GIELLA WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE SOUTH CAROLINA DIVISION OPENER ON LAKE MURRAY

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PROSPERITY, S.C. (Feb. 16, 2015) – Kyle Giella of Columbia, South Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Murray. For his victory, King earned $5,514.

Kyle Giella of Columbia, S.C., won the South Carolina Division tournament Saturday on Lake Murray weighing a five-bass limit totaling 25 pounds, 8 ounces to earn $5,514.

“It’s a great feeling to win a tournament like this,” said Giella, who earned his first victory in FLW competition. “I had a lot of fun fishing out there.”

Giella spent his day on the south end of the lake fishing shallow docks and throwing up to the crayfish-filled banks. Using a Crawdad-colored Rapala Shad Rap, Giella boated his first two keepers around 9 a.m.

“The fish will pull up underneath those floating docks this time of year when it’s warm,” said Giella. “I don’t think I caught anything in more than six or seven feet of water.”

After exploring other spots in the same area, Giella returned to the docks. He switched his bait to an umbrella rig rigged with watermelon pearl-colored Berkeley Havoc Subwoofers. The tactic proved successful as Giella netted three more bass before noon to seal the deal.

“This is the biggest five-bass limit I’ve ever weighed,” Giella said.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:           Kyle Giella, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 25-8, $3,514 + $2,000 Ranger Cup bonus

2^nd:          Ross Burns, Columbia, S.C., five bass, 24-10, $1,757

3^rd:          Christopher Sample, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 23-1, $1,172

4^th:           Brock Taylor, Pendleton, S.C., five bass, 21-12, $820

5^th:           Scott Guyot, Wagram, N.C., five bass, 20-10, $703

6^th:           Maurice Freeze, Concord, N.C., five bass, 19-10, $644

7^th:           Kameron Harbin, Abbeville, S.C., five bass, 18-0, $586

8^th:           Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 17-15, $527

9^th:           Chris Epting, Chapin, S.C., five bass, 17-4, $469

10^th:        Cole Huskins, Mount Holly, N.C., four bass, 16-3, $410

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Roy Beneteau of Swainsboro, Georgia, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win $1,757 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:           Roy Beneteau, Swainsboro, Ga., five bass, 13-11, $1,757

2^nd:          Clint Jackson, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 12-5, $879

3^rd:          Mark Osborne, Union, S.C., three bass, 9-10, $585

4^th:           Adam Beckum, Martinez, Ga., three bass, 7-15, $410

5^th:           Donnie Stouffer, Rock Hill, S.C., one bass, 7-13, $351

6^th:           Christopher Cook, Fort Mill, S.C., one bass, 6-9, $322

7^th:           Carluss King, Galivants Ferry, S.C., two bass, 6-6, $293

8^th:           Dwayne Condrey, Denton, N.C., three bass, 6-1, $264

9^th:           Mark Wingate, Gaston, S.C., three bass, 5-13, $234

10^th:        Darvin Cannon, Columbia, S.C., two bass, 5-8, $205

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville, Georgia. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.