Wright Wins BFL on High Rock
Category: Tournament
Jun 23rd, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 AM
SALISBURY, N.C. (June 23, 2008) – Boater David Wright of Lexington, N.C., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League® North Carolina Division tournament on High Rock Lake Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 23 pounds, 12 ounces. The victory earned Wright $4,573 plus a $807 Ranger contingency bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Cherokee Lake Regional Championship in Morristown, Tenn., Oct. 16-18, where he could ultimately win a new 198VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
“I caught four of the five fish I weighed in on a Zoom Z3 crankbait in chartreuse and one on a Zoom Old Monster,” Wright said. “I didn’t have any great big fish, but I didn’t have any little ones, either.”
Wright said he weighed in a 6-pounder, 5-pounder and three 4-pounders, “give or take a few ounces.” He focused on creeks in the morning, before moving to deeper water in the afternoon near the lower end of the lake towards the dam.
“I caught all the fish on stumps or rocks,” Wright said. “I usually catch a lot of fish on brush, but no fish were on brush, for some reason-I’m not sure why.”
Rounding out the top five boaters are Danny Haire of Yadkinville, N.C. (five bass, 18-08, $2,690); Steve Shaw of
Dallas, N.C. (five bass, 18-04, $1,794); Steve Sink of Winston-Salem, N.C. (five bass, 17-10, $1,255) and James Nance of Denton, N.C., and Roger Pope of Statesville, N.C. (five bass, 17-06, $1,031).
Nance took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $855 for a 7-pound, 2-ounce bass he caught on a buzz bait off banks in 2 feet of water.
Charles Price of Bostic, N.C., earned $2,690 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces that he caught on a shaky-head finesse worm on docks and points near the river.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Jason Brown of Zionville, N.C. (four bass, 13-00, $1,122); Eddie Yahya of Archdale, N.C. (five bass, 13-00, $1,122); Justin Burleson of Albemarle, N.C. (four bass, 12-07, $583) and David Jackson Wright of Mooresville, N.C. (five bass, 12-07, $583).
Lloyd Anderson of Hickory, N.C., earned $427 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught on a crankbait.
A two-day Super Tournament, the division’s fifth and final event, will be held on Lake Norman in Terrell, N.C., Sept. 13-14.
Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Cherokee Lake Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.
Tournament anglers aren’t the only ones winning big this season. With the introduction of FLW Fantasy Fishing™, FLW Outdoors® offers anyone the opportunity to enter for their chance to land the catch of a lifetime with the opportunity to win $7.3 million in cash and prizes. Players can become a virtual pro angler by signing up for Player’s Advantage, providing them with exclusive insider information that could guide them to a $100,000 victory at every Wal-Mart FLW Tour® stop and the Forrest Wood Cup. Player’s Advantage will give them an edge over the competition and increase their shot for a $1 million cash grand prize that will be awarded to the FLW Fantasy Fishing cumulative points winner. Those who visit FantasyFishing.com today can sign up for Player’s Advantage and FLW Outdoors will include a $15 Wal-Mart gift card.
The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. In 2008 alone the organization is offering more than 90,000 anglers the chance to win over $40 million through 230 tournaments in 10 circuits targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish and striped bass. FLW Outdoors is also taking fishing mainstream with the largest cash awards in the history of fantasy sports, $7.3 million.