Although it would be extra special to win the BFL Super Tournament, Williams has already qualified for the BFL Regional Championship Oct. 9-11 on Lake Cherokee in Morristown, Tenn., through the Savannah River BFL Division.

So, right now he needs to focus on the upcoming B.A.S.S. Open because a shot at making the Bassmaster Classic is on the line.

“I love Lake Hartwell. I have probably won as much money at Lake Hartwell as I have at Lake Norman,” said Williams who lives at Maiden, N.C., just a little beyond a long cast from Lake Norman “I won a regional at Hartwell a couple of years ago, won a truck and a boat there. I’ve finished in the top five in BFLs on Hartwell, so it would definitely be a good opportunity to make the Classic there.”

But first there is the BFL Super Tournament on Lake Norman.

“I’ve not been on the lake very much this year. I went one day this week, the first time since May, and I found some fish. They are biting all right, but they are scattered. It will be typical fall fishing.”

Williams said anglers should be able to catch fish about any way they want to fish.

“I caught some fish shallow and I caught some deep, out to 25-30 feet deep. The bigger fish will come deeper,” he said, adding that the first thrust of cooler fall weather this week could change things.

“Summertime is probably the worst time to fish Norman, but it gets a lot better once the water cools off and the fish get more active,” he said. “The cooler weather helps make them get that urge to feed and they get off the Dog Days of Summer pretty quick.”

Williams is ranked 5^th in the Southern Open points. The top five from each Open division qualify to move up to the Elite Series, while the winner of an Open tournament automatically qualifies for the Classic.

Williams said he would love to take the big step up to fishing the Elite Series, “but that costs a lot of money and I am not loaded. It’s always been a dream of mine to fish the Elites, so if I got the opportunity and if I got the money I’d definitely do it.”

He’s also working to make the Bassmaster Classic through another route – the Carolinas Bass Challenge – for the Bassmaster Team Championship on DeGray Lake at Bismarck, Ark., in December. The top three teams there will break into six individual anglers to fish one day for one entry in the Classic.

Meantime, he is already qualified to move on to the BFL Regional at Lake Cherokee. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each of the 24 BFL divisions will 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 Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

 

Bassmaster Southern Open

Oct 2-4, 2014

Lake Norman

Blythe Landing

www.bassmaster.com