Orecchio Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament at Chesapeake Bay

NORTHEAST, Md. (May 2, 2023) – Boater Jason Orecchio of Andover, New Jersey, weighed in five bass totaling 20 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Tournament on the Chesapeake Bay. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Northeast Division. Orecchio earned $4,119 for his victory.

“It feels nice to get the win,” Orrechio said. “I was fishing up the Susquhanna River, targeting smallmouth. I found them mainly in the rocks, in 5 to 10 feet of water.

“The key bait for me today was a green-pumpkin-colored Keitech (swimbait) on a drop-shot rig,” Orrechio went on to say.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

                1st:        Jason Orecchio, Andover, N.J., five bass, 20-4, $4,119
                2nd:       Michael Sentore, Gloucester City, N.J., five bass, 18-11, $2,059
                3rd:       Steven Dimatteo, Lancaster, Pa., four bass, 16-12, $1,374
                4th:        Alex Korol, Fairpoint, N.Y., five bass, 15-11, $961
                5th:        Christopher Sperling, Cato, N.Y., five bass, 14-12, $824
                6th:        Rick McFaul, Phoenix, Md., five bass, 14-5, $755
                7th:        Peter Yanni, Gaithersburg, Md., four bass, 13-9, $1,186 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
                8th:        Conor Cahill, Swedesboro, N.J., four bass, 12-10, $618
                9th:        Michael Gardner, Townsend, Del., four bass, 12-6, $549
                10th:     Dave Williams, Jackson, N.J., five bass, 11-11, $480

John Welsh of Slatington, Pennsylvania, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $565. Ryan Sweeney of Secane, Pennsylvania, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,059 Saturday, after bringing four bass to the scale that totaled 16 pounds, 1 ounce.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

                1st:        Ryan Sweeney, Secane, Pa., four bass, 16-1, $2,059
                2nd:       Kenny Ibberson, Lindwold, N.J., four bass, 14-14, $1,312
                3rd:       Andre Wynn, Windsor Mill, Md., five bass, 13-3, $687
                4th:        John Alexander, Mount Airy, Md., four bass, 12-15, $480
                5th:        John Chacosky, Media, Pa,, four bass, 12-4, $562
                6th:        Kevin Collins, Morristown, N.J., four bass, 11-5, $378
                7th:        Michael Bahnweg, Union Dale, Pa., three bass, 11-3, $326
                7th:        Harry Moore, Clarington, Ohio, four bass, 11-3, $326
                9th:        Matt Hummel, Dillsburg, Pa., three bass, 9-7, $275
                10th:     Anthony Ell, Stanhope, N.J., three bass, 9-1, $240

Ibberson earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $282, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces.