Rikard nets BFL win on Lake Hartwell

Boater Greg Rikard of Leesville, S.C., earned $4,575 May 20 as winner of the BFL Savannah River Division event on Lake Hartwell. Angler: Greg Rikard.

May 20, 2006 • MLF • Archives

CLEMSON, S.C. – Boater Greg Rikard of Leesville, S.C., earned $4,575 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Savannah River Division event on Lake Hartwell. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Savannah River Division events and earned Rikard 200 points in the Boater Division.

Rikard’s winning catch of five bass weighed 21 pounds. He was throwing a Zoom Fluke around points and shoals to catch his fish.

Rikard also earned an additional $1,500 for being the Ranger Cup and Powered by Yamaha contingency award programs.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Brad Fowler of Pendleton, S.C. (five bass, 18 pounds, 7 ounces, $2,288); David Williams of Maiden, N.C. (five bass, 18 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,525); Craig Johnson of Martinez, Ga., tied for fourth with Marty Quesada Jr. of Appling, Ga. (five bass, 18 pounds, $991); and Jack Corey of Lincolnton, Ga. (five bass, 17 pounds, 10 ounces, $839).

Corey also took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning him an additional $665 for a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a swimbait.

Walter Cook of Toccoa, Ga., bested Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,253 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 15 pounds, 4 ounces that he also caught while throwing Flukes.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Daniel Peninger of Fairview, N.C. (five bass, 14 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,127); John Bolton of Central, S.C. (five bass, 12 pounds, 13 ounces, $751); Ronald McBride of Toccoa, Ga., and Mike O’Neal of Cleveland, Ga., tied for fourth (five bass, 12 pounds, 2 ounces, $488); and Derek Lehtonen of Woodruff, S.C. (five bass, 11 pounds, 10 ounces, $413).

Daniel Peninger earned an additional $327 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught on a Lucky Craft Pointer 100.

The Savannah River Division’s next event will be held June 24 on Clarks Hill Lake near Appling, Ga., followed by the division’s two-day Super Tournament on Lake Keowee near Seneca, S.C.

Following the regular season, the Savannah River 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 Savannah River Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Kerr Lake Regional near Henderson, N.C., Oct. 12-14, where they will compete against Gator, Shenandoah and South Carolina 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 and nine other national tournament circuits offering a combined $35.5 million in awards through 235 events in 2006. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren 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, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series 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.