Golden grabs BFL win on Lake Gaston

BRACEY, Va. – Boater Scott Golden of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., earned $4,428 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Shenandoah event on Lake Gaston. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Shenandoah Division.

Golden’s winning catch of five bass weighed 15 pounds, 10 ounces.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Richard Owen of Chester, Va. (five bass, 14 pounds, 1 ounce, $2,214); Terry Olinger of The Plains, Va. (five bass, 13 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,478); Doug Jenkins of Saint Leonard, Md. (five bass, 13 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,033) and David Barker of Emmitsburg, Md. (five bass, 13 pounds, 2 ounces, $886).

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

Tony Woodard of Four Oaks, N.C., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $635 for a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass.

Jason Houchins of Woodbridge, Va., bested the Co-angler Division competitors to earn $2,214 thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces. Houchins took home an additional $317 for winning the Co-angler Division Big Bass Award with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Luis Garcia of Alexandria, Va. (five bass, 13 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,107); Robert Morales of Mechanicsville, Md. (five bass, 12 pounds, 7 ounces, $738); Joshua Taube of Roanoke, Va. (five bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces, $517); and Joseph Thomson of Stephens City, Va. (five bass, 11 pounds, 10 ounces, $443).

The Shenandoah Division’s next event will be held July 29 on the James River near Richmond, Va. The Shenandoah Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 30-Oct. 1 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Potomac River near Woodbridge, Va.

Following the regular season, the Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah 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, Savannah River, and South Carolina 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 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.

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.