Pfleckl wins Northeast Division event on Cayuga Lake

SENECA FALLS, N.Y. – John Pfleckl of Jessup, Pa., earned $5,000 Saturday as winner of the third regular-season Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division event, held on Cayuga Lake near Seneca Falls. He caught five bass weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces to claim the win and 200 points in the Boater Division.

Pfleckl caught his tournament-winning bass on a blue/white medium-diving Norman crankbait. He was fishing the crankbait at different depths around weeds in the midlake area. Pfleckl’s other career top-five BFL finish came at Cayuga Lake in 1998, when he finished 10th.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Bob Salotti of Geneva (five bass, 17 pounds, $2,500); Kenneth Witter of Pine Valley (five bass, 16 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,700); Mark Fann of Clewiston, Fla. (five bass, 16 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,300); and Vincent Brock of Rochester (five bass, 15 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,100).

Fann also earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. William Buncy of Depew earned Boater Division big-bass honors and $1,000 with a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass he caught on a black and red Wacky Worm.

John Fenstermacher of Bloomsburg, Pa., claimed $2,500 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a five-bass catch weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce that he caught on a 5-inch green Senko.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Chris Boyle of Brackney, Pa. (four bass, 12 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,250); Joseph Zohil of Perkasie, Pa. (four bass, 11 pounds, 15 ounces, $850); Sean Lloyd of Springfield, Mass. (five bass, 11 pounds, 14 ounces, $650); and Perry Haas of Shillington, Pa. (four bass, 11 pounds, 9 ounces, $550).

Russell Awad of Brooklyn earned $500 as the co-angler big-bass winner thanks to a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass he caught on a 4 1/2-inch green pumpkin tube.

The Northeast Division’s next stop will be Aug. 21 on Thousand Islands in Clayton, and the regular season will come to a close Sept. 11-12 with a two-day Super Tournament on Chautauqua Lake in Bemus Point.

Following the regular season, the top 30 boaters and 30 co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Kerr Lake regional near Henderson, N.C., Oct. 5-9, where they will compete against anglers from the Buckeye, Carolina and Savannah River divisions for one of six slots in the 2005 All-American. With a $100,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $50,000 to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in competitive bass fishing.

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. These points determine angler standings. The Northeast Division boater who amasses the most points at the end of the regular season will earn $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader, and the co-angler earning the most points will earn $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points leader in the Co-angler Division.

The $6.3 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 24 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 this Web site.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors sponsors and for more information about the premier products and services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com’s sponsor page.