David Williams of Maiden earned an invitation to the Feb. 20-22 Bassmaster Classic at the Red River, Shreveport-Bossier City, La., by winning the Nov. 11-15 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship event at Lake Norman.
He had to overcome wind, rain, two lost fish, and Jeff Coble of Manson to capture the first-place prize of $100,000 plus the Classic invitation
Williams weighed in 12.06 pounds during Saturday’s final round to jump from third place to the top spot with a four-day catch of 42.33 pounds overtaking third-round leader Coble, a two-time Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series champ.
Coble could put only four keepers in the livewell Saturday and had a four-day weight of 39.92 pounds to take the second-place prize of $20,000.
Allan Engelmeyer of Severn, Maryland, the second-day leader, finished third with 39.00 pounds and banked $10,000. Lexington’s David Wright placed fourth with 32.49 pounds and won $7.500.
“I thought I lost the tournament the second day,” said Williams, who had two 3-pound fish shake the hook. “I had to play catch up after that.”
Williams also had the big fish among the boaters with a 3.94-pound bass.
The Maiden angler threw a variety of baits for four days including spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and jigs.
Other Tar Heel scores were Ralph Hollifield of Winston-Salem, 12th, with 29.53 pounds for $2,400; Anthony Monaco of Aberdeen, 14th, with 28.75 pounds for $1,900; Robert Griswold of Concord, 23rd, with 24.53 for $1,500; and George Lambeth of Thomasville, 24th, with 23.73 pounds for $1,500.
Chad Wynn of Athens, Ala., topped the co-anglers with 17.83 pounds and received $50,000.
Other co-angler scores were Charles Sipe of Fuquay Varina, ninth, with 15.72 pounds for $1,350; Brad Wright of Granite Falls, 10th, with 15.68 pounds for $1,300; and Charles Culley of Hiddenite, 17th, with 13.38 pounds for $950.
Lexington’s David Fritts, who often can be found picking pumpkins at his family’s farm around Halloween, left his pumpkin-picking chores behind long enough to win the Oct. 23-26 Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division tournament at Clarks Hill, Ga.
Fritts had an opening day catch of 23-09 to outdistance the field and never looked back, finishing with a four-day haul of 59-10 to claim the first-place prize of $125,000.
Winless in major tournament events since 2001, the crankbait expert blitzed standing timber with a variety of Rapala DT crankbaits to end his winless streak.
Five North Carolina boaters and one co-angler have qualified for the May 28-30 All American at the Mississippi River, Davenport, Iowa.. The top six boaters and co-anglers from each Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Regional receive an invitation to the All American, the championship of the Wal-Mart BFL.
Jason Wilson of Bessemer City, Williams, Roger Pope of Statesville, and Chris Baldwin of Lexington qualified through the Oct. 16-18 Cherokee Lake Regional tournament at Tenn.
Wilson won the event with 37-1 and took home a Ranger boat and Chevy truck; Williams placed second with 32-6 and collected $4,000; Pope ranked fourth with 31-3 and earned $1,600; and Baldwin placed sixth with 30-6 and received $1,000.
George Hirapetian of Charlotte finished third among the co-anglers with 18-11 and banked $1,000.
Robbie Walser of Lexington qualified through the Oct. 9-11 Albemarle Sound Regional tournament where he finished sixth with 23-4 and won $1,000.
Jeff Hager of Alexis won $500 at the Nov. 6-8 Federation Nation Championship tournament at Milford Lake, Junction City, Kansas. Hager fished as a member of the Southern Division.
BASS TOURNAMENTS
Tri-County Bassmasters Open Bass Tournament for Special Olympics of Davidson County High Rock Lake, Oct. 18
1. Joey Blackburn and Don Smith, both of Elkin, 16.40, $1,000; 2. Robert Mixon of Lexington and Robert Lambert of Denton, 16.05, $400; 3. Robbie and Stanley Walser, both of Lexington, 15.45, $200; 4. Jeff Flynn of Hamptonville and Harold Hutchins of Yadkinville, 14.65, $150; 5. Joe Bono and Tony Waterhouse, both of Lexington, 14.30, $100; 6. Stacy Metz of Stanly and Schorry Denny of Mt. Julian, 14.10, two Shimano fishing rods.
Big fish: Todd Shoaf of Linwood and Gary Cline of Lexington with a 6.90-pound bass worth $330.
Event raised over $300 for Special Olympics of Davidson County.
Police and Fire Bass Tournament for Special Olympics of Cabarrus County High Rock Lake, Oct. 18-19
1. Scott Mason and Maurice Freeze, both of Concord, 33.33, $2,000; 2. Ladd Whicker and Steve Sink, both of Winston-Salem, 33.15, $840; 3. Alan Thompson of Kannapolis and Mike Coley of Mt. Pleasant, 32.49, $500; 4. Ronne Smith of China Grove and Terry Russell of Mocksville, 32.32, $400; 5. Ray Deal and Steve Huneycutt, both of High Point, 29.37, $300; 6. Robert Morrison of Winston-Salem and Stephen McLeod of Clemmons, 25.97, $200; 7. David VanNett and Bobby Houser, both of Raleigh, 25.58, $125, and big fish with a 6.40-pound bass worth $250.
Event raised $5,042 for Special Olympics of Cabarrus County.
