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WADDINGTON, N.Y. (Aug. 1) — David Walker turned in his heaviest bag of the weekend Saturday to vault up 10 positions to a much-needed 22nd-place result at the Evan Williams Bourbon Bassmaster Elite tournament on the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York.

The Cabela’s/GEICO For Your Boat angler followed up Thursday’s 17-pound, 3-ounce haul and Friday’s 15-pound, 12-ounce bag with another 17 pounds, 8 ounces Saturday for a three-day total of 50 pounds, 7 ounces.

“If I managed to fish like I did at this tournament at all the other ones I’d be thinking about Angler of the Year honors,” Walker said. “This is a very welcome result for me, especially after some of the stinkers I’ve had this season. I’m very happy and satisfied right now. No complaints.”

Walker caught a lot of smallmouth bass in a river system many believe to be the best smallmouth fishery in the country. Still, he points to a couple of key moments that defined his weekend.

“I caught a lot of fish but not because it was easy,” he said. “Gosh, I had to work for them all. A lot of fish here are close to the same size. An ounce here or there makes a big difference, which is why the leaderboard was so crowded, especially in the middle of the pack. You can catch 10-12 fish here every day, and trust me that doesn’t happen every tournament.

“I was right in the middle of the crowd Thursday, feeling like I needed to move up and late in the day I caught a nice 4-pounder that really kept me in it. That was a pivotal moment.

“Friday I had a dead fish in the well, unfortunately, so I was penalized. If that hadn’t happened I would have turned in another 17-pound bag, which could have made a big difference in staying on and fishing Sunday. The good news is the other fish were enough to keep me well above the cut line (in 32nd place).”

The fish kept coming Saturday with Walker able to cull four bass out for bigger ones.

“Just a solid day, a solid event overall,” Walker said. “I’m pretty happy.

“Truthfully, this is how the last two tournaments need to go for me at a minimum. I’ve already used up my mulligans. I need at least six more days of good finishing in two different states to make sure I make the cut for next year’s GEICO Bassmaster Classic. Even better, I’d like to have seven or eight more days of fishing. Then I know we’ll be doing good.”

Walker has a weekend off before hitting the water again at the Huk Performance Fishing Bassmaster Elite at Chesapeake Bay, Aug. 13-17, in Maryland.

David Walker turned in his heaviest bag of the weekend Saturday to vault up 10 positions to a much-needed 22nd-place result at the Evan Williams Bourbon Bassmaster Elite tournament.