Blankenship locked up his second BFL win of the year by catching the biggest bag of the tournament on the first day and maintaining his lead on the second.

     On the first day, Blankenship fished shallow bushes and laydowns up the river for his big bag. “I laid off the fish early on Saturday thinking I could come back and catch them again Sunday,” said Blankenship. “But the water level fell 6 or 8-inches and those fish relocated.

     “Sunday I caught all my fish on shallow docks in the main lake,” said Blankenship. “I knew I was going to give the tournament away if I didn’t adjust.”

     Blankenship said he caught his fish on a Zoom Super Hog and a Zoom Brush Hog.

            2nd:   James Wall, Greensboro, N.C., 10 bass, 31-12, $2,598

            3rd:   Wayne Hauser, Mooresville, N.C., 10 bass, 31-10, $1,733

            4th:    Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 30-7, $1,213

            5th:    Tommy Jones, Salisbury, N.C., 10 bass, 29-8, $1,039

            6th:    Jeremy Talbert, Albemarle, N.C., 10 bass, 29-4, $953

            7th:    Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., 10 bass, 28-7, $866

            8th:    Dwayne Hughes, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 27-11, $780

            9th:    Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., 10 bass, 27-8, $693

            10th: Robert Walser, Lexington, N.C., 10 bass, 26-2, $606 + $300 Evinrude Bonus

     Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

     Lawrence Aucoin of Durham, N.C., weighed in eight bass totaling 24 pounds, 5 ounces Sunday to win $2,599 in the co-angler division.

     Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:

            2nd:   Justin Bach, Kannapolis, N.C., eight bass, 22-14, $1,299

            3rd:   Tim Cales, Sandstone, W. Va., eight bass, 19-14, $867

            4th:    Orlando Giles, Lexington, N.C., eight bass, 19-9, $606

            5th:    Chip Crews, Thomasville, N.C., eight bass, 18-1, $520

            6th:    Joseph Westmoreland, Greensboro, N.C., six bass, 16-3, $476

            7th:    Kenneth Rippey, Galax, Va., six bass, 14-14, $433

            8th:    Brian Nappier, Cornelius, N.C., six bass, 13-2, $390

            9th:    Greg Deal, China Grove, N.C., five bass, 12-4, $346

            10th: Johnathan Wall, Lowgap, N.C., five bass, 11-13, $303

     The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 Regional Championship on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga. 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.

     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 EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.