Lex Costas of Daniel Island, S.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 32 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win the first Walmart Bass Fishing League South Carolina Division tournament of 2014 on Santee Cooper. For his victory, Costas earned $3,255.

Costas, a former guide on Santee Cooper, used his local knowledge to bring in the massive limit that would have topped any single day catch in the Rayovac FLW Series event held just one week before.

      “I never thought I would catch 32 pounds,” said Costas. “You always hope to of course, and it was certainly nice to do.”

      Costas said that he fished an area with current to start the day, and caught part of his limit there with a white bucktail jig. He said he finished his limit and culled a few times by targeting other pre-spawn areas in 6 to 12 feet of water with Yamamoto Senkos and a medium-diving crankbait.

      “I caught fish in five different places,” explained Costas. “We just bounced around and picked up one fish here and two fish there. Other than our first stop we didn’t catch more than two fish anywhere.

      “It felt great,” said Costas of his win. “I’ve come close quite a few times. I’m happy to finally get one under my belt.”

      Rounding out the top 10 pros were:

            2nd:   Kyle Giella, Irmo, S.C., five bass, 22-9, $1,628

            3rd:   Ken Ellis, Bowman, S.C., five bass, 19-13, $1,084

            4th:    Ron Brown, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 19-5, $760

            5th:    Anthony Colacurcio, Mount Pleasant, S.C., five bass, 18-9, $651

            6th:    Freddie Gamble Jr., Sumter, S.C., three bass, 18-8, $597

            7th:    Mark Curry, Conway, S.C., five bass, 17-12, $543

            8th:    Thomas Rubbo, Lexington, S.C., five bass, 17-3, $488

            9th:    Greg Rikard, Leesville, S.C., five bass, 16-8, $434

            10th:  Norm Attaway, Clearwater, S.C., five bass, 13-11, $380

      Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

      Lonnie Drusch of Sumter, S.C., weighed in a four bass totaling 15 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win $1,628 in the co-angler division.

      Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:

            2nd:   Carluss King, Galivants Ferry, S.C., three bass, 12-13, $814

            3rd:   Jack Daniel Hoy, Hollywood, S.C., five bass, 11-6, $542

            4th:    Mike Field, Columbia, S.C., two bass, 9-2, $380

            5th:    John King, Santee, S.C., three bass, 9-0, $326

            6th:    Tom Patten, Brandon, Vt., two bass, 7-8, $298

            7th:    Gregory Littles, Columbia, S.C., two bass, 5-14, $257

            7th:    Dale Webber, Kernersville, N.C., two bass, 5-14, $257

            9th:    Michael Petras, Summerville, S.C., two bass, 5-13, $217

            10th: Jamie Amerson, Savannah, Ga., three bass, 5-11, $190

      The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 2-4 Regional Championship on the James River in Richmond, Va. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C 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. The 2014 BFL All-American is being held June 5-7 on Wilson Lake in Florence, Ala. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.