Bell best boater at Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Event on High Rock Lake

Boater Rodney Bell of Salisbury, N.C., earned $4,279 June 10 as winner of the BFL North Carolina Division event on High Rock Lake. Angler: Rodney Bell.

June 10, 2006 • MLF • Archives

SALISBURY, N.C. – Boater Rodney Bell of Salisbury, N.C., earned $4,279 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division event on High Rock Lake. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season North Carolina Division events and earned Bell 200 points in the Boater Division.

Bell’s winning catch of five bass weighed 19 pounds, 10 ounces. He was flipping a jig around the sunny sides of boat docks to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Steve Sink of Winston-Salem, N.C. (five bass, 18 pounds, 3 ounces, $2,140); Phil Maness of Salisbury, N.C. (five bass, 17 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,426); Terry James of Wadesboro, N.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 10 ounces, $998) and Larry Pearson of Cramerton, N.C. (five bass, 16 pounds, 2 ounces, $856).

Pearson and Roger Pope of Statesville, N.C., tied for Boater Division big-bass honors, earning them $302 apiece for catching a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass. Pearson caught his big bass on a Chatterbait while Pope threw a spinnerbait to catch his bass.

Maness also took home an additional $500 for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup participant.

Mike Shatley of North Wilkesboro, N.C., won the Co-angler Division and earned $2,140 thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces that he caught on a 4-inch tube.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Hubert Roman of Lexington, N.C. (three bass, 10 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,070); Junior Self of Vale, N.C. (four bass, 10 pounds, 2 ounces, $712); Tony Stafford of Kernersville, N.C. (three bass, 9 pounds, 13 ounces, $499); and Eric Rothrock of High Point, N.C. (three bass, 8 pounds, $428).

David Perron of Bluefield, Va., earned $302 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass he caught on a Senko.

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 near Moneta, Va., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Empire, Northeast, and Piedmont 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.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.