Digh reels in BFL Regional win on Smith Mountain Lake
Brandon Booher wins co-angler title
HUDDLESTON, Va. – Rob Digh of Denver, N.C., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional on Smith Mountain Lake with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 30 pounds, 12 ounces. For his victory, Brummett won a 198VX Ranger boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor plus a Chevy 1500 Silverado and entry into the BFL All-American Championship tournament. This regional tournament featured the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from the Buckeye, Northeast, South Carolina and Volunteer divisions of the Walmart FLW BFL circuit.
“Around 10 a.m. Thursday morning, I didn’t have a fish,” said Digh. “I found a good spot to crank during practice earlier in the week, so I decided to stop back there even though water levels had risen after the storm passed through Tuesday night. Sure enough, I caught three keepers and 11 fish there the first day.
“The water had come up even more on the second day, and I knew it would change everything,” Digh continued. “The high water levels pushed the fish up shallow, so I caught all my fish using a jig and spinnerbait the last two days. My little crank hole got me off to a good start and gave me confidence because the first few hours were really tough.”
The remaining top six boaters and also qualifying for the BFL All-American were:
2nd: Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., 11 bass, 28-14, $1,500
3rd: Chris Martinkovic, Liberty Township, Ohio, nine bass, 27-0, $1,100
4th: Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., 12 bass, 25-8, $1,000
5th: Grayson Mathis, Aiken, S.C., 12 bass, 24-10, $900
6th: David Martin, Check, Va., nine bass, 17-6, $800
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
7th: James Hailstones, Cincinnati, Ohio, seven bass, 17-5, $700
8th: Kevin Edwards, Knoxville, Tenn., six bass, 17-4, $650
9th: Dave Lauer, McConnelsville, Ohio, six bass, 17-0, $600
10th: Allan Williams, Goose Creek, S.C., six bass, 15-6, $550
Brandon Booher of Bristol, Tenn., won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of six bass weighing 25 pounds, 12 ounces. He took home a 198VX Ranger boat including an Evinrude or Mercury outboard motor along with a berth in the BFL All-American Championship tournament.
The remaining top six co-anglers and also qualifying for the BFL All-American were:
2nd: Jason Yates, Dandridge, Tenn., nine bass, 20-15, $750
3rd: Jonathan Hankins, North Tazewell, Va., seven bass, 16-7, $550
4th: Brandon Temples, Ninety Six, S.C., seven bass, 14-15, $500
5th: Bobby Drinnon, Rogersville, Tenn., six bass, 14-10, $450
6th: Craig Dubois, Sprakers, N.Y., eight bass, 13-13, $400
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
7th: Greg Bierman, Cincinnati, Ohio, seven bass, 11-2, $350
8th: Frank Appaluccio, Sparta, N.J., six bass, 10-9, $325
9th: Jeff Warren, Lansdale, Pa., three bass, 9-9, $300
10th: Bryan C. Morton, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 8-8, $275
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 one of six regional tournaments and are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifes 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 EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
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About FLW Outdoors
FLW Outdoors is the largest tournament-fishing organization in the world, offering anglers worldwide the opportunity to compete for millions over the course of 191 tournaments in 2011. FLW Outdoors has taken fishing mainstream with the world’s richest fantasy sports game, FLW Fantasy Fishing at FantasyFishing.com, where competitors can play for free as well as sign up for Player’s Advantage to gain an edge.