Freeze Wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Event on Lake Norman

April 02, 2005 TERRELL, N.C. – Boater Maurice Freeze of Kannapolis earned $3,414 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division event on Lake Norman. The tournament was the second of five regular-season North Carolina Division events and earned Freeze 200 points in the Boater Division.

Freeze’s winning catch of five bass weighed 15 pounds, 13 ounces. He caught his bass by fishing rocky banks with a 5/8-ounce white spinnerbait. Freeze earned an additional $1,000 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.

Finishing second was Shane Patrick of Fleetwood with five bass weighing 15 pounds that earned him $1,707. Larry Pearson of Cramerton claimed $1,117 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces. In fourth was William Goots of Reidsville with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces worth $869, and finishing fifth and earning $714 was David Bowers Jr. of Mooresville with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 10 ounces.

Patrick took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning an additional $510 for a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a spinnerbait.

Anthony Lutz of Denver earned $1,666 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught on a crankbait.

Jason Barnes of Concord and James Blackstock of Linwood tied for second place in the Co-angler Division, each earning $690 with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces and four bass weighing 12 pounds, 6 ounces, respectively. Robert Parrish of Albemarle finished in fourth (five bass, 12 pounds, 5 ounces, $424); and Junior Self of Vale finished in fifth (five bass, 9 pounds, 7 ounces, $348).
Blackstock earned an additional $245 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass he caught on a spinnerbait.

The North Carolina Division’s next event will be held April 30 on Lake Gaston near Littleton, followed by an event on High Rock Lake near Salisbury June 4. 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., 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.

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.

For more information on FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.

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.

For more information about Fujifilm products, call (800) 800-FUJI or visit the Fujifilm U.S.A. Web site at Fujifilm.com.

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