MARBURY, Md. (May 16, 2005) - Boater Joseph Thompson of Ridley Park, Pa., earned $3,596 Saturday as winner of the Bass Fishing League Northeast Division bass fishing tournament on the Potomac River. The tournament was the first of five regular-season Northeast Division events and earned Thompson 200 points in the Boater Division.
Thompson's winning catch of five bass weighed 18 pounds, 7 ounces. Thompson was fishing around grass with a Senko when he caught his bass. Finishing second was Mike Hoskings of Dumfries, Va., with five bass weighing 18 pounds that earned him $1,798. Timothy Hagerich of Carlisle, Pa., claimed $1,177 as the third-place finisher thanks to five bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces. In fourth was Ryan Park of Elizabethtown, Pa., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 8 ounces worth $915, and finishing fifth and earning $752 was Jeff Stoner of Wellsville, Pa., with five bass weighing 16 pounds, 4 ounces.
Edward Trovato of Johnstown, Pa., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $545 for a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass. He caught his big bass on a crankbait.
Hoskings earned an additional $500 as winner of the Ranger Cup award. Paul Winters of Niskayuna, N.Y., earned $1,798 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 14 ounces that he caught on a crankbait.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Andy Miller of Burlington, N.J. (five bass, 12 pounds, 13 ounces, $899); Jacob Kupselaitis of Wall, N.J. (five bass, 12 pounds, 8 ounces, $587); Ted Morris of Malaga, N.J. (four bass, 11 pounds, 12 ounces, $458); and Harold Bardroff of Lyndhurst, N.J. (five bass, 11 pounds, 9 ounces, $376).
Larry Dupere of Ashville, N.Y., earned $273 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught on a Senko.
The Northeast Division's next event will be held June 25 on the Chesapeake Bay near North East followed by an event on the Hudson River near Catskill, N.Y., July 23. The fourth-qualifying event will be held on the Potomac River near Marbury July 27. The Northeast Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 17-18 with a two-day Super Tournament on Lake Hopatong near Cedar Knolls, N.J.