Hunt outfishes field at Super Tournament on Lake Hopatcong

Boater Joe Hunt of Lincoln University, Pa., earned $3,580 as winner of the BFL Northeast Division Super Tournament event on Lake Hopatcong. Angler: Joe Hunt.

September 18, 2005 • MLF • Archives

CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J. – Boater Joe Hunt of Lincoln University, Pa., earned $3,580 Sunday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division Super Tournament event on Lake Hopatcong. The tournament earned Hunt 300 points in the Boater Division.

Hunt’s winning catch of 10 bass weighed 22 pounds, 11 ounces.

Finishing second was Robert Soley of Ewing, with nine bass weighing 20 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him $1,747. Skip Lerman of Andover, claimed $852 as the third-place finisher thanks to 10 bass weighing 19 pounds, 6 ounces. In fourth was Richard Martin Jr. of Sparrows Point, Md., with seven bass weighing 14 pounds worth $767, and finishing fifth and earning $682 was Brian Wittig of Andover, with nine bass weighing 14 pounds.

Lerman took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $460 for a 3-pound, 10-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on Berkley Gulp Sinking Minnow. He also received an additional $500 for being the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup program.

John Graybill of Columbia, Pa., bested the other Co-angler Division competitors to earn $1,790 as the co-angler winner, thanks to six bass weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Sean Webber of Plainfield (four bass, 8 pounds, 13 ounces, $873); Peter Rathjens of Wharton (seven bass, 7 pounds, 14 ounces, $873); George Rovnak Jr. of Rahway (four bass, 5 pounds, 14 ounces, $383); and Charles Ringle of Fairfield (five bass, 5 pounds, 12 ounces, $341).

Frederick Salzman, earned $230 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 3-pound, 10-ounce bass.

Hunt earned $1,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Northeast Boater Division. Brian Keister of Sicklerville earned $500 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Northeast Co-angler Division.

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.