Ross registers BFL win on Potomac River

MARBURY, Md. – Boater Walter Ross Jr. of Havre De Grace, Md., won the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division tournament on the Potomac River Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces. The victory earned Ross $4,012 plus a $708 Ranger Boat contingency bonus and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Oct. 11-13 Potomac River Regional Championship in Marbury, Md., where he could ultimately win a new 519VX Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Barton Wines of Warrenton, Va. (five bass, 17-7, $2,360); Darrel Gesford of Hummelstown, Pa. (five bass, 17-0, $1,574); Steven Hughes of Rimersburg, Pa. (five bass, 16-13, $1,101); and Bruce Neal of Manheim, Pa. (five bass, 16-4, $944).

Lee Costa Williams of Woodford, Va., Bruce Neal of Manheim, Pa., and Joseph Thompson of Ridley Park, Pa., tied for the Boater Division Snickers Big Bass award, each earning $231 a 5-pound, 11-ounce bass.

John Detweiler of Harleysville, Pa., earned $2,360 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces that he caught while fishing a spinnerbait in 3 to 6 feet of water over a grass bed.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Peter Yanni of Gaitersburg, Md. (five bass, 17-15, $1,180); Jeff Davis of Marlton Lakes, N.J. (five bass, 16-7, $787); James Pilot of Clinton, Md. (five bass, 14-13, $551); and James Canning of Meriden, Conn. (five bass, 14-1, $472).

Davis earned $347 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 5-pound, 14-ounce bass.

The Northeast Division’s next event will be July 28 on Chesapeake Bay in Elkton, Md., followed by a tournament Aug. 18 on Chesapeake Bay in Kingsville, Md. The division’s final event of the regular season will be a two-day Super Tournament held Sept. 8-9 on the Hudson River in Catskills, N.Y.

Following the end of regular-season competition, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on year-end points standings in the division will advance to the no-entry-fee Potomac River Regional Championship where they will compete against top qualifiers from three other BFL divisions. At the Regional Championship boaters will fish for a new Ranger boat and Chevy truck and co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger boat. The top six boaters and top six co-anglers at the Regional Championship will also advance to the 2008 All-American presented by Chevy. With a total purse of $1 million, a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and as much as $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing. The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American also advance to the no-entry-fee $2 million 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the sport’s biggest championship.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired. Boaters supply the boat and fish from the front deck against other boaters while co-anglers compete 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, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, 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 will offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.

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 Walmart.com.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, browse FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.