Szuba victorious at BFL event on High Rock Lake - Major League Fishing

Szuba victorious at BFL event on High Rock Lake

Boater registers impressive 20-pound, 9-ounce sack for win
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Boater Wally Szuba of Cary, N.C., earned $3,264 June 4 as winner of the BFL North Carolina Division event on High Rock Lake. Angler: Wally Szuba.
June 4, 2005 • MLF • Archives

SALISBURY, N.C. – Boater Wally Szuba of Cary earned $3,264 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 Szuba 200 points in the Boater Division.

Szuba’s winning catch of four bass weighed 20 pounds, 9 ounces. He fished a Zoom lizard around creeks and pockets to catch his bass. He earned an additional $480 as winner of the Boater Division big-bass award, thanks to a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass.

Finishing second was Pat Golden of Ware Shoals, S.C., with five bass weighing 17 pounds, 10 ounces that earned him $1,632. Spence Brunson of Salisbury claimed $1,068 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 3 ounces. In fourth was David G. Williams of Maiden with four bass weighing 12 pounds, 5 ounces worth $831, and finishing fifth and earning $682 was Bryan Thrift of Shelby with four bass weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces.

Williams earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Jerry Charleston of Salisbury earned $1,625 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces that he caught on a Carolina rig.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Daniel Morris of Charlotte (three bass, 10 pounds, 4 ounces, $813); Junior Self of Vale (two bass, 8 pounds, 14 ounces, $532); Eddie Cook of Clemmons (three bass, 8 pounds, 12 ounces, $414); and Orlando Giles of Lexington (three bass, 8 pounds, 11 ounces, $340).

Self earned $235 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass he caught on a Pop-R.

The North Carolina Division will wrap up its regular season Oct. 1-2 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Wylie near Lake Wylie, S.C.

Following the regular season, the North 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 North Carolina Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Clarks Hill Lake Regional near Augusta, Ga., Oct. 11-15 where they will compete against Choo Choo, Dixie and Shenandoah 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.