High Rock/Piedmont Team Tournaments/Fish-off High Rock, Oct 25 & Tuckertown, Oct. 26
1. Steve Sink of Winston-Salem, 23.81, $1,800; 2. David Wright of Lexington and Brandon Benton of Denton, 23.08, $900; 3. Derek Tolley of Winston-Salem and Terry Trivette of Rural Hall, 21.78, $450; 4. Todd Shoaf of Linwood and Gary Cline of Lexington, 18.85, $355; 5. David Horton of Albemarle and John Drew of Gold Hill, 17.79, $320.
Big fish for Day 1: Sink with a 6.12 pound bass worth $247.
Big fish for Day 2: Wayne Stokes of Gold Hill and Gerald Ritchie of Albemarle with a 4.43-pound bass worth $234.
High Rock Team Tournament points champions: Thomas File and Thomas Ludwick, both of Salisbury, $500.
New Piedmont Team Tournament points champions: Dale Hege and Wayne Lawson, both of Ramseur, $500.
NBC Pro Series Championship Kerr Lake, Nov. 6-9
1. Steve Griggs of Summerfield and Tim Parker of New Hill, 45.65, two boats & prizes worth $87,995; 2. Chris Bullock of Fountain and Scooter Lilly of Williamston, 38.09, $5,250; 3. Alfred Kiesling Sr. of Mt. Mourne and Cliff Kirby of Catawba, 36.87, $3,660; 4. Abe Abernathy of Greensboro and David Lucas of High Point, 36.80, $2,360; 5. Ben Cannon of Apex and Tom Wilkinson, 36.78, $2,310; 6. Jeff Queen and Carroll Queen, 34.98, $2,300; 7. Jacob Powroznik and Anthony Gagliardi, 34.93, $2,290; 8. Walt Bowen and Vern Fleming, 34.69, $2,280; 9. Steve Woodlief and Wallace Perry, 34.66, $2,270; 10. Scott Harrick and Roger Hoover, 34.49, $2,260; 11. Rodney Chastain and Robby Hipps, 33.96, $1,000; 12. Stacy Richards and Brian Triplett, 33.61, $1,000; 13. Todd Pearson and Glenn Kimbrell, 33.42, $1,000; 14. Randy Weddington and Ronnie Smith, both of China Grove, 32.99, $1,000; 15. Kevin Chandler of New London and Terry James of Wadesboro, 32.62, $1,000.
Buggs Island Team Tournaments Shoot-Out Kerr Lake, Oct. 25
1. Raymond Randolph of Brookneal, Va., and Joseph Bryant of Phenix, Va., 13.00, $2,300; 2. Steven Bailey of Chase City, Va., and Stanley Brown of Clarksville, Va., 12.14, $1,100; 3. Don Sheffey and Don Sheffey Jr., both of Concord, Va., 11.40, $700; 4. Cary Colwell of South Boston, Va., and Michael Canada of Clarksville, Va., 10.06, and second big fish, $700; 5. Bill Shelor and Craig Rust, both of Richmond, Va., 8.62, and big fish, $650; 6. Odis and Rob Warren, both of Burlington, 8.02, $300; 7. Billy Shelton of LaCrosse, Va., and Todd Dorton of Church Road, Va., 7.76, $200; 8. Ron Moore of Sutherland, Va., and Lewis Henshaw of Ford, Va., 6.04, $150.
Mini-Lunker Novelty Pot: Carl Elliott of Bullock and Craig Compton of Oxford with a .12 pound bass worth $75.
Points champions: Dennis Gilbert of Nathalie, Va., and Tyler Purcell of South Boston, Va.
Piedmont 2-man Team Super Tournament Falls Lake, Nov. 15
1. Allen White and Wallace Perry, both of Clayton, 12.42, $1,120; 2. Bobby and David Matthews, both of Durham, 8.00, $320.
Big fish: White and Wallace with a 3.19-pound bass worth $160.
CRAPPIE TOURNAMENTS
Carolina Crappie Team Tournament Fish-off High Rock Lake, Oct. 18
1. David and Phenice Perrel of Germanton, 6.53, $300; 2. Gary Kiser and Ed Smith of Concord, 6.27, $110; 3. Tom Sprouse of Advance and Steve Gentry of Winston-Salem, 5.27, $100.
Big fish: The Perrels with a 1.76-pound crappie worth $65.
Crappie USA/ North Division
Smith Mountain Lake, Va., Nov. 15
Semi-Pro Division: 1. Roger “Keith” Wray of Eden and Dwain Bever of Goodview, Va, 8.02, $660.
Amateur Division: 4. Avery and Patricia West, both of Elkin, 6.36.
SCHEDULES
Piedmont 2-man Team Bass Classics & Team Crappie Tournaments
Contact: www.geocities.com/piedmontcrappieclassics/2009schedule.html.
Feb. 21 at Falls, March 7 at Falls, March 21 at Jordan, April 11 at Falls, April 18 at Falls, May 9 at Jordan, June 20 at Jordan, July 25 at Falls, Aug. 8 at Jordan, Aug. 22 at Falls, Sept. 12 at Jordan, Oct. 10 at Falls, and Oct. 24 at Falls.
Special Events
May 2-3 for Piedmont Crappie Classic at Falls Lake out of Rolling View Marina.
May 16 for Tobacco Bass Invitational, by invitation only.
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