MARBURY, Md. – Boater Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., earned $2,527 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division event on the Potomac River. The tournament was the fourth of five regular-season Northeast Division events and earned Powroznik 200 points in the Boater Division.
Powroznik’s winning catch of five bass weighed 14 pounds, 8 ounces. He threw tube baits and jigs around grass in 3 to 5 feet of water to catch his bass.
Finishing second was Gerald Beck of Lexington, N.C., with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 13 ounces that earned him $1,264. Joe Hunt of Lincoln University, Pa., claimed $825 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 6 ounces. In fourth was Christopher Dalfonso of Bellmawr, N.J., with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 2 ounces worth $643, and finishing fifth and earning $528 was Mark Hardy of Mechanicsville with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce.
Russell Colwell of Baltimore took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $320 for a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a War Eagle spinnerbait.
Kevin Smith of Upper Darby, Pa., earned $1,264 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces that he caught on a Wal-Mart FLW Tour Rabbit Dog spinnerbait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Di Ienno of Thorofare, N.J. (four bass, 9 pounds, $632); Charles Donahue of Smyrna, Del. (four bass, 7 pounds, 12 ounces, $414); Brian Keister of Sicklerville, N.J. (three bass, 7 pounds, $322); and Kurt Deuter of Williamstown, N.J. (three bass, 6 pounds, 15 ounces, $264).
Robert Wolf of Ambler, Pa., earned $160 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass he caught on a Berkley red shad worm.
The Northeast Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hopatcong 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. 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 $8.4 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 browse FLWOutdoors.com.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League and seven other national tournament circuits offering a combined $30 million in awards through 214 events in 2005. The 27-year-old organization is the purveyor of America’s largest and most prestigious fishing tournaments, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1997 and today is the title sponsor of all FLW Outdoors events. For more information on Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.