Northern Division Pros Kick Off 2002-03 Campaign in Maryland

WALDORF, Md. - July 31, 2002 - The CITGO BASSMASTER Tournament Trail
makes its 13th
stop on the Potomac River in Maryland Aug. 8-10, kicking off the
circuit's 2002-03
season with some major changes.

The $320,950 Maryland CITGO BASSMASTER Northern Open is the first of
three events in
the newly established Northern Division. As with the Central and
Southern Opens,
these tournaments have been changed from draw to pro-am events. The
size of the Open
fields have been changed from 300 pros to 200 pros and amateurs this
season and will
be reduced to the top 50 pros and amateurs for the Saturday finals.

"We sent out surveys to every angler in our tournaments and an
overwhelming 99
percent of the Open anglers wanted to go to the pro-am format, so I
think it's time
we did that," B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Trip Weldon said. "I'm
excited about the
amateur side. We have a great payout on both sides, especially the
amateur side.

"The Opens are a professional trail, but it's more the working man's
professional
trail. On the amateur side, the difference between the Opens and the
Tour is we've
allowed amateurs priority entry into all three tournaments of one
division. And the
top 25 amateurs from each division at the end of the season can move to
the pro side
of the Opens the following season."

The pros will be competing for a total purse of $242,200 and a
first-place prize of
$50,000. The amateurs will split up $78,750, while competing for the
$24,000 top
prize.

One element that hasn't changed is the Potomac River's allure for bass
pros from
throughout the country. The historic river has long been a favorite
destination of
the CITGO BASSMASTER pros.

Local angler Chris Price, fresh from an appearance in the recent CITGO
BASSMASTERS
Classic as one of five B.A.S.S. Federation representatives, expects the
Potomac to
provide a quality fishing experience even during the dog days of
summer.

"On this river, this is the best time to fish, I think, other than
spring," said
Price, 30, of Church Hill, Md. "This is my favorite time to fish.

"The water temperature is way up, but I'm sure there's going to be a
lot of fish
caught. Just about any grass you go to you can catch a few fish out of
it. And the
river probably has more grass in it than it ever has - at least in the
10 years I've
been fishing it. It used to be that just the secluded bays had grass in
it, but it's
along just about every bank right now."

Price predicts that the winning weight will be around 45 pounds and the
daily
big-bass award will likely take a 6-pounder. And although the river is
home to both
largemouth and smallmouth bass, "I would guess that about 95 percent of
what will be
weighed in will be largemouths," he said.

"The early morning topwater bite is going to be on around the grass.
The grass
pattern is going to be good, along with wood at low tide when the water
comes out of
the grass and the fish follow the water out, of course.

"There's a lot of spatterdock and lily pads in certain parts of the
river holding
some of the better fish."

In tournaments on the tidal-influenced Potomac River, basic strategy
revolves around
either fishing certain areas regardless of the tidal stage or running
the tide to
duplicate a specific stage of the tide as often as possible.

"I like to run the tide," Price said. "I prefer small secluded areas
like a pad
field where the fish will move out of the grass during low tide. When
there's not
enough water in the grass, the fish will move out to the first little
drop and if
you have any little bit of cover on that drop, that's where the fish
are going to
stick.

"If you know right where that is, you can make three or four casts and
move to the
next spot. You can cover a lot of water over a distance of 30 or 40
miles and fish
that way for three-quarters of the day."

Daily weigh-ins take place at Smallwood State Park at 2 p.m. Anglers
launch at the
park beginning at 6:00 a.m.

Additionally, a free CastingKids event, presented by Chevy Trucks and
CITGO, will be
held there Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This fun-filled national
program
encourages children to perfect the skills of casting, pitching and
flipping. Local
B.A.S.S. clubs conduct the events and provide instruction to all
youngsters who
attend; no pre-registration is required.

By sanctioning over 20,000 tournaments worldwide through its Federation
of anglers,
B.A.S.S. is the world's largest fishing organization. The CITGO
BASSMASTER
Tournament Trail is the oldest and most prestigious pro bass fishing
tournament
circuit. It continues to set the standard for credibility,
professionalism, and
sportsmanship after more than three decades. B.A.S.S. is a wholly owned
subsidiary
of ESPN.

Sponsors of the CITGO BASSMASTER Northern Open event include: CITGO
Petroleum
Corporation, Busch Beer, Chevrolet Trucks, Mercury Marine, Yamaha
Outboards, Triton
Boats, Skeeter Boats, Lowrance Electronics, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems,
Stowaway
Batteries, Kumho Tires, Long John Silver's, MotorGuide Trolling Motors,
Bass Pro
Shops, Armstrong Industrial Hand Tools, and B.A.S.S. Platinum
Visa/First USA.

