Maloney Takes Early Lead Against Nation’s Best Weekend Anglers at BFL All-American on Potomac River

Brian Maloney of Osage Beach, Mo., took the early lead at the Walmart BFL All-Americanpresented by Chevy, with five bass that weighed 15 pounds, 4 ounces. He has a narrow 4-ounce lead over second place angler Mark Snyder of St. Johns, Miss., in one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing.

Hosted by National Harbor, the tournament features the top 49 boaters and top 49 co-anglers from across the country casting for top awards of up to $130,000 in the Boater Division and $60,000 in the Co-angler Division plus the opportunity to compete in the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart on Lake Lanier Aug. 11-14.

The top five anglers all indicated that the early-morning outgoing tide had the fish biting better than in the afternoon. Keying in on rock and structure seemed to be the predominate pattern for most of the anglers.

“I really wasn’t doing anything fancy,” said Maloney, who qualified through the Missouri TBF chapter. “The fish were moving with the tide and I was just waiting for them to come to me. I’ll play that game all week. We keyed in on the outgoing low tide pretty quickly and probably had our limit by 11 a.m.

“I was looking for ditches and troughs and found a rocky area that had a mud bottom and just bounced my bait off the rocks. I was using plastics – 3/16- to ¼-inch shaky heads.”

Maloney, who was fishing on the Potomac River for the first time, said he had seven or eight keepers all day and that he is hoping for the same type of weather tomorrow – bluebird skies and warm temperatures.

Rounding out the remaining top-10 boaters at the Potomac are:

2^nd:       Marc Snyder, St. Johns, Miss, five bass, 15-0

3^rd:        Dick Shaffer, Rockford, Ohio, five bass, 14-7

4^th:        Conrad Bolt, Seneca, S.C., five bass, 14-6

5^th:        Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., five bass, 13-2

6^th:        Corey Saint, Lexington, Ala., five bass, 12-11

6^th:        Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., five bass, 12-11

8^th:        Christopher Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 12-10

9^th:        Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, five bass, 12-9

10^th:      Scott Hamrick, Denver, N.C., five bass, 12-5

For a full list of results visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Overall there were 183 bass weighing 447 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 49 boaters Thursday. The catch included 20 five-bass limits.

Jake Akin of Powder Springs, Ga., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 14-3 followed by Robert Hime of Odessa, Mo., in second place with five bass weighing 13-2.

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are:

3^rd:        Gerald Williams, Maiden, N.C., five bass, 13-1

4^th:        Tyler Gregory, Pine Knot, Ky., five bass, 12-15

5^th:        Scott Curvin, Jacksonville, Ala., five bass, 12-12

6^th:        Dustin Burk, Brookville, Ind., four bass, 12-3

7^th:        Bobby Drinnon, Rogersville, Tenn., five bass, 11-10

8^th:        Dennis Spell, Desloge, Mo., five bass, 11-4

9^th:        Donnie Woody, Marion, N.C., five bass, 11-2

10^th:      Dylan Duncan, Kansas, Okla., five bass, 10-14

Anglers will take off from the National Harbor Marina located at 137 National Plaza in Oxon Hill, Md., at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday morning. Weigh-ins will also be at the National Harbor Marina beginning daily at 5:30 p.m.

Fans will be treated to the FLW Outdoors Expo at National Harbor Marina on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. where they can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors. All activities are free and open to the public.

The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, offering bigger prizes to those who qualify for regional championships and those who make it to the BFL All-American. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the EverStart Series or even the FLW Tour.