 to the first-place boater or $500 to the highest finishing qualified participant within the tournament field.

Tucker also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $605 for a 8-pound, 9-ounce bass.

Gordon Smith of Lake Wylie, S.C., earned $2,140 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught on a jig around rocky shorelines.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dan Glosson of Rougemont, N.C. (two bass, 15 pounds, 3 ounces, $1,070); Fred Reid of Granite Falls, N.C., (two bass, 10 pounds, 15 ounces, $712) Joseph Butler of Charlotte, N.C., (three bass, 10 pounds, 9 ounces, $499) and Jamie Denison of Winston Salem, N.C. (two bass, 9 pounds, 9 ounces, $428).

David Cook of Clemmons, N.C., earned $302 as the co-angler big-bass award winner, thanks to a 9-pound bass.

The North Carolina Division’s next event will be held April 22 on Kerr Lake near Henderson, N.C. The fourth event will be held June 10 on High Rock Lake near Salisbury, N.C., and the North Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 9-10 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hickory near Hickory, N.C.

Following the regular season, the North Carolina Division boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 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 North Carolina Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Smith Mountain Regional Championship near Moneta, Va.., Oct. 19-21 where they will compete against Empire, Northeast and Piedmont division anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 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 $8.8 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 FLWOutdoors.com.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, as well as the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $36.9 million through 241 events in 2006.

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.