Poteat Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division on North Carolina’s Badin Lake
OutdoorHub 06.10.13
Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division event on Badin Lake. For his victory, Poteat earned $5,794.
“We’d had a monsoon-like storm here for two or three days prior to the tournament,” said Poteat. “I had planned on fishing the upper dam area, but due to the water flow I was forced to change my plans. I fished down-river, where the current was not as strong.”
Poteat said that he targeted wood and current breaks throughout the day throwing a homemade shad-colored spinnerbait using 15-pound-test line on a Denali Rod paired with an Abu Garcia Revo reel. He credited his gear as being one of the main factors to his success, and said that he caught 15 fish throughout the day.
“The fish really wanted that spinnerbait one certain way,” Poteat continued. “It was all about the presentation. They didn’t want it too fast, and not too slow.
“It seemed that every move that I made on Saturday was the right one,” Poteat went on to say. “The Lord truly blessed me. I’m looking forward to the next event on High Rock Lake. I would love to go back-to-back.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: John Cook, Matthews, N.C., five bass, 17-10, $1,897 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
3rd: Scott Threadgill, Troy, N.C., five bass, 17-2, $1,265
4th: Tommy Jones, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 16-14, $885
5th: Richard Greene, Laurinburg, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $759
6th: Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-13, $696 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
7th: Maurice Freeze, Concord, N.C., five bass, 15-8, $632
8th: Parks Jones Jr., York, S.C., five bass, 15-7, $569
9th: Kyle Joyce, Reidsville, N.C., five bass, 14-8, $506
10th: Ralph Hollfield Jr., Winston-Salem, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $402
10th: Jeremy Talbert, Albemarle, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $402
10th: Marty Williams, Thomasville, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $402
Hubert Roman of Lexington, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win $1,897 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Keith Phillips, Albemarle, N.C., five bass, 16-14, $949
3rd: Chip Crews, Thomasville, N.C., four bass, 15-0, $633
4th: Michael Hardee, Loris, S.C., five bass, 13-7, $443
5th: Wayne Smelser, Rural Retreat, Va., five bass, 13-6, $379
6th: Dennis Surratt, Denton, N.C., five bass, 13-3, $348
7th: Micky Motsinger, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 12-0, $316
8th: Buster Swisher, Jamestown, N.C., five bass, 11-7, $285
9th: Kevin Blevins, Stokesdale, N.C., five bass, 10-13, $253
10th: Demon Pittman, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 10-9, $221
The next BFL Piedmont Division tournament is scheduled for July 13 on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C. After the last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 17-19 Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Lavonia, Ga. 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 2013 BFL All-American is being held June 27–29 on Nickajack Lake in Chattanooga, Tenn. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
