A dozen years ago Jeff Salmon was getting his feet wet in the Walmart BFL Piedmont Division, and learning about tournament fishing.

But life happens. He and his wife welcomed several children into the world and tournament fishing was relegated to the back burner. He competed sporadically for the next decade or so.

This year he was able to return to tournaments full time and he made that return a successful one. The Chester, Va., angler is leading the Piedmont Division points race by 24 points going into the final two-day divisional tournament this weekend on Kerr/Buggs Island. But he knows the points title is not a done deal at this point.

“The guys behind me are no slouches, that’s for sure. I have to do pretty well this weekend to hold on.”

Nipping at Salmon’s heels are Chris Baldwin of Lexington, N.C., and Jeff Gore of Lynchburg, Va., both tied with 732 points, 24 behind Salmon.

“I have not been down there since this spring,” Salmon said. “I plan to get down there sometime Thursday and kick around the lake a little bit just to see what’s happening with the fish. The weather patterns are changing, with some rain and storms coming, so there is no telling what the fish will be doing in the tournament.”

Salmon said Buggs Island, which is about an hour and a half away from his home, is his favorite lake because of its size.

“You can get away from the crowd on that lake. You can go down and fish all day and not see another boat – and that’s why I love it. I live on the tidal James River so I love the opportunity to catch fish anyway you want. It gives you a chance to fish your strengths and figure out a way to make them bite.”

Salmon said he is used to fishing muddy, moving water on the tidal James River.

“It doesn’t matter if you are fishing six inches deep or six feet. And that is a great thing about Buggs Island. You can catch them in six inches of water every day of the year. That’s what makes that place so wonderful.”

A shallow water angler, Salmon said the lake is about 4 feet below normal pool this time of year, which tends to group up the fish, but it also changes the way the lake fishes.

“I am hoping the rain pushes some new water in. I want to find the new, moving water, and I hope to find some dirtier water, get in some new flooded stuff and work the banks to find out what they are doing. That kind of lake you can catch fish shallow all year long, even in the clearer water.”

But, if the fish are not shallow Salmon plans to cover his bases.

“I’ll start there and then work my way out and figure out what areas they are holding in. Then I’ll make some adjustments. If they are in 6 to 7 feet of water then that is what will happen.”

Salmon returned full time to tournament fishing this year with a foot in both major organization’s schedules. He is not only fishing the FLW’s Piedmont BFL circuit, he also competed on the Bassmaster Northern Open trail.

“I did okay, but I could have done a lot better,” said Salmon who finished 58^th in Northern Open points. He earned a check in the Northern Open tournament on the James River, but finished far down in the pack in the two Opens on northern waters, including Cayuga lake in New York and the Detroit River in Michigan. He said, however, those experiences will help him in his tournament fishing, even in Southern waters.

“I got into more finesse fishing and with drop shot fishing in the Northern Opens and I got a little better with those techniques. That might be something I could employ if the bite gets real tough.”

Salmon said he plans to expand his tournament experiences by fishing the Southern Opens also next year, along with the FLW’s EverStart Series.

The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each BFL 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.

 

Walmart Bass Fishing League – Piedmont Division

Sep 8-9, 2012

Kerr / Buggs Island Lake

Nutbush Access – Kerr Lake State Recreation

www.flwoutdoors.com