NORTH EAST, Md. (July 20, 2009) - Bryan Schmitt of Deale, Md., won the Bass Fishing League Northeast Division bass fishing tournament on Chesapeake Bay Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces. The victory earned Schmitt $4,037 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Potomac River Regional Championship in Marbury, Md., Oct. 8-10, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Schmitt said he was fishing flats with a buzzbait in sunny conditions.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Chris Swearer of Pottstown, Pa. (five bass, 16-11, $2,019); Joe Hunt of Lincoln University, Pa. (five bass, 16-4, $1,345); Derrick Hughes of Ebensburg, Pa. (five bass, 16-1, $942) and Gregory Wilder of Brooklyn Park, Md. (five bass, 15-7, $807).
Bryan Schmitt took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $545 for a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass he caught.
William Burke of New Holland, Pa., and Marcos Padilla of Cranbury, N.J., tie as the co-angler winners Saturday, each earning $1,514 thanks to five bass weighing 12 pounds, 12 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ronald Smith of Browns Mills, N.J. (five bass, 12-6, $675); Benjamin Tawney of Stoystown, Pa. (five bass, 11-13, $471); and Joseph Henry Jr. of Cherry Hill, N.J. (five bass, 11-5, $404.
Roy Manbeck Jr. earned $272 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass.
The next Northeast Division event will be held on Chesapeake Bay in Kingsville, Md., Aug. 15.