Noraas Earns Co-Angler Title

MARBURY, Md. (July 29, 2019) – Boater Kermit Crowder of Matoaca, Virginia, won Saturday’s T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Shenandoah Division tournament on the Potomac River presented by Navionics after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces. For his day on the water, Crowder earned $4,454.

“I fished a mile or so of a main-river grass line. It was mid-river, about 15 minutes from the boat ramp and was the only place I went,” said Crowder, who earned his fifth career win on the Potomac River in BFL competition – second as a boater. “I just went back and forth all day. Most of the fish were on the edge, dropped off in 4 to 6 feet of water, and I was sitting 6 to 7 of water. It doesn’t fall off really steep – it’s more of a flat. The hydrilla is so thick that when the tide gets low it moves the fish to the edge.

“I had about seven keeper bites. There were 17 or 18 boats on the stretch, but I got the right bites,” continued Crowder. “I caught them on a variety of baits – one on a topwater, one of the big ones on a jig and flipping a couple of different creature baits.”

Crowder’s key baits included a black-colored Spro 65 Bronzeye Poppin’ Frog, a 3/8-ounce, green pumpkin Sooper Bait jig with a 3-inch Mud Puppy craw, and a Texas-rigged, green-pumpkin Mud Puppy creature bait.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Kermit Crowder, Matoaca, Va., five bass, 13-12, $2,454 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Barton Wines, Marshall, Va., five bass, 13-7, $1,227

3^rd:          Thomas Svec, Chesapeake, Va., five bass, 12-15, $750

4^th:          Derik Hudson, Concord, Va., five bass, 12-14, $1,076

5^th:          Joe Dixon, Bel Alton, Md., five bass, 12-10, $451

6^th:          Travis Lugar, McGaheysville, Va., five bass, 12-3, $413

7^th:          Brandon Stapleton, Temperanceville, Va., five bass, 12-2, $357

7^th:          Ryan Ingalls, Fairfax, Va., five bass, 12-2, $357

9^th:          Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 11-13

10^th:        Josh Willard, Carrollton, Va., five bass, 11-12

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

John Bitter of Maitland, Florida, caught a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $215.

Matthew Noraas of Pamplin, Virginia, won the Co-angler Division and $1,227 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Matthew Noraas, Pamplin, Va., five bass, 11-3, $1,227

2^nd:         J.C. Miller, Washington, Pa., five bass, 9-8, $613

3^rd:          Shawn Huwar, Fredericksburg, Va., five bass, 9-6, $319

3^rd:          Jeff Mellott, Warfordsburg, Pa., five bass, 9-6, $319

5^th:          Jamie Newton, Falls Church, Va., five bass, 9-2, $225

6^th:          Brad Melton, Manassas, Va., five bass, 8-12, $207

7^th:          Chris Jackson, Front Royal, Va., five bass, 8-10, $188

8^th:          Costas Melendez, Shenandoah, Va., four bass, 8-8, $169

9^th:          Keith Allen, Sumerduck, Va., five bass, 8-4

10^th:        Jerry Comperatore, Tarentum, Pa., five bass, 8-1

John Castro of Lorton, Virginia, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 4 pounds, 5 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $107.

The tournament was hosted by the Charles County Board of Commissioners.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional Championship on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina, presented by Navionics. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they 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. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.