Mahan best boater on Chesapeake Bay

ELKTON, Md. – Boater Howard Mahan of Oxford, Pa., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division tournament on Chesapeake Bay Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 19 pounds, 5 ounces. The victory earned Mahan $3,599 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Oct. 11-13 Potomac River Regional Championship in Marbury, Md., where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Mahan caught his bass flipping a jig into shallow cover to get his quality-size bag to win the event.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Joseph Thompson of Ridley Park, Pa. (five bass, 16-15, $2,118); Richard Haber Jr. of Severn, Md. (five bass, 14-14, $1,413); Bill Schultz of Williamstown, N.J. (five bass, 14-8, $988); and Brian Laclair of Denton, Md. (five bass, 14-5, $847).

Geoff Evans of Turnersville, N.J., took home the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, earning $590 for a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass.

David Wilder of Baltimore, Md., earned $2,118 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to four bass weighing 13 pounds, 7 ounces that he caught flipping a jig.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are John Franchetta of Bridgeton, N.J. (four bass, 13-0, $1,059); Anthony Ebel of Davidson, Md. (five bass, 11-1, $706); William Abey of Millington, Md. (five bass, 10-8, $494); and Olexiy Luchnikov of Brooklyn, N.Y. (five bass, 9-7, $424).

Wilder earned $295 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass.

The Northeast Division’s next event will be Aug. 18 on the Chesapeake Bay in Kingsville, Md. The final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 8-9 on the Hudson River in Catskills, N.Y.

Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Potomac River Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the 2008 All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.

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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 will offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.

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 Walmart.com.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.