Walser Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division on High Rock Lake
OutdoorHub 05.14.12
Robert Walser of Lexington, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division event on High Rock Lake. For his victory, Walser earned $6,156.
“Coming back to weigh-in I was honestly just expecting to make the top 10,” said Walser. “It (the win) turned out to be quite the surprise. Because of the fishing pressure of all of the boats it was pretty tough to find a spot to fish. The lake was extremely muddy from the recent storms, and half of the lake was too muddy to fish. I usually like fishing dirty water, but when it rains on High Rock it gets really bad. Even the spray from your motor is orange. I ended up fishing in the mid-lake area because that was where the water was the clearest.
“I was throwing a Zoom Baits Z-Hog in a prototype color that has not been released yet, just flipping docks,” Walser continued. “I had a solid 15-pound limit by 8:15 a.m. I was able to cull a few times and get to my final weight of 17 pounds. I believe that the key to my victory was using my Hydrowave through the shad spawn. The bite definitely seemed better when I had it on. I also was actually able to see a nice bass in the water that was guarding fry from my Typhoon sunglasses, and I would not have been able to see him had it not been for those glasses.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 16-7, $1,578
3rd: James Blankenship, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-12, $1,052
4th: Cavin Young, Prince George, Va., five bass, 15-4, $736
5th: Chris Turbyfill, Whitsett, N.C., five bass, 13-11, $631
6th: Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., four bass, 13-9, $579
7th: Jeremy Talbert, Albemarle, N.C., five bass, 12-9, $526
8th: Darren Gay, Richfield, N.C.., five bass, 12-1, $473
9th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 11-15, $421
10th: Doug Young, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 11-13, $368
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Marty Williams of Thomasville, N.C., weighed in four bass totaling 11 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,578 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Branden Roper, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 10-12, $789
3rd: Chip Crews, Thomasville, N.C., four bass, 10-9, $526
4th: David VanDezande, Salisbury, N.C., four bass, 10-7, $368
5th: Jerry Cross, Southern Pines, N.C., four bass, 9-11, $316
6th: Tommy Swicegood, Salisbury, N.C., four bass, 9-10, $289
7th: Vernon Adams, Durham, N.C., three bass, 9-7, $263
8th: Steven Selfridge, McLeansville, N.C., four bass, 7-4, $237
9th: Jack Scott, Salisbury, N.C., three bass, 7-0, $210
10th: Michelle Williams, Rockwell, N.C., three bass, 6-1, $184
The next BFL Piedmont Division tournament is scheduled for June 9 on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C. After the fifth Piedmont Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 4-6 Regional Championship on Cherokee Lake in Morristown, Tenn. 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.
