Dellinger wins co-angler title
Jamie Hartman of Newport, New York, weighed four bass totaling 9 pounds, 10 ounces Sunday to win the Walmart Bass Fishing League Northeast Division Super Tournament on Chesapeake Bay with a two-day total of nine bass weighing 30 pounds, 5 ounces. For his victory, Hartman earned $5,004.
“I decided to target a series of docks and wood in the northeast arm,” said Hartman, who earned his seventh career BFL win. “I rotated through spots and it ended up coming together.”
Hartman said he used a Tidal Blue-colored Riot Baits Instigator Jig with a green-pumpkin Riot Baits “R” Craw, a Strike King KVD Square Bill Crankbait and a finesse worm to catch his fish.
“When choosing a bait, it depended on how much water was around the dock,” said Hartman. “If it was deep I used the jig. If it was shallow, I reached for the crankbait and the finesse worm. I caught about 15 fish throughout the day on Saturday.”
Hartman said the bite was much more difficult on Sunday due to a strong north wind blowing tidal water out from his area.
“I could only hit half of the wood and docks that I did on Saturday because it was so shallow,” said Hartman. “Luckily, I was using a Cashion rod that was unbelievably sensitive. There were barely any fight to these fish and the rod really helped me yank them in.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Jamie Hartman, Newport, N.Y., nine bass, 30-5, $5,004
2nd: William Barlow, West Grove, Pa., 10 bass, 28-13, $2,502
3rd: Michael Sentore, Gloucester City, N.J., 10 bass, 27-14, $1,666
4th: Joe Hunt, Lincoln University, Pa., 10 bass, 26-1, $1,168
5th: Travis Manson, Conshohocken, Pa., eight bass, 25-3, $1,001
6th: Bryan Schmitt, Deale, Md., seven bass, 24-15, $917
7th: John Vanore, Mullica Hill, N.J., eight bass, 20-15, $834
8th: Randy Caruso, Liberty, N.Y., seven bass, 19-11, $751
9th: George Acord Jr., Columbia, Pa., six bass, 17-6, $667
10th: Harry Nurk, Elkton, Md., six bass,16 0, $584
Hartman also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division Friday. The fish weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $615.
Thomas Dellinger of Myerstown, Pennsylvania, won the co-angler division and $2,502 with a two-day total of five bass weighing 21 pounds, 6 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Thomas Dellinger , Myerstown, Pa., five bass , 21-6, $2,502
2nd: Ben Wright, Peru, N.Y., eight bass, 21-1, $1,251
3rd: Joe Poms, Paramus, N.J., six bass, 17-0, $834
4th: Robert Wedding, Welcome, Md., five bass, 14-6, $584
5th: Brett Holmes, Claverack, N.Y., six bass, 14-5, $500
6th: Robert Bruguiere, Mechanicsville, Va., five bass, 11-14, $459
7th: Jason McDonald, Lawrenceville, N.J., four bass, 11-2, $417
8th: Henry McKee, Haddon Heights, N.J., five bass, 9-12, $375
9th: John Detweiler, Harleysville, Pa., three bass, 9-7, $334
10th: James Karwacki, Roebling, N.J., three bass, 8-8, $292
Dellinger also caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division and earned the day’s Big Bass award of $307.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings now qualify for the Oct. 8-10 Regional Championship on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2015 over the course of 240 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
