Local boater Hoskings outfishes BFL field on Potomac River

Boater Mike Hoskings of Dumfries, Va., earned $4,195 May 21 as winner of the BFL Shenandoah Division event on the Potomac River. Angler: Mike Hoskings.

May 21, 2005 • MLF • Archives

DUMFRIES, Va. – Boater Mike Hoskings of Dumfries earned $4,195 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Shenandoah Division event on the Potomac River. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Shenandoah Division events and featured 136 boaters vying for the win, which earned Hoskings 200 points in the Boater Division. He also earned the $1,000 Ranger Cup award for a grand total of $5,195. Hoskings’ winning catch of five bass weighed 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

Finishing second was Mark Lacey of Baltimore, Md., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 12 ounces that earned him $2,097. Ernie Freeman of Gambrills, Md., claimed $1,373 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces. In fourth was Sparky Petersen of Laytonsville, Md., with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 8 ounces worth $1,068, and finishing fifth and earning $877 was Dale Simmons of Woodbridge with five bass weighing 14 pounds, 2 ounces.

Tommy Little of Chester took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $680 for a 6-pound, 4-ounce bass.

Christopher Foley of Philipsburg, Pa., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,087 thanks to five bass weighing 17 pounds, 11 ounces. Foley also caught the Co-angler Division big-bass award worth $335 for a grand total of $2,422 in earnings for the event.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Bryan Chatham of Fredericksburg (five bass, 14 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,044); Travis Adams of Bruceton Mills, W.V. (five bass, 14 pounds, 2 ounces, $683); Scott Goodson of Stafford (four bass, 12 pounds, 12 ounces, $531); and tied for fifth were Marty Sparger of Reston (five bass) and Joseph Thomson of Stephens City (four bass) with 11 pounds, 6 ounces and both earning $398.

The Shenandoah Division’s next event will be held June 25 on Lake Gaston near Bracy, followed by an event on the James River near Richmond, July 30. The Shenandoah Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 10-11 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Potomac River near Dumfries.

Following the regular season, the Shenandoah 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 Shenandoah Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Clarks Hill Regional near Augusta, Ga., Oct. 11-15 where they will compete against Choo Choo, Dixie, and North Carolina 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 this Web site.

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.