CHENOWETH WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE PIEDMONT DIVISION OPENER ON KERR LAKE

HENDERSON, N.C. (April 13, 2015) – Rick Chenoweth of Fredericksburg, Virginia, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division tournament of 2015 on Kerr Lake. For his victory, Chenoweth earned $5,241.

“It was a good day of fishing,” said Chenoweth. “I couldn’t have asked for a better tournament.”

Chenoweth earned top honors by fishing secondary points between spawning pockets in the Nutbush area. He said he was expecting other boaters to be waiting for him by the time he arrived, but ended up having the spot to himself.

“There were four points between five pockets,” Chenoweth said. “I worked up and down the sides for a long time. You could troll between the points they were so close together.”

Chenoweth said he used a Dave’s Tournament Tackle green pumpkin football-head jig to catch his five keepers.

“I just dragged it along the bottom. If you hopped it, shook it or added any type of movement at all other than a drag the bass wouldn’t touch it,” Chenoweth said. “I had a limit in the boat within 30 minutes of takeoff.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Rick Chenoweth, Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 17-8, $5,241

2^nd:         Shawn Hammack , Gasburg, Va., five bass, 16-15, $2,620

3^rd:          Bowman Gray, Winterville, N.C., five bass, 16-14, $1,485

3^rd:          Steve Wagner, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 16-14, $1,485

5^th:          Flash Butts, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 16-13, $1,048

6^th:          Tom Hebb, Moneta, Va., five bass, five bass, 16-3, $917

6^th:          Keith Joyce, Apex, N.C., five bass, 16-3, $917

8^th:          Mark Robertson, Henderson, N.C., five bass, 15-15, $786

9^th:          Sammy Creech, Kenly, N.C., five bass, 15-12, $699

10^th:        Keith Goldberg, Eagle Rock, Va., five bass, 15-11, $611

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Marty Warren of Elon, North Carolina, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces, and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $825.

Marvin Reese of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win $2,507 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Marvin Reese, Gwynn Oak, Md., five bass, 16-11, $2,507

2^nd”         Edward Gordan, Roxboro, N.C., five bass, 15-0, $1,253

3^rd:          Vernon Adams, Durham, N.C., three bass, 13-6, $837

4^th:          Chris Whittaker, Waverly, Va., five bass, 12-3, $585

5^th:          Jonn Schulz, Roxboro, N.C., five bass, 11-14, $501

6^th:          Jackson Pleasant, Raleigh, N.C., five bass, 11-10, $460

7^th:          Tony Toombs, Drakes Branch, Va., five bass, 11-5, $418

8^th:          David Collins, Littleton, N.C., four bass, 10-13, $355

8^th:          Will White, Wake Forest, N.C., five bass, 10-13, $355

10^th:        David Stone, Midlothian, Va., five bass, 10-0, $292

Adams caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $382.

The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. 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.