LEXINGTON’S WALSER WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON HIGH ROCK LAKE, TIES ALL-TIME WINS RECORD

Photo courtesy of FLW

SALISBURY, N.C. (June 10, 2019) – Boater Robert Walser of Lexington, North Carolina, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) North Carolina Division tournament on High Rock Lake Saturday with five bass weighing 21 pounds, 13 ounces. With his win – his 13^th on the BFL circuit – Walser tied the BFL all-time wins record held by Dick Shaffer of Rockford, Ohio.

“I caught my fish flipping docks with a [Zoom] Z Craw and Z Hogs,” said Walser, who earned $6,141 for his victory – his second BFL win in 2019. “The Garmin Panoptix allowed me to see the brush under the docks – some had it and some didn’t, but it was nice to know where it was when I was flipping. I rotated through three colors, which were darker colors and green-pumpkins. My bait choice depended on the water color and sky conditions.

“I primarily fished mid-lake, which encompassed five of the creeks I fished,” continued Walser. “The water was low enough where you could get under the bridges, which hasn’t happened in a while. That allowed me to spread out a bit more.”

Walser fished an 8-foot Lamiglas 806 flipping stick with a Pflueger Supreme XT Low Profile casting reel, spooled with 20-pound-test Berkley Trilene fluorocarbon line. He flipped with a 5/16-ounce Eco Pro tungsten weight with a 3/0-sized Berkley Fusion19 Superline EWG hook.

“I caught at least three to four limits out there, and had my first five in the boat before 9 [a.m.],” said Walser.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

               1^st:          Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 21-13, $4,141 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

               2^nd:         Dylan Fulk, Mount Pleasant, N.C., five bass, 21-5, $1,517

               2^nd:         Michael Stephens, Gastonia, N.C., five bass, 21-5, $1,867

               4^th:          Wyatt Hammond, Fayetteville, N.C., five bass, 19-5, $850

               5^th:          Mike Winchester, Bryson City, N.C., five bass, 19-1, $728

               6^th:          Craig Chambers, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 18-8, $668

               7^th:          Junior Allen, Biscoe, N.C., five bass, 18-0, $607

               8^th:          Byron Brush, Rockwell, N.C., five bass, 17-7, $546

               9^th:          Jody Wright, Ellenboro, N.C., five bass, 17-6, $485

               10^th:        Brian File, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 17-3, $425

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Stephen Cannon of Wilkesboro, North Carolina, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $475.

Johnny Guffey of Bessemer City, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division and $1,820 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 14 pounds, 7 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

               1^st:          Johnny Guffey, Bessemer City, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $1,820

               2^nd:         Ricky McCrary, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 14-1, $910

               3^rd:          Tommy Swicegood, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 13-10, $607

               4^th:          Tyler Austin, Cornelius, N.C., five bass, 12-13, $425

               5^th:          Dale Webber, Kernersville, N.C., four bass, 12-1, $464

               6^th:          Grant McPeters, Marion, N.C., five bass, 11-13, $534

               7^th:          Mark Murphy, Salisbury, N.C., four bass, 10-15, $288

               7^th:          Jonathan Carter, Greenville, S.C., four bass, 10-15, $288

               9^th:          John Wiese, Charlotte, N.C., five bass, 10-13, $243

               10^th:        Khris Williams, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 10-7, $212

Greg Deal of China Grove, North Carolina, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 7 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $237.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina, presented by Navionics. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.