POTEAT WINS WALMART BASS FISHING LEAGUE SHENANDOAH DIVISION EVENT ON KERR LAKE

Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the Shenandoah Division tournament on Kerr Lake and a check for $5,889. (FLW)

HENDERSON, N.C. (April 27, 2015) – Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, North Carolina, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the second Walmart Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division tournament of 2015 on Kerr Lake. For his victory, Poteat earned $5,889.

“It feels awesome to win this tournament,” Poteat said. “To go out there and excel in a sport I love is truly a blessing.”

Poteat said that he flipped a green-pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog into button bushes for about 2½ hours before catching his first five-bass limit.

“I probably caught 10 or 11 keepers total,” said Poteat. “There’s always a full spawn in those bushes.”

Poteat switched his strategy in the afternoon as clouds and rain rolled into the area.

“The wind picked up so I began targeting main-lake points near Nutbush Creek with a white-colored Lunker Lure Hawg Caller spinnerbait,” said Poteat. “I was fortunate enough to bring in three more good ones.

“You have to fish the conditions,” continued Poteat. “Changing up my approach to the fish was key for me. I decided to fish the wind and it produced some notable weights.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., five bass, 17-13, $3,889 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Wally Szuba, Cary, N.C., five bass, 17-10, $1,944

3^rd:          Mike Miller, Trinity, N.C., five bass, 17-7, $1,297

4^th:          Shane Burns, Durham, N.C., five bass, 17-2, $907

5^th:          Josh Wagy, Dewitt, Va., five bass, 15-12, $778

6^th:          Flash Butts, Roanoke Rapids, N.C., five bass, 15-10, $680

6^th:          Steve Wagner, New Kent, Va., five bass, 15-10, $680

8^th:          Dennis Burdette, Lindside, W.Va., five bass, 14-15, $583

9^th:          Shawn Hammack, Gasburg, Va., five bass, 14-11, $519

10^th:        Kendall Dail, Chinquapin, N.C., five bass, 14-8, $454

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

John Cary of Ruther Glen, Virginia, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division, a fish weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounce and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $525.

Dave Lipari of Valley Cottage, New York, weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 12 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,944 in the co-angler division.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Dave Lipari, Valley Cottage, N.Y., five bass, 12-7, $1,944

2^nd:         Greg Ravitsky, Ashburn, Va., five bass, 12-1, $972

3^rd:          Sergio Render, Christiansburg, Va., five bass, 11-13, $649

4^th:          Andre Wynn, Windsor Mill, Md., five bass, 11-12, $454

5^th:          Safulla Rana, Warrenton, Va., five bass, 11-11, $389

6^th:          Nick Disabatino, Bristow, Va., five bass, 11-0, $356

7^th:          Edward Honaker, Richmond, Va., five bass, 10-12, $324

8^th:          David Everhart, Kearneysville, W. Va., three bass, 10-9, $292

9^th:          Kevin Fore, Powhatan, Va., four bass, 10-4, $259

10^th:        Lawrence Aucoin, Durham, N.C., five bass, 9-11, $215

10^th:        Jerry Comperatore, Tarentum, Pa., three bass, 9-11, $215

Everhart caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $262.

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.