(Oct. 23, 2012 - NATCHITOCHES, LA.)... Pete Lowe of Woodworth, La., won the Walmart Bass Fishing League (BFL) Regional on the Red River with a three-day total of 15 bass totaling 40 pounds, 2 ounces. For his victory, Lowe 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 Arkie, Cowboy, Mississippi and Okie divisions.
"This tournament was definitely the biggest win that I have ever had, said Lowe. "It feels excellent, and I can’t wait to fish the All-American.
"I fished exclusively in Pool 3, where we launched out of," said Lowe. "I really didn’t want to gamble with the locks, and I knew from my practice period that I had four or five good areas to fish. I fished the Colfax end of the pool and targeted ledges, fishing everywhere from 5 to 19 feet.
"Every day I would start out by making a 30-minute run to what turned out to be my primary area," Lowe continued. "I would get my best fish early on a crappie-colored Bandit Series 200 crankbait. I would catch an early limit- the latest that I filled out my limit was 9:45 a.m. Then I would move and fish my other areas and I would cull a few and gain a few pounds.
"The crankbait bite would slow down in the afternoon," Lowe said. "That’s when I would switch to a Okeechobee Craw-colored Xcite Baits Raptor Craw or a watermelon red-colored Zoom Speed Worm. Conserving my fish was extremely important to me, and that’s why I moved around. I wanted to save my fish so I didn’t burn them up until the final day. I mainly just targeted the grass and scattered stumps that I could find on the river ledges."
Despite catching 15 keepers a day and holding a comfortable 3-pound lead heading into the final day of competition, Lowe was still extremely nervous and stressed.
"I was so nervous that I didn’t eat at all on Friday, and not until after the tournament was over on Saturday," Lowe said. "I weighed myself when I got home and I lost six pounds because it was so nerve-wracking. I prayed so much for this, and I need to thank God for blessing me with this win."
The top six boaters that qualified for the BFL All-American were:
| 1st: | Pete Lowe | Woodworth, La. | 15 bass | 40-2 | Ranger Z518 with 200-horsepower outboard + Chevy 1500 Silverado |
| 2nd: | Brooke Morrison | Youngsville, La. | 15 bass | 33-2 | $1,500 |
| 3rd: | Craig Frilot | Breaux Bridge, La. | 15 bass | 31-1 | $1,100 |
| 4th: | Jason Cordell | Pelahatchie, Miss. | 15 bass | 30-15 | $1,000 |
| 5th: | Eric Poindexter | Eufaula, Okla. | 15 bass | 29-8 | $900 |
| 6th: | Shawn Gordon | Russellville, Ark. | 15 bass | 29-6 | $800 |
Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
| 7th: | Buzz Gallo | Moselle, Miss. | 15 bass | 27-6 | $700 |
| 8th: | Brock Mosley | Collinsville, Miss. | 12 bass | 27-2 | $650 |
| 9th: | Adam Wright | Benton, Ark. | 15 bass | 26-15 | $600 |
| 10th: | Kevin Lasyone | Dry Prong, La. | 15 bass | 26-10 | $550 |
Will Terrell of Memphis, Tenn., won the Co-angler Division with a three-day total of 15 bass totaling 27 pounds, 5 ounces. For his efforts, Terrell 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: | Will Terrell | Memphis, Tenn. | 15 bass | 27-5 | Ranger Z518 with 200-horsepower outboard |
| 2nd: | Jonathan Primeaux | Lake Charles, La. | 14 bass | 23-4 | $750 |
| 3rd: | William Dowden | Leesville, La. | 13 bass | 22-7 | $550 |
| 4th: | William Scott | Tahlequah, Okla. | 13 bass | 21-15 | $500 |
| 5th: | Tito Abiseid | Conway, Ark. | 12 bass | 21-14 | $450 |
| 6th: | Aaron Williams | Moss Point, Miss. | 14 bass | 21-9 | $400 |
Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
| 7th: | Dylan Duncan | Kansas, Okla. | 12 bass | 21-5 | $350 |
| 8th: | Ricky Dudley | Greenville, Miss. | 12 bass | 20-13 | $325 |
| 9th: | Bill Smith | Ocean Springs, Miss. | 14 bass | 20-1 | $300 |
| 10th: | Brad Reynolds | Lowell, Ark. | 11 bass | 19-1 | $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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