SOUTH HILL, Va. (May 24, 2004) - Flash Butts of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., earned $4,898 Saturday as winner of the third regular-season Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Gaston near South Hill. He caught five bass weighing 14 pounds to claim the win and 200 points in the Boater Division.
Butts is currently ranked No. 1 in Piedmont Division points standings thanks to a second-place finish, an 11th-place finish and now a win during the 2004 season. He earned $1,000 as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program, and he also earned $1,000 from Garmin for using only Garmin electronics during the event.
Tied for second were Kenneth Strickland of Greensboro, N.C., and Robert Conway of Fountain, N.C. Both anglers caught five-bass limits that weighed 13 pounds, 4 ounces to earn $2,057 each. In fourth was Greg Stallings of Dry Fork with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 3 ounces that earned him $1,273, and in fifth was Jerry Cullom of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces worth $1,078.
Jerry Elder of Lynchburg earned $965 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner thanks to a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass.
Tim Gay of Wendell, N.C., claimed $2,423 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a five-bass catch weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Christopher Fabrizio of Kernersville, N.C. (five bass, 9 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,212); George Smiley of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. (four bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $824); Jeff Smith of Reidsville, N.C. (four bass, 8 pounds, 14 ounces, $630); and Wesley Whitehead of Nashville, N.C. (three bass, 8 pounds, 7 ounces, $533).
Dan Glosson of Rougemont, N.C., claimed co-angler big-bass honors and $478 with a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass.
The Piedmont Division's next stop will be June 12 on Kerr Lake in Henderson, N.C., and the regular season will come to a close Sept. 18-29 with a two-day Super Tournament that will also be held on Kerr Lake in Henderson, N.C.