Some ‘really Good Fishermen’ In Bfl Wild Card On Lake Hartwell
Just because the Walmart Bass Fishing League Wild Card tournament on Lake Hartwell Nov. 13-14 is the last chance for BFL anglers to qualify for the 2016 BFL All American it doesn’t mean the 100-plus anglers in the tournament are stragglers just hoping for a chance to get in the big game.
There are some really good fishermen in the Wild Card who did not qualify for various reasons during the year, said tournament director Dave Maxfield.
“The thing about BFLs is that most of the guys who fish it work for a living and they fish when they can,” Maxfield said. These anglers have jobs and families that can interfere with hopes for qualifying for the All American, he added.
“A lot of things come into play with work. I have guys call me and say, ‘I work for the power company and we’ve had a big storm. I have to work.’ So they are not able to fish all the tournaments.”
Maxfield said an angler who fished at least two tournaments in a division, but paid for five tournaments, is eligible to fish the Wild Card.
“These were guys who did not finish in the top 50 and did not qualify for a regional, so this is their last chance. It’s kind of like being in The Chase in NASCAR. One bad tournament will do you in and you won’t make a regional. There are a lot of different scenarios for these guys to be in the Wild Card.”
He noted that these anglers have the option of fishing as a boater or a non-boater, no matter which they fished as during the year.
“You can fish all year as a boater and then when you get to the Wild Card you can fish as a non-boater, or vice versa. It comes down to what you prefer, what you think gives you the best chance of making the All American.”
A lot of good fishermen fail to qualify for the All American through the normal routes, but the Wild Card gives them a launching pad to have a successful ending to their year, he said.
For instance, last year Billy Schroeder of Paducah, Ky., finished 2nd in the Wild Card to advance to the All American on Kentucky Lake this year where he finished 2nd. Bobby D. Padgett of LaGrange, Ga., only fished three tournaments in the Bulldog Division, but he was 3rd in the Wild Card and moved on to the All American this year where he finished 7th.
Both Padgett and Schroeder will be among the 130 or so boaters fishing in the Wild Card on Lake Hartwell next week, Maxfield said.
“They are some really good fishermen. There are some really good sticks in this Wild Card.”
Walmart Bass Fishing League Wild Card
Nov 13-14, 2015
Lake Hartwell
Clemson Marina
