Huskins Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division on Lake Wylie
OutdoorHub 05.07.12
Brian Huskins of Mt. Holly, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division event on Lake Wylie. For his victory, Huskins earned $5,247.
“My day started out pretty disappointing,” said Huskins. “I had a bad boat draw, #No. 49, and I didn’t think that I would get to my spot before anyone else did. I was right, and when I pulled up there was already a competitor sitting there. I’m very happy he was. I ended up heading to my second spot and started catching a lot of fish.
“Most of the time I’m throwing my own lures, Brian’s Bees Crankbaits,” Huskins continued. “But Saturday I had the most success with a Buckeye Lures Ditch Witch. We were fishing deep, from 27 to 35 feet, and I had the best luck when I was fishing the Ditch Witch really aggressively. I had my first limit by 10 a.m., and was able to cull up six or seven times on the day. The biggest difference for me in this event was using my De-Liar scale. I won this event by 1 ounce, and there were a couple of fish where if I would have guessed based on looks I would have been wrong. Some of the smaller fish ended up weighing more, and that really helped me to win this event.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Roger Pope, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $1,623 + $1,000 Evinrude Bonus
3rd: John Hoyle, Rutherfordton, N.C., four bass, 13-12, $1,082
4th: Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., five bass, 13-0, $758
5th: David Winters, Rock Hill, S.C., five bass, 12-9, $649
6th: Michael Webster, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 12-5, $595
7th: Jason Wilson, Cherryville, N.C., five bass, 12-4, 541
8th: Hank Cherry, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 12-3, $487
9th: Chuck Collins, Smithfield, N.C., five bass, 11-14, $433
10th: David Pless, Candler, N.C., four bass, 11-10, $379
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Brian Transon of Salisbury, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win $1,623 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Ronnie Brown, Cherryville, N.C., five bass, 11-7, $812
3rd: Tommy Swicegood, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 10-7, $541
4th: Kurt Moser, Max Meadows, Va., five bass, 9-10, $379
5th: Kerry Murphy, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 9-9, $325
6th: Johnny Fish, Forest City, N.C., five bass, 9-6, $298
7th: Dean Minor, Trinity, N.C., five bass, 9-5, $271
8th: Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., four bass, 8-15, $244
9th: Tommy Milligan, Surfside Beach, S.C., five bass, 8-7, $216
10th: Sheldon Hipps, Troutman, N.C., five bass, 8-4, $189
The next BFL North Carolina Division tournament is scheduled for June 23 on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C. After the fifth North Carolina Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 18-20 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 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 40 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 presented by Chevy. The 2012 BFL All-American is being held May 17 – 19 on the Potomac River in National Harbor, Md. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
