Mahood masters Hudson River in BFL tourney

CATSKILL, N.Y. – Boater Joseph Mahood of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., earned $3,247 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division event on the Hudson River. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Northeast Division events and earned Mahood 200 points in the Boater Division.

Mahood’s winning catch of five bass weighed 17 pounds, 11 ounces.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Donald Muir of Nottingham, Md. (five bass, 14 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,623); Brian Baranowski of Manchester, Conn. (five bass, 13 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,082); Daniel Downer of Conowingo, Md., (four bass, 12 pounds, 14 ounces, $758) and Terry Roberson of Williamstown, N.J. (five bass, 12 pounds, 10 ounces, $649).

Baranowski also took home an additional $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Chris Panetta of Red Hook, N.Y. earned $390 as the Boater Division big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass.

Derik Gardella of Hackettstown, N.J., won the Co-angler Division to earn $1,582 thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 15 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Merrill Showers of New Columbia, Pa. (five bass, 9 pounds, $791); Joel Radner of Wilbraham, Ma. (three bass, 8 pounds, 3 ounces, $526); Jeremy Landry of Waterford, N.Y. (four bass, 7 pounds, 14 ounces, $369); and Steven Wannberg of Wilmington, Del. Tied with Brian Wisniewski of South Amboy, N.J. (four bass, 7 pounds, 11 ounces, $303).

James Canning of Meriden, Conn., earned $190 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 4-pound, 6-ounce bass.

The Northeast Division’s next event will take place on Chesapeake Bay near Elkton, Md., Aug. 19. The Northeast Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 9-10 with a two-day Super Tournament, the divisions fifth and final event, on the Potomac River near LaPlata, Md.

Following the regular season, the boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 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 Smith Mountain Regional near Moneta, Va., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Empire, North Carolina and Piedmont anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.8 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 browse FLWOutdoors.com.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.