WALTERS WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION EVENT ON LAKE WYLIE

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LAKE WYLIE, N.C. (March 30, 2015) – Todd Walters of Kernersville, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division tournament of 2015 on Lake Wylie. For his victory, Walters earned $4,350.

“I was very excited to take home a check,” said Walters. “It’s my third career win and this one was completely unexpected.”

Walters spent his day fishing points near spawning pockets in Allison Creek. He said he found the majority of his fish in 8 to 12 feet of water.

“I knew I would have to target those deeper, offshore fish due to the recent cold front,” Walters said. “I focused on isolated rocks at the end of the points. When it gets cold like this the fish tend to gravitate towards those rocks.”

Walters said the only bait he used was a pearl blue-colored Keitech swimbait.

“I only caught about 10 fish all day, but I had four of the five fish that I weighed-in within 45 minutes of takeoff.”

Walters capped off his stringer around 1 p.m. when he caught a five-pounder lurking around a floating dock. He said he threw the Keitech while in 25 feet of water, let it fall to 15 feet and slow rolled it before the bite.

“At that point I knew I had enough weight for a solid finish,” Walters said. “I was surprised that I won, though, because it usually it takes more than 20 pounds to win on Lake Wylie, especially with the level of competition in the North Carolina division.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Todd Walters, Kernersville, N.C., five bass, 17-2, $4,350

2^nd:         John McDonald, Thomasville, N.C., five bass  , 16-12, $2,175

3^rd:          Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., five bass, 16-8, $1,451

4^th:          Jay Keith, Camden, S.C., five bass, 16-3, $942

4^th:          Brian Travis, Conover, N.C., five bass, 16-3, $942

6^th:          James Buchanan, Monroe, N.C., five bass, 16-2, $761

6^th:          Eric Moser, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 16-2, $761

8^th:          J.D. Barber, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 16-0, $549

8^th:          Christopher Brown, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 16-0, $549

8^th:          Klaus Hadschin, Granite Falls, N.C., five bass, 16-0, $549

8^th:          David Williams, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 16-0, $549

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Moser caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $615.

Marty Williams of Thomasville, North Carolina, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win $2,175 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Marty Williams, Thomasville, N.C., five bass, 14-11, $2,175

2^nd:         Tristen Trull, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 13-15, $1,088

3^rd:          Keiven Forbes, New Bern, N.C., five bass, 13-11, $726

4^th:          George Hirapetian, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 13-6, $507

5^th:          Stanley Carper, Winfield, W.Va., five bass, 12-12, $435

6^th:          John Wilson, Six Mile, S.C., five bass, 12-5, $399

7^th:          Tyler Osterhout, Concord, N.C., five bass, 12-3, $344

7^th:          John Smith, Midland, N.C., four bass, 12-3, $344

9^th:          Doug File, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 11-9, $290

10^th:        John Farmer, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 11-6, $254

Chris Pease of Stanley, North Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $307.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will 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.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.