Wilson Takes Top Honors on Norman

Smelser lands co-angler title

Jason Wilson of Lincolnton, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 14 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division Super Tournament on Lake Norman with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 29 pounds, 4 ounces. For his victory, Wilson earned $6,817.

“I started out each day by throwing a custom-colored Rapala DT 10 crankbait near rocks and stumps and caught a couple of key fish,” said Wilson. “The rest of them came flipping a Jason’s Magic Craw-colored E.R. Lures jig around docks. I believe I weighed two fish off the crankbait each day and three from the jig.”

Wilson said his biggest fish came around 11 a.m. each morning of the tournament.

“The bigger fish definitely preferred the jig near the docks,” said Wilson.

The top 10 boaters:

1^st:          Jason Wilson, Lincolnton, N.C., 10 bass, 29-4, $5,817 + $1,000 Mercury Bonus

2^nd:         Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C.,  10 bass, 28-8, $2,909

3^rd:          Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., 10 bass, 25-7, $1,939

4^th:          Tracy Adams, Wilkesboro, N.C., 10 bass, 24-7, $1,357

5^th:          Kelly Logan, Morganton, N.C., 10 bass, 23-11, $1,163

6^th:          Scott Beattie, Lincolnton, N.C., 10 bass, 23-3, $1,066

7^th:          Joey Sabbagha, Prosperity, S.C., 10 bass, 22-5, $970

8^th:          Eric Moser, Salisbury, N.C., 10 bass, 22-1, $873

9^th:          Jeffrey Queen, Catawba, N.C., 10 bass, 21-13, $776

10^th:        Jeremy Bouldin, Kings Mountain, N.C., 10 bass, 21-8, $679              

Complete results can be found here.  

Lineberger caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday, a fish weighing 4 pounds, 10 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $772.

Smelser wins co-angler title

Wayne Smelser of Rural Retreat, Virginia, won the co-angler division and $2,909 with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 21 pounds even.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1^st:          Wayne Smelser, Rural Retreat, Va., nine bass, 21-0, $2,909

2^nd:         Michael Kelley, Conover, N.C., 10 bass, 18-7, $1,454

3^rd:          Hunter Harwell, Hickory, N.C., 10 bass, 17-11, $970

4^th:          George Hirapetian, Charlotte, N.C., nine bass, 16-7, $679

5^th:          Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., eight bass, 16-4, $582

6^th:          Andrew Shundich, Mooresville, N.C., seven bass, 15-8, $533

7^th:          Edward Louthen, Princeton, W. Va., seven bass, 15-2, $485

8^th:          Adam Lockler, Charlotte, N.C., eight bass, 13-7, $436

9^th:          William Hearn, Mount Holly, N.C., six bass, 12-8, $388

10^th:        Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., seven bass, 12-4, $339

Tracy Brown of Huntersville, North Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $193.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now qualify for the Oct. 15-17 Regional Championship on Lake Wateree in Camden, South Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.