Associate Sponsors include: Bass Cat Boats and G3 Boats

The CITGO BASSMASTER Northern Open event is presented locally by the
Charles County
government, which can be reached at (800) 766-3386.

For more information contact:
B.A.S.S. Communications at (334) 272-9530.

__________________
Trout Fishing Arkansas

Registration for the CITGO BASSMASTER Northern Open, Waldorf, Md.

ARKANSAS
Rick Pierce, Mtn. Home

CANADA
Jon Bondey, Windsor, Ontario
Gary Gaussiran, Lachute, Quebec

CONNECTICUT
Lee Bailey, Jr., Amston
Terry Baksay, Monroe
Chris Bielert, Danbury
Daryl Biron, South Windsor
Christopher Blais, Vernon
Bill Corbin, Bloomfield
John W. Gardiner, Glastonbury
Frank Giner, Danbury
Paul H. Kimball, Glastonbury
Mike Murphy, Branford
Jordan Paullo, Manchester
Christopher A. Wall, New Fairfield

DELAWARE
Dwayne DiAntonio, Dover

FLORIDA
Steve Daniel, Clewiston
Chuck Economou, Redington
Mark W. Fann, Pantation
Roland Martin, Clewiston
Walt Reynolds, Clewiston

GEORGIA
Mickey Bruce, Buford
Roger Farmer, Dalton
Chris M. Foster, Lithonia
Kevin Keith, Dalton
Justin McGuinness, Athens
Harry Moore, Columbus

ILLINOIS
Tom Burns, Carbondale
Jack Morris, Robinson

INDIANA
Curt Day, Warren
Luke Foli, Granger
Koby Kreiger, Osceola
Ken McIntosh, Pierceton
Jim Napier, Aurora

KENTUCKY
Scott Patton, Brooks
Kevin Wirth, Crestwood

MASSACHUSSETS
Lawrence E. Allard, W Brookfield
Peter Brown Jr., Norwell
Mark Burgess, Norton
Al Capachietti, Wilmington
Danny Correia, Marlboro
Randy Emerson, West Springfield
David R Kilty, Stoneham
Johnny Nee, Middleboro
Paul Smietana, Tauton

MARYLAND
David Barker, Frederick
John Paul Celada, Frederick
Earnest Freeman, Waldorf
Grant Goldbeck, Damascus
Michael Grant, Waldorf
Aaron A. Hastings, Boonsboro
Craig Hoover, Mechanicsville
Joseph Paul Jones III, Mechanicsville
J. T. Kenney, Frostburg
Dave Kilby, Bel Air
Bob Lauder, Ijamsville
Peter M. O'Donnell, Sr, Deale
Chris Price, Church Hill
Fabian Rodriguez, Ocean City
Swift Spaulding, Germantown
Jim Towns, White Plains
Brian Wilhoit, Oxon Hill

MAINE
Dave Barnes Sr., Weeks Mills
Mark Desjardin, Augusta
Duane Lewis Jr, Dresden
Jim Staszewski, W. Gardiner

MICHIGAN
Ben Felton, Marshall
Art Ferguson III, St. Clair Shores
Chad Grigsby, Colon
Larry Leonardi, Clinton Township
Kevin Long, Bloomfield Hills
Roger C. Miller, Ottawa Lake
Paul W. Rambo, Brighton
Thomas Rice, Sheridan
Erhardt Tulgestka, Alpena
Chris Van Houten, Mears
Jon S. Wozniak, Brooklyn

MINNESOTA
Todd Schmitz, East Gull Lake

MISSOURI
Gary Rusk, Nixa

NORTH CAROLINA
Jeff Coble, Henderson
Daniel Fletcher, Stokesdale
Robert Graham, Mooresville
Jason Houchins, Stokesdale
Robert Karbas, Wake Forest
Jeff Little, Kernersville
A. E. "Red" Moore, Graham
Joel G. Richardson, Kernersville
Pete Saretto, New Bern
Rodney Sorrell, Stokesdale
Marty Stone, Linden
Wally Szuba, Cary
Dustin Wilks, Raleigh

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Daniel Keyes, Concord
Rick Lillegard, Atkinson
Joe Lucarelli, Meredith

NEW JERSEY
Jeff Caldarulo, Bridgeton
John Carpenter, Marmora
Bill Crutcher, Union
Daniel Dooner, Saddlebrook