Timberlake’s Hinger Wins Co-angler Title
Local boater Phillip Hedrick of Salisbury, North Carolina, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 24 pounds, 13 ounces Saturday to win the 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division event at High Rock Lake. For his victory, Hedrick earned $3,804.
According to post-tournament reports, Hedrick caught his fish in the main creeks – mainly Second Creek and Crane Creek – with a black Zoom Ol’ Monster worm.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Phillip Hedrick, Salisbury, N.C., five bass, 24-13, $3,804
2nd: Jeffrey Davis, Williamston, N.C., five bass, 18-11, $1,902
3rd: Brandon McLeod, Spring Lake, N.C., five bass, 18-6, $1,267
4th: James Wall, Greensboro, N.C., five bass, 18-5, $888
5th: Steve Sink, Winston-Salem, N.C., five bass, 17-10, $761
6th: Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton, N.C., five bass, 17-5, $897
7th: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 17-3, $734
8th: Kevin Chandler, New London, N.C., five bass, 16-6, $571
9th: Cole Huskins, Mount Holly, N.C., five bass, 16-2, $507
10th: Ladd Whicker, Winston-Salem, N.C., five bass, 15-15, $444
Ricky McCrary of Lexington, North Carolina, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds even – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to also earn the Boater’s Big Bass award of $505.
Jason Hinger of Timberlake, North Carolina, won the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces. Hinger earned $2,102 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Jason Hinger, Timberlake, N.C., five bass, 15-8, $2,102
2nd: Tim Privette Jr, Wendell, N.C., five bass, 13-4, $951
3rd: Chad Coley, New London, N.C., five bass, 11-7, $684
4th: Robert Ford, Boones Mill, Va., three bass, 11-1, $444
5th: Wayne Smelser, Rural Retreat, Va., four bass, 10-14, $380
6th: Josea Goble, Newton, N.C., four bass, 10-10, $349
7th: Dekle Taylor, Monroe, N.C., five bass, 10-7, $317
8th: Samuel Smith, Lexington, N.C., four bass, 10-5, $285
9th: Craig Wheeler, King George, Va., four bass, 10-1, $254
10th: Steven Jacobs, Sandford, N.C., five bass, 9-15, $222
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 18-20 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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 BFL All-American. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
