Robert Walser is trying to complete possibly the first hat trick in Walmart BFL competition by qualifying for regional championships from the North Carolina, South Carolina and Piedmont Divisions in the next couple of weeks.

The Lexington, N.C., angler kicked off his quest for the rare bass fishing trifecta with a 22^nd place finish in the Piedmont Division BFL super tournament last weekend on Kerr/Bugs Island. He moves on this weekend to the North Carolina Division BFL super tournament on High Rock Lake, just 20 minutes from his home. And he will wrap up his challenge with the South Carolina BFL super tournament Sept. 29 on Clarks Hill Lake.

If he stays in the top 40 in each division he will move on to the Regional Championships. South Carolina qualifiers go to Kerr Lake Oct. 11-13, North Carolina qualifiers go to Pickwick Lake Oct. 18-20 and Piedmont qualifiers go to Cherokee Lake on Oct. 4-6.

The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and 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 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.

Walser has a stellar career in BFL competition. He was Angler of the Year in the South Carolina Division in 1999 and 2000, and has been in the top 10 in points eight times since 1995. He was Angler of the Year in the Piedmont Division in 2007 and 2011 and has been in the top 10 in five of the 10 years he fished that division And he has been in the top 10 in the North Carolina Division four of the six years he has fished that division.

He is ranked 5^th and is the top money winner this year in the North Carolina Division, with $3,505. He is 34^th in the Piedmont Division and 26^th in the S.C. Division

“I have not been on High Rock at all,” Walser said. “I fished that Piedmont Division BFL at Buggs Island two weeks ago and then I went to Tennessee this past weekend because I’d never been to Lake Cherokee. I am hoping I can get to High Rock and practice Thursday.”

Walser said that although he has not fished High Rock in three weeks, he has heard that the fishing has got tough.

“We’ve had a lot of rain, so it is probably going to come back up some. I don’t know how much it will muddy up, but I am pretty sure it will get muddy,” he said. “I am going to fish shallow regardless, so it is just a matter of finding some fish.”

Walser said his practice strategy will be to look for some shallow fish because the water is coming up. With between 2 and 3 inches of rain since Sunday, he expects the lake to rise 8 to 10 inches by tournament time.

“I will not be shocked if it takes 16 to 18 pounds a day, so it probably will take 35 pounds for the two days. I won’t be shocked either if it takes at least 12 pounds just to get a check.”

Although he qualified in the final Piedmont Division tournament on Kerr, Walser uncharacteristically did not earn a check in that tournament. The break-point for earning a check was 10 pounds and he finished with four bass that weighed a total of 6 pounds.

“I had them eat a trailer off a jig. I had fish come two thirds of the way to the boat and come off. I was just losing fish and could not put it together for some reason. Normally I do good at Bugs, but I sure did not that weekend.”

His chances of completing the hat trick, however, are a pretty safe bet. All he has to do at Clarks Hill, for instance, is catch one keeper fish and he will make the regional. And then it will be off to the races in all three divisions

He will head to Clarks Hill next week, then go straight to Cherokee. Then he will come home, “change clothes and go straight to Bugs Island. I think I will get to work three days total in October I’ve got those three week-long regionals if I make the last one – and I’ll be a day late to practice for every one of them,” he said.

“I’ve got three chances to win a boat, motor and trailer and they take six from each regional to the All American, so I’ve got 18 chances to make the All American,” he said. “That puts the odds in my favor, but some years it seems like I do everything right and other years I wonder if I can make it to the boat ramp, but one thing is for sure – I can’t make it if I stay home.”

 

Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) – North Carolina Division

Sep 22-23, 2012

High Rock Lake

Tamarac Marina

www.flwoutdoors.com