Pirowski Wins Bass Fishing League Tournament at the Potomac River

MARBURY, Md. (May 8, 2023) – Boater Alex Pirowski of Occoquan, Virginia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 2 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Potomac River.The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. Pirowski earned $5,607 for his victory.

“I ran into Belmont Bay, a creek in the middle of the river, and jumped around to a few key areas I had found about a week ago,” said Pirowski. “I slowed down, fished Yamamoto Senkos and Z-Man ChatterBaits and just grinded through it.”

Pirowski said he targeted both grass and hard bottom in search of bass, and also caught a few off of docks. Most of his bass came shallow, in 2 to 4 feet of water. Pirowski said his efforts produced 12 keepers throughout the day.

“It has been taking 19½ pounds lately to even cash a check,” Pirowski said. “I thought I might end up getting some money back, but I never thought I had a chance at winning. So, this feels great. My friend and I have been putting some good hours in on the river, so to see it come together with a big win just feels really good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

                1st:        Alex Pirowski, Occoquan, Va., five bass, 18-2, $5,607
                2nd:       Myles Paugh, Aurora, W.V., five bass, 16-13, $2,436
                3rd:       Mike Morris, Dover, Del., five bass, 16-9, $1,380
                3rd:       Zachary Stoupa, Prince George, Va., five bass, 16-9, $1,380
                5th:        Mike Hicks, Goochland, Va., five bass, 16-0, $893
                5th:        Jim Jarvis, Timberville, Va., five bass, 16-0, $893
                5th:        Roy Dixon, Welcome, Md., five bass, 16-0, $893
                8th:        Brad Melton, Manassas, Va., five bass, 15-15, $731
                9th:        John Duarte, Middle River, Md., five bass, 15-11, $1,670 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
                10th:     Trevor Holman, Durham, N.C., five bass, 15-10, $768

Pirowski also caught the largest bass of the day that weighed 5 pounds, 1 ounce, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $735. Thomas Driscoll of Annandale, Virginia, won the co-angler division and a total of $2,436 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

                1st:        Thomas Driscoll, Annandale, Va., five bass, 15-6, $2,436
                2nd:       David Williams, Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 15-2, $1,568
                3rd:       Brandon Miskell, Vienna, Va., five bass, 14-12, $814
                4th:        Curtis Vick, Boydton, Va., five bass, 13-14, $768
                5th:        Tyrone Adams, Jr., Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 13-11, $487
                6th:        David Deciucis, Chester, Va., five bass, 13-10, $447
                7th:        Safulla Rana, Warrenton, Va., five bass, 13-8, $406
                8th:        Tim Sunderman, Chesapeake, Va., five bass, 13-7, $365
                9th:        Matt Stoupa, Prince George, Va., five bass, 13-5, $325
                10th:     Justin Faison, South Prince George, Va., five bass, 12-13, $284

Danny Crickenberger, Jr., of Charlottesville, Va., earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $367, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 2 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

After three events, Zachary Stoupa of Prince George, Virginia, leads the BFL Shenandoah Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 727 points, while David Deciucis of Chester, Virginia, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 728 points.