Freeze Wins Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division on Badin Lake
OutdoorHub 03.24.14
Maurice Freeze of Concord, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League Piedmont Division tournament of 2014 on Badin Lake. For his victory, Freeze earned $6,056.
“I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to win another one,” said Freeze, whose last BFL victory came back in 2010. “My son plays baseball and I’ve been spending more time with him than fishing to be honest.”
Freeze said that he targeted shallow pockets with docks and grass with a Shooter Lures jig to earn the victory.
“I don’t know that they were actually spawning, but where they were sitting it’s very likely,” Freeze explained. “The water is still pretty cold, but where they were sitting is a prime location during the spawn.
“I didn’t really catch a bunch per say. I only culled about five times. That lake is full of big fish, though, and I really thought it would take over 22 pounds to win. I was kind of surprised to win.”
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: David Farrington, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 19-4, $1,878
3rd: Todd Gibson, Archdale, N.C., five bass, 19-2, $1,253
4th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 16-4, $876
5th: Chad Poteat, Mount Airy, N.C., five bass, 15-3, $751
6th: Dean Talbert, Albemarle, N.C., five bass, 14-9, $689
7th: Mark Inman, Greensboro, N.C., three bass, 14-8, $626
8th: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 14-7, $563
9th: Chris Marshall, Forest City, N.C., three bass, 14-5, $501
10th: Dennis Reedy, Siler City, N.C., four bass, 13-13, $438
Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Robert Timms of Middletown, Conn., weighed in four bass totaling 12 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win $1,878 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: David Bullock, Durham, N.C., five bass, 11-9, $939
3rd: James Morrow, Murphy, N.C., three bass, 9-7, $627
4th: Jim Venable, Welcome, N.C., two bass, 9-0, $438
5th: David Reid, Browns Summit, N.C., two bass, 7-10, $376
6th: Robert Barrett, Youngsville, N.C., four bass, 7-9, $344
7th: Anthony Spivey, Aynor, S.C., two bass, 7-0, $313
8th: Michael Thomas, Pittsboro, N.C., three bass, 6-10, $282
9th: Otto Hecht, Jacksonville, N.C., three bass, 6-8, $250
10th: Jeffery Farmer, Jacksonville, N.C., one bass, 6-7, $219
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, 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 40 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 presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
