Wines takes top slot in Super Tournament on Potomac River

LAPLATA, Md. – Boater Barton Wines of Warrenton, Va., earned 300 points and $5,077 Sunday as the winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Norhteast Division Super Tournament on the Potomac River. He also earned a $1,000 Ranger Cup bonus for a total of $6,077 in winnings.

Wines’ two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 26 pounds, 15 ounces. He was throwing a Zoom Green Pumpkin Brush Hog in and around submerged weedbeds to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Bryan Schmitt of Columbia, Md. (10 bass, 23 pounds, 2 ounces, $2,539); Bill Naron of Huntingtown, Md. (10 bass, 22 pounds, 11 ounces, $1,694); Richard Martin Jr. of Sparrows Point, Md., (seven bass, 20 pounds, 7 ounces, $1,185) and Doug Jenkins of Saint Leonard, Md. (10 bass, 19 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,015).

Timothy Hagerich of Carlisle, Pa., won the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award with a 4-pound, 13-ounce bass that earned him $637.

Brian Wisniewski of South Amboy, N.J., earned $2,539 as the co-angler winner thanks to seven bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught on a combination of finesse tackle and a Chatter Bait in submerged weedbeds.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Peter Yanni of Gaithersburg, Md. (eight bass, 15 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,269); Atsushi Nakahigashi of Chester, Va.. (eight bass, 14 pounds, 12 ounces, $846); Kevin Smith of Somerdale, N.J., (five bass, 13 pounds, 7 ounces, $592) and Gary McGill of Clear Springs, Md. (six bass, 12 pounds, $508).

Yanni earned an additional $319 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 4-pound, 6-ounce bass.

The top 40 Northeast boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will now advance to the no-entry-fee Smith Mountain Regional Championship near Moneta, Va., Oct. 19-21, where they will compete against Empire, North Carolina and Piedmont anglers for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck in the Boater Division plus six slots in the no-entry-fee 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash 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 Boater Division points champion who advances the farthest at the All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances the farthest will earn $5,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

For complete Northeast Division standings, check online at FLWOutdoors.com.

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.

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.

For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or browse FLWOutdoors.com.

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.