Thompson Wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division Tournament
MARBURY, Md. (May 16, 2005) - Boater Joseph Thompson of Ridley Park, Pa.,
earned $3,596 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League
Northeast Division event on the Potomac River. The tournament was the
first of five regular-season Northeast Division events and earned Thompson
200 points in the Boater Division.
Thompson's winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 7 ounces.
Thompson was fishing around grass with a Senko when he caught his bass.
Finishing second was Mike Hoskings of Dumfries, Va., with five bass
weighing 18 pounds that earned him $1,798. Timothy Hagerich of Carlisle,
Pa., claimed $1,177 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass
weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth was Ryan Park of Elizabethtown,
Pa., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces worth $915, and finishing
fifth and earning $752 was Jeff Stoner of Wellsville, Pa., with five bass
weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces.
Edward Trovato of Johnstown, Pa., took Boater Division big-bass award
honors, earning $545 for a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass. He caught his big bass
on a crankbait.
Hoskings earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award.
Paul Winters of Niskayuna, N.Y., earned $1,798 as the co-angler winner,
thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a
crankbait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Andy Miller of Burlington, N.J.
(five bass, 12 pounds, 13 ounces, $899); Jacob Kupselaitis of Wall, N.J.
(five bass, 12 pounds, 8 ounces, $587); Ted Morris of Malaga, N.J. (four
bass, 11 pounds, 12 ounces, $458); and Harold Bardroff of Lyndhurst, N.J.
(five bass, 11 pounds, 9 ounces, $376).
Larry Dupere of Ashville, N.Y., earned $273 as the co-angler big-bass
award winner with a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught on a Senko.
The Northeast Division's next event will be held June 25 on the
Chesapeake Bay near North East followed by an event on the Hudson River
near Catskill, N.Y., July 23. The fourth-qualifying event will be held on
the Potomac River near Marbury July 27. The Northeast Division will wrap
up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake
Hopatong near Cedar Knolls, N.J.
Following the regular season, the Northeast Division boater with the most
points will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha "Be the Best" points champion. The
co-angler amassing the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha "Be the
Best" points champion in the Co-angler Division.
Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points,
with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so
on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299
for second, 298 for third, and so on. The top 40 Northeast Division
boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to
the Kerr Lake Regional near Henderson, N.C., Oct. 18-22 where they will
compete against Empire, Mountain, and Music City division anglers for one
of six slots in the 2006 All-American.
The $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions
nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly
paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters
and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers. For
more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit
FLWOutdoors.com.
