SALISBURY, N.C. – Steve Sink of Winston-Salem, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 21 pounds, 5 ounces Saturday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League North Carolina Division tournament on High Rock Lake. For his victory, Lowe earned $3,632 plus a $2,000 Ranger Cup and a $1,000 Evinrude bonus.
“Practice does not always equate to victory; I got lucky in this one,” said Sink. “My practice was not great. It was my history on this lake that really gave me the victory on Saturday. During practice I was fishing deep but couldn’t catch a thing, so I stayed shallow. On Saturday the shallow bite was gone, so I fished a community hole (that was about 10 feet deep) and had a limit within 30 minutes. I stayed there for another hour before I left. I did cull one fish after that I caught on a pier, but other than that all the bass came from that one hole.”
According to Sink, water is drawn from the lake during the week, which tends to keep the bass shallow. On the weekends, when water is not being drawn, the fish tend to go deep.
“If it happens, it happens real fast,” continued Sink. “The hole was over rocks, and I was using a brown and green pumpkin jig along with a green pumpkin lizard to catch my fish.”
Rounding out the top 10 boaters were:
2nd: James Blankenship, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 20-0, $1,816
3rd: David Wright, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 16-12, $1,210
4th: Todd Harris, Pfafftown, N.C., five bass, 15-14, $847
5th: Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 15-13, $726 plus $1,000 Evinrude bonus
6th: Derek Tolley, Winston-Salem, N.C., four bass, 14-8, $666
7th: Wayne Hauser, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 13-5, $605
8th: Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 12-9, $545
9th: Jeff Gore, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 12-7, $484 10th: David Williams, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 12-2, $424
Scott Sellers of Anderson, S.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 14 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,816 in the co-angler division.
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Thomas Jones, Kannapolis, N.C., four bass, 11-10, $908
3rd: Jerry Hayden, Charlotte, N.C., three bass, 10-15, $606
4th: Marty Williams, Thomasville, N.C., four bass, 10-13, $424
5th: Tommy Swicegood, Salisbury, N.C., four bass, 10-0, $363
6th: Frank Brinegar, Salisbury, N.C., three bass, 8-14, $333
7th: Bobby Henderson, Charlotte, N.C., four bass, 7-9, $303
8th: Dean Minor, Trinity, N.C., three bass, 7-4, $272
9th: Chris Nelson, Social Circle, Ga., three bass, 7-3, $242
10th: Dean Majors, Durham, N.C., four bass, 6-13, $212
The next BFL North Carolina Division tournament is scheduled for Sept. 22-23 on High Rock Lake in Salisbury, N.C. After the fifth North Carolina Division tournament is complete, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 18-20 Regional Championship on Pickwick Lake in Florence, Ala. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.