Grosvenor wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League event on Lake Gaston

Boater bags additional $3,000 in contingency awards

BRACY, Va. – Boater Bo Grosvenor of Forest earned $3,448 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division event on Lake Gaston. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Shenandoah Division events and earned Grosvenor 200 points in the Boater Division.

Grosvenor’s winning catch five bass weighed 14 pounds, 2 ounces. He threw buzzbaits and jigs around stumps to catch his bass. Grosvenor earned an additional $2,000 as winner of the Bombardier and Garmin Grand contingency awards, plus another $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Finishing second was Philip Sykes Jr. of Enfield, N.C., with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces that earned him $1,724. Larry Inman of Greensboro, N.C., claimed $1,127 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth was Dustin Clontz of Albermarle, N.C., with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces worth $878, and finishing fifth and earning $721 was Shane Berlo of Vienna with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce.

Dale Simmons of Woodbridge and R. Wayne Dorman of Louisa tied for Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $257 each for 5-pound, 1-ounce bass. Both anglers caught their big bass on jigs.

Walter Whitman Jr. of Greensboro, N.C., earned $1,690 as the co-angler winner, thanks to four bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught on crankbaits and Senkos.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Claude Hicks of Rockville (five bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $845); Geritt Vanvoorhees of Lanexa (three bass, 8 pounds, 7 ounces, $555); Michael Mayhew of Bedford (four bass, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, $430); and Terry Hebb of Staunton (four bass, 7 pounds, 14 ounces, $353).

Alan Price of Staunton earned $253 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught on a Senko.

The Shenandoah Division’s next event will be held July 30 on the James River near Richmond. The Shenandoah Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Potomac River near Dumfries.

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