HENDERSON, N.C. – Chris Baldwin of Lexington, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 3 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division event on Kerr Lake. For his victory, Baldwin earned $3,247.
Baldwin added to his impressive resume on Kerr Lake with his third BFL win.
This was “totally different from my other two wins. I knew 16 pounds was a good catch on Kerr Lake, but I didn’t want to jinx myself,” Baldwin said. “I figured I was having a good day, so someone else was catching them, too.”
As it turned out, Baldwin won handily by almost a pound.
The Lexington local started the day fishing a Rebel Pop-R around bushes and lay-downs and landed his three biggest fish by 8 a.m.
When the Pop-R bite tapered off, Baldwin made a move.
“I went out to a deep place I had saved from practice. I culled two there on a pearl- and blue-colored Rapala DT 10 crankbait.”
The deep place in question was a creek channel drop in 10 feet of water with a combination of brush and rocks that held lots of bass.
Baldwin wasn’t done with his diverse assault on Kerr Lake after the crankbait bite. Baldwin switched over to a Heddon Zara Spook and threw it around the shoals to help him cull an expiring fish and avoid a possible penalty before weighing in for the win.
Rounding out the top 10 pros:
2nd: Manley Jones, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 15-4, $1,623
3rd: Dennis Gilbert, Nathalie, Va., five bass, 14-9, $1,082
4th: Stuart Hicks, Statesville, N.C., five bass, 14-1, $758
5th: Greg Lahr, Fayetteville, N.C., five bass, 13-15, $649
6th: Derek Dixon, Kings Mountain, N.C., five bass, 13-1, $595
7th: Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., five bass, 12-8, $541
8th: Jason Houchins, Clarksville, Va., five bass, 12-4, $487
9th: Junior Allen, Biscoe, N.C., five bass, 11-15, $406
9th: Bernie Davis, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 11-15, $406
Complete results can be found here.
Wright takes co-angler title
Brad Wright of Granite Falls, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 10 pounds, 12 ounces Saturday to win $1,623 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:
2nd: Greg Mauldin, Archdale, N.C., five bass, 10-6, $812
3rd: Shorty Vaow, Cornelius, N.C., four bass, 9-13, $541
4th: John Cook, Matthews, N.C., three bass, 9-2, $379
5th: Vernon Adams, Durham, N.C., five bass, 9-1, $325
6th: Evan Benton, Davidson, N.C., four bass, 8-13, $298
7th: Alex Hester, Matthews, N.C., four bass, 8-12, $291
8th: Jerry Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., four bass, 8-6, $244
9th: Kevin Thomas, Charlotte, N.C., four bass, 7-13, $216
10th: Travis Ruff, Connelly Springs, N.C., four bass, 7-9, $189
Complete co-angler results can be found here.
The final BFL North Carolina Division tournament of 2013 is scheduled for Sept. 7-8 on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C.. After that last divisional tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, 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.
About FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2013 over the course of 220 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.