DECATUR, Ala. (Nov. 5, 2007) - Boater Hubert Stafford of Colquitt, Ga., earned $7,867 Saturday as the winner of the Bass Fishing League Chevy Wild Card bass fishing tournament on Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Ala. Anglers who entered all five of their BFL division's events and didn't qualify for a Regional Championship were invited to compete in the two-day event.
Stafford's winning two-day catch of 10 bass weighed 26 pounds, 14 ounces. In addition to the prize money, Stafford earned a ticket to the 2008 Bass Fishing League All-American on the Connecticut River in Hartford, Conn., May 29-31. The winning boater and co-angler at the All-American will also advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17.
Stafford caught his winning bass by throwing soft-plastics near Decatur Flats around shell beds and hydrilla.
The top six boaters and the top six co-anglers at the Chevy Wild Card earned a spot to compete in the All-American. Rounding out the top six boaters were Sam Moody of Athens, Ala. (nine bass, 26-09, $3,934); Brian Wilson of Somerset, Ky. (10 bass, 23-12, $2,973); Kevin Snider of Elizabethtown, Ky. (10 bass, 23-01, $2,098); Brian Cox of Woodstock, Ga. (10 bass, 22-07, $1,661); and Michael Conley of Bainbridge, Ga. (10 bass, 21-13, $1,486).
The Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award for day one went to Cox and Lewis Hartwell of Jackson, Miss., with a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass earning each of the anglers $625. On day two the Big Bass award went to Stafford with a 4-pound, 12-ounce bass that earned him $1,250.
Anthony Goggins of Sylacauga, Ala., earned $3,690 as the co-angler winner, thanks to a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces that he caught throwing a Senko in and around grass.
Rounding out the top six co-anglers were Ryan Cullop of Daniels, W. Va. (10 bass, 16-00, $1,845); William Vaughan of Raleigh, N.C. (10 bass, 15-03, $1,393); Mike Partridge of Chandler, Ind. (10 bass, 14-12, $984); Kenneth Hunnicutt of Jacksonville, Fla. (10 bass, 14-06, $779); and Marvin Mobley of Gulf Breeze, Fla. (eight bass, 14-05, $697).
The Co-angler Big Bass award on day one went to Mike Wolfenbarger of Powell, Tenn., with a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass earning him $568. On day two, the Snickers Big Bass award went to James Pilot of Clinton, Md., for landing a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass that also earned him $568.