Gray Grabs Title

Nappier takes co-angler honors on Kerr Lake

HENDERSON, N.C. – Brandon Gray of Bullock, N.C., weighed a two-day total of nine bass totaling 24 pounds, 14 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division Super Tournament on Kerr Lake. For his victory, Gray earned $4,465.

“I live on the lake and I hadn’t fished a BFL since 2012,” said Gray. “I just decided to get in it because summertime is usually my time on Kerr Lake.

“A few weeks ago the fishing was getting good out deep, but the water came up and that scattered the fish out a lot,” said Gray. “I fished out deep on Saturday. I caught 20 bass at the first place I went to, but I only caught four keepers. I thought I could catch one more keeper out deep but it never happened.

“Sunday, I gambled and decided to fish up the lake around some boat docks,” said Gray, who weighed the biggest bag of the tournament – 15 pounds, 7 ounces – that day. “It turns out those fish had moved, but I was able to find them right up on the bank holding tight to any piece of cover they could get around.”

Gray said he caught his fish on a flutter spoon on Saturday, fishing an area with schooling fish around bait. He said he used a Berkley Havoc Pit Boss to catch his limit on Sunday.

“I thought I had about 12 pounds in the livewell while I was coming in on Saturday. I didn’t realize I would be in the running to win,” finished Gray. “I’ve got to congratulate my competitors too. There are a lot of good anglers fishing the Piedmont Division.”

Rounding out the top 10 pros:

2^nd:          Dennis Gilbert, Nathalie, Va., 10 bass, 22-12, $2,233

3^rd:          Paul Reich, Winston-Salem, N.C., nine bass, 21-8, $1,488

4^th:           Mark Inman, Greensboro, N.C., nine bass, 21-6, $1,042

5^th:           Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., nine bass, 18-12, $893

6^th:           Lucas Farrington, High Point, N.C., eight bass, 17-15, $819

7^th:           Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., eight bass, 17-13, $744 + $300 Evinrude Bonus

8^th:           Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., seven bass, 16-7, $670

9^th:           Greg Lahr, Fayetteville, N.C., seven bass, 16-2, $595

10^th:        Ray Griffin, Henderson, N.C., six bass, 16-0, $521            

Complete results can be found by clicking here.

Nappier wins co-angler division

Brian Nappier of Huntersville, N.C., weighed in a two-day total of six bass totaling 16 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $2,233 in the co-angler division.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers:

2^nd:          Will White, Wake Forest, N.C., six bass, 12-10, $1,116

3^rd:          David Bullock, Durham, N.C., six bass, 12-2, $744

4^th:           Chuck Wilson, Youngsville, N.C., four bass, 8-9, $521

5^th:           Joe Westmoreland, Greensboro, N.C., four bass, 8-6, $447

6^th:           Thomas Clifton, Rolesville, N.C., three bass, 8-5, $409

7^th:           David Stone, Midlothian, Va., three bass, 7-9, $372

8^th:           Mark Davis, Bear Creek, N.C., three bass, 7-1, $335

9^th:           Eric Lochner, Fayetteville, N.C., four bass, 6-14, $298

10^th:        Junior Roberts, Ringgold, Va., four bass, 6-14, $260

Complete co-angler results can be found by clicking here.

The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. 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.