(Oct. 23, 2012 - FLORENCE, Al.)... J.R. Henard of Rogersville, Tenn., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional on Pickwick Lake with a three-day total of 15 bass totaling 47 pounds, 3 ounces. For his victory, Henard won a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard plus a Chevy 1500 Silverado and entry into the BFL All-American presented by Chevy. This regional tournament featured the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each of the Bulldog, LBL, North Carolina and Volunteer divisions.
"It feels so good to finally get my first tournament win," said Henard. "It means everything to me to get to fish the All-American. I got to compete in that event in a few years ago, and once you get there it makes you fish that much harder to get back to it. To win that tournament is a life-changing moment."
Henard qualified for the All-American by fishing the famed Pickwick ledges throwing a Mann’s original Alabama rig.
"The Alabama rig was the key for me in this tournament," Henard said. "Every fish that I weighed in came on that rig. I have a lot of family in the area, and I got in a lot of practice time. I practiced more for this event than any other tournament in my life. I was only catching big fish when I threw the A-rig, and I knew that I was going to have to throw it in order to win it.
"I was fishing from Wilson Dam down to Waterloo," Henard continued. "I would start each day fishing the deep ledges in the lake, then in the afternoons I would move to the river and fish the river ledges and find the current.
Although all of Henard’s fish came on the rig, he did use different-sized weights and swimbaits to target different depths each day.
"The bite was very good every day," Henard went on to say. "I was catching 20 to 25 fish every day. I lost a 6-pounder on day one that really messed with my head, but I decided that I was on the right pattern and told myself to just keep fishing. On the final day, I caught two 5-pounders on one of my first casts. I knew then that I was going to have a great day."
The top six boaters that qualified for the BFL All-American were:
| 1st: | J.R. Henard | Rogersville, Tenn. | 15 bass | 47-3 | Ranger Z518 with 200-horsepower outboard + Chevy 1500 Silverado |
| 2nd: | Lloyd Pickett Jr. | Bartlett, Tenn. | 15 bass | 42-13 | $1,500 |
| 3rd: | David Williams | Maiden, N.C. | 15 bass | 42-7 | $1,100 |
| 4th: | Daniel Langston | Haubstadt, Ind. | 13 bass | 42-5 | $1,000 |
| 5th: | David Wright | Lexington, N.C. | 14 bass | 40-1 | $900 |
| 6th: | Joey Henderson | Mayfield, Ky. | 13 bass | 39-8 | $800 |
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 7th: | Bobby Padgett | LaGrange, Ga. | 15 bass | 37-7 | $700 |
| 8th: | Jeff Knight | Cleveland, Tenn. | 14 bass | 37-4 | $650 |
| 9th: | Tim Saylor | Johnson City, Tenn. | 12 bass | 34-12 | $600 |
| 10th: | Richard Bradford | Hoffman, N.C. | 15 bass | 34-9 | $550 |
Bryan Rupe of Mayfield, Ky., won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 10 bass totaling 29 pounds, 9 ounces. For his efforts, Rupe took home a Ranger Z518 with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard along with a berth in the BFL All-American.
The top six co-anglers that qualified for the BFL All-American were:
| 1st: | Bryan Rupe | Mayfield, Ky. | 10 bass | 29-9 | Ranger Z518 with 200-horsepower outboard |
| 2nd: | Daniel Buswell | Newnan, Ga. | 12 bass | 28-11 | $750 |
| 3rd: | Tim Cales | SandstoneW. Va. | 14 bass | 25-9 | $550 |
| 4th: | James Lee | Connelly Springs, N.C. | 11 bass | 25-6 | $500 |
| 5th: | Kevin Hughes | Bristol, Va. | 13 bass | 25-3 | $450 |
| 6th: | Jim Neece | Bristol, Va. | 13 bass | 24-7 | $400 |
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 8th: | Tommy Fraiser | Booneville, Miss. | 11 bass | 22-7 | $325 |
| 9th: | Charles Ellis | Knoxville, Tenn. | 10 bass | 20-7 | $300 |
| 10th: | Tim Cummings | Waynesboro, Tenn. | 11 bass | 20-6 | $275 |
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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter/FLWOutdoors.
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