Chandler’s first win on High Rock

Fisher Wins Co-Angler Title

SALISBURY, N.C. – Jeff Chandler of New London, N.C. weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the fourth Walmart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division tournament of 2014 on High Rock Lake. For his victory, Chandler earned $6,009.

“It’s an awesome feeling to win,” said Chandler. “I have quite a few top-10 finishes, six on High Rock alone, so it is good to finally win one.

“I went to the back of a creek and threw a buzzbait first thing in the morning, I had two bites, but only caught one of them,” Chandler explained. “That was my best fish. It was probably about 5 pounds.

“In June, the thing to do on High Rock is to fish docks. So, I did that the rest of the day. The water was falling, so I just targeted the floating docks. They needed to have some brush on them to be good.

“My local knowledge was key to winning,” Chandler went on to say. “I never practiced for this tournament. The good Lord just blessed me. I know how to fish docks on High Rock in June and that’s what I did.”

Chandler said that his main bait was a green-pumpkin-colored 1/2-ounce Lunker Lure Rattleback Flipping Jig.

Rounding out the top 10 pros were:

                2nd:          Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., five bass, 19-0, $2,005

                3rd:          Andy Greene, Spindale, N.C., five bass, 16-10, $1,336

                4th:           George Lambeth, Thomasville, N.C., five bass, 16-9, $935

                5th:           Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $802

                6th:           Ron Wolfarth, Oakboro, N.C., five bass, 16-2, $735

                7th:           Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-5, $668 + $300 Evinrude Bonus

                8th:           Thomas Ludwick, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 15-3, $601

                9th:           Rodney Bell, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 14-15, $535

                10th:        James Blankenship, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-14, $468 + $300 Evinrude Bonus

Complete results can be found here.

Tyler Fisher of Salisbury, N.C., weighed in four bass totaling 11 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win $2,005 in the co-angler division.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:

                2nd:          Bill Burton, Vernon Hill, Va., five bass, 10-15, $1,002

                3rd:          Allen Snyder, Kannapolis, N.C., four bass, 10-14, $668

                4th:           Graham Rushing, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, $468

                5th:           Alex Hester, Monroe, N.C., four bass, 10-0, $401

                6th:           Michael Smith, Lexington, N.C., four bass, 9-13, $368

                7th:           Stanley Carper, Winfield, W.Va., four bass, 9-5, $334

                8th:           Chris Carnes, York, S.C., four bass, 9-3, $301

                9th:           Michael Fickel, Wendell, N.C., three bass, 9-2, $267

                10th:        Philip Morris Jr., Raleigh, N.C., three bass, 9-0, $234

Complete results can be found here.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 9-11 Regional Championship on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW 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 2014 over the course of 229 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. For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.