CLAYTON, N.Y. (Sept. 26, 2016) – Tom Tarasoff of Kingston, Ontario, Canada, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 pounds, 1 ounce, Sunday to win the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Northeast Division Super Tournament on 1000 Islands, with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 44 pounds, 4 ounces. Tarasoff took home $6,367 for his win.
According to post-tournament reports, Tarasoff targeted humps, flats and drops with tubes fishing near Wolfe Island.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Tom Tarasoff, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 44-4, $6,367
2nd: Kraig Kettelkamp, Clifton Springs, N.Y., 10 bass, 43-12, $2,816
3rd: Jamie Hartman, Bridgeport, N.Y., 10 bass, 43-9, $2,077
4th: Curtis Richardson, Belleville, Ontario, Canada, 10 bass, 42-0, $1,614
5th: Dane Anderson, Copake, N.Y., 10 bass, 39-12, $1,126
6th: Chris Blanc, Riverside, Conn., 10 bass, 39-5, $1,033
7th: Kyle Metzger, Baldwinsville, N.Y., 10 bass, 39-4, $939
8th: Joseph Fonzi, Gasport, N.Y., 10 bass, 38-13, $845
9th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., 10 bass, 35-4, $751
10th: Frank Guarascio, Marcy, N.Y., 10 bass, 33-9, $657
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Tarasoff also caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 11 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day's Boater Big Bass award of $735.
Eric Ashley of Little Falls, New York, won the co-angler division and earned $2,816 with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Eric Ashley, Little Falls, N.Y., 10 bass, 34-15, $2,816
2nd: Graydon Bonser, Keyser, W. Va., nine bass, 34-14, $1,408
3rd: Henry McKee, Haddon Heights, N.J., 10 bass, 32-11, $941
4th: Chad Dorney, Macungie, Pa., eight bass, 28-14, $657
5th: Brandon Esterly, Forest, Va., 10 bass, 28-13, $1,030
6th: Conner Petropoulos, Portland, Maine, 10 bass, 28-2, $566
7th: Christy Tiano, Hudson, N.Y., eight bass, 26-2, $469
8th: Andrew Bechard, Champlain, N.Y., 10 bass, 25-0, $422
9th: Terry Beck, Lock Haven, Pa., nine bass, 24-15, $375
10th: Bryan Cumbo, West Wyoming, Pa., eight bass, 24-10, $329
Esterly caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces, and earned the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $367.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 6-8 Regional Championship on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. 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 are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.