Walden Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division on Ross Barnett Reservoir
OutdoorHub 04.02.12
Danny Walden of Columbus, Miss., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Mississippi Division event on Ross Barnett Reservoir. For his victory, Walden earned $4,359.
“I had two or three spots where I had found some good fish earlier this week,” said Walden. “Unfortunately, the water had been dropping all week, so my spot that usually had 2 to 3 feet of water only had 6 inches Saturday morning. We changed our gameplan and started trolling and running some of the deeper points I knew. I found a nice point about 4 feet deep that dropped off into 20 feet of water that had a pretty good current running over it. The fish were laying down in the deep water, and they would wait for the bait to wash down to them. You had to fish real slow and use a real light weight to look more natural. I had planned on this being a backup spot if my other areas didn’t work out, but it turned out to be my best spot.
“I was throwing a black Boogerman buzzbait, and a 6-inch Zoom junebug Lizard,” Walden continued. “The weather was overcast today until around 11 a.m., and it really had an effect on the fish. Once the sun came out the fish dropped down a little deeper and the bite was a lot harder to come by. I had all of my best bites while it was still overcast.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Bradley Burns, Brandon Miss., five bass, 17-9, $2,179
3rd: Ray King, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 15-10, $1,452
4th: William McKay Jr., Brandon, Miss., five bass, 15-2, $1,017
5th: Jason Forman, Philadelphia, Miss., five bass, 15-0, $872
6th: Jeff Johnston, Marion, Ark., five bass, 14-15, $799
7th: Will Boatright, Philadelphia, Miss., five bass, 14-6, $726
8th: Roger Stegall, Iuka, Miss., five bass, 14-5, $654
9th: Justin Atkins, Columbus, Miss., five bass, 14-4, $545
9th: Brandon Bolton, West Point, Miss., five bass, 14-4, $545
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Tim Beale of Hernando, Miss., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win $2,179 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Larry Chastain, Laurel, Miss., five bass, 11-15, $1,090
3rd: Tim Davis, Laurel, Miss., five bass, 11-0, $725
4th: Matt Allen, Brandon, Miss., five bass, 10-7, $509
5th: Craig Johnson, Myrtle, Miss., five bass, 10-4, $436
6th: Blake Hodge, Water Valley, Miss., three bass, 10-3, $400
7th: Noel Allen Jr., Brandon, Miss., five bass, 9-15, $363
8th: Jerry Kirkman, Meridian, Miss., four bass, 9-13, $327
9th: Ray Higginbotham, Brooksville, Miss., five bass, 9-12, $291
10th: Ryan Lecompte, Marrero, La., three bass, 9-11, $254
The next BFL Mississippi Division tournament is scheduled for April 28 on Columbus Pool in Columbus, Miss. After the fifth Mississippi 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 the Red River in Natchitoches, La. 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.
