Hoskings wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Tournament on Potomac River

WOODBRIDGE, Va. – Mike Hoskings, 33, of Dumfries, Va., outpaced 200 competitors Saturday with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 14 ounces to win $6,000 and 200 points on the boater side of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (BFL) Piedmont Division tournament on the Potomac River.

Richard Greene of Fayetteville, N.C., and Rick Calahan of Clarksville, Va., tied for the boater Big Bass Award and collected $500 each with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass. Greene caught his big bass while fishing docks, and Calahan caught his big bass out of a grassy flat.

First place in the Co-Angler Division and $3,000 went to Ed Copenhaver, 50, of Mount Airy, Md., who topped 200 competitors with four bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces.

Johnny Wheeler of Keysville, Va., won the co-angler Big Bass Award of $500 with a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass that he caught on a Berkley worm while fishing wood cover in Aquia Creek.

Boater Chris Baldwin of Lexington, N.C., won $500 as the highest finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. He finished in third place with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 7 ounces.

The BFL will visit Kerr Lake on June 16 for the third of five events in the Piedmont Division. The boater with the most points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 22-23 on Kerr Lake, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.

The top 30 boaters and top 30 co-anglers in the Piedmont Division will advance to regional competition Oct. 9-13 on Chautauqua Lake near Jamestown, N.Y., where they will go up against top competitors from the Northeast, Buckeye and Michigan divisions for a shot at qualifying for the $250,000 All-American.

Awards for the 2001 BFL season could reach $5.7 million based on full fields at each tournament.