Walser wins at High Rock

Thrift in top 10 at Potomac River FLW

Lexington’s Robert Walser overcame tough fishing conditions on High Rock Lake to win the May 12 BFL Piedmont Division tournament.

Walser’s 5-fish limit, taken with spinnerbaits and jigs from shallow water, totaled 17 pounds, 13 ounces and paid $3,156. He also earned a $2,000 bonus from the Ranger Cup program and a $1,000 bonus from Evinrude.

New London’s Kevin Chandler, a former BFL winner at High Rock, placed second with 16-7 and received $1,578. Lexington’s James Blankenship ranked third with 15-12 and banked $1,052.

Other Tar Heel anglers in the top 10 were: Chris Turbyfill of Whitsett, fifth with 13-11 for $631; Chad Poteat of Mount Airy, sixth with 13-9 for $579; Jeremy Talbert of Albemarle, seventh with 12-9 for $526; Darren Gay of Richfield, eighth with 12-1 for $473; Chris Baldwin of Lexington, ninth with 11-15 for $421, and Doug Young of Salisbury, 10th with 11-13 that paid $368;

Two of the top three co-anglers hailed from Thomasville. Marty Williams won with 11-7 and received $1,578; Chip Crews finished third with 10-9 and won $526. Crews also had the co-angler big fish, a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass worth $185. Brandon Roper of Raleigh was second with 10-12 for $789.

High Rock yielded only 15 limits to the 74 boaters and only one to the 74 co-anglers.

Tarheel State anglers take eight of top 10 at Gaston

Fishermen from North Carolina took eight of the top 10 spots at the April 21 BFL North Carolina Piedmont Division event at Lake Gaston.

Flash Butts of Roanoke Rapids finished second with 18 pounds and won $1,442. Ryan Harrell of Roanoke Rapids took third with 17-13, winning $960. Kendall Dail of Chinquapin ranked fourth with 17-10 and received $673.

Chris Baldwin of Lexington was sixth with 16-9 for $529; William Kemp of Scotland Neck was seventh with 15-15 for $481; Danny Haire of Yadkinville was eighth with 15-2 for $433; Allen Haigh of Prospect Hill was ninth with 14-14 for $384, and Kyle Joyce of Reidsville was 10th with 13-8 for $336.

Thift sixth in FLW on Potomac

Bryan Thrift of Shelby finished sixth and earned $16,376, leading three other North Carolina pros into the to 25 at the FLW Tour Event on the Potomac River May 17-20.

Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., won the event with a 4-day catch of 20 bass weighing 66 pounds, 6 ounces. His first-place check was for $126,000.

Thrift finished with 20 fish for 62-8. Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia was 12th with 15 bass for 45-15, worth $12,026; Marty Stone of Fayetteville was 16th with 15 bass for 44-12 and $11,543, and Matt Arey of Shelby was 24th with 15 bass for 30-15, good for $11,060.

BASS TOURNAMENTS

Yadkin Team Tournament, High Rock, April 28

1. Orlando Giles (Lexington)-Joey Musgrave (Southmont), 23.50 pounds, $520; 2. Steve Sink (Winston-Salem)-Tony Foster (Lexington), 21.70, $270; 3. Tom File-Thomas Ludwick (Salisbury), 19.76, $164; 4. Mike Miller (Trinity), 18.57, $110; 5. David Wright-Chris Brown (Lexington), 18.28, $95. Big fish: Bobby Lovings (Salisbury)-Dwight Morgan (Rockwell), 6.85 pounds, $123.50.

Southern Championship Trail, Tuckertown, April 28

1. Dean Talbert (Albemarle)-Tod Hayes, 18.02, $700; 2. Carty Sealy (Lexington)-Derrick Loflin, 17.61, $300; 3. David Drye (New London)-Robert Parrish (Albemarle), 17.17, $120. Big fish: Drye-Parrish, 5.70 pounds, $160.

Adam & Eve Trail, Tuckertown Lake, May 12

1. Ron-Carmen Nelson, 19-03, $250; 2. Neal-Pat McDonald, 14-15, $150; 3. Ben-Treithler Ragan, 12-05, $100. Big fish: McDonalds, 4-10, $100.

Carolina Anglers Team Trail, High Rock Lake, April 29

1. Jeremy Talbert (Albemarle)-Todd Haynes, 16.45, $780; 2. Jamie Benton (Denton)-Scott Eggelton (Salisbury), 16.05, $275; 3. Mike Miller (Trinity)-Robert Walser (Lexington), 15.35, $125; 4. Jason Hathcock (Concord)-John Barringer (Kannapolis), 14.90, $100. Big fish: Terry James (Wadesboro)-Alan Griffin, 5.55 pounds, $140.

Fishers of Men, Lake Norman, April 21

1. Kelli Tremblay-Wes Lewis, 9.23, $1,108; 2. Kenny Seagle (Salisbury)-Drew Montgomery (Concord), 9.16, $816; 3. Dave Snyder (Concord)-Bryon O’ Daniel (Kannapolis), 9.06, $404; 4. Stephen Singleton-A.L. Needham (Seagrove), 9.00, $508; 5. Joshua Hamilton-Shane Ledbetter, 8.95, $270.

Piedmont Bass Classics, Falls of the Neuse, April 28

1. Vinston Nettles (Pittsboro)-Jimmie Spencer (Asheboro), 23.71, $1,075; 2. Rick Sossaman (Oak Ridge)-Randy Johnson (Hillsborough), 20.53, $615; 3. Jesse Wise (Erwin)-Chadd Eriksen (Raleigh), 19.13, $535; 4. Mark Knott (Durham)-Roger Clary (Butner), 18.83, $455; 5. Joe Smith-Reaford Faircloth (Clinton), 17.60, $375. Big fish: Sammy McLeod (Bear Creek)-Junior McLeod (Sanford), 7.46 pounds, $714.

Overton’s Piedmont Bass Classic Open

Falls of the Neuse, May 5

1. Rick Sossaman (Oak Ridge)-Randy Johnson (Hillsborough), 19.92, $1,350; 2. Johnny Wilder (Butner)-Mike Harris (Oxford), 19.36, $460; 3. Dan Glosson (Rougemont)-Phillip Eakes (Bahama), 17.92, $300; 4. Chris Huffine (Raleigh)-David Huffine (Wake Forest), 16.85, $200. Big fish: David Hall (Raleigh)-Dane Sallinger (Wake Forest), 6.18 pounds, $308.

Springhill Outfitters Piedmont Bass Classic Open

Kerr Lake, May 12

1. Mike Eggers-Mark Willis (Garner), 12.66, $775; 2. Blair Duke-Kelly Whitehead (Oxford), 11.96, $145. Big fish: Eggers-Willis, 3.37 pounds, $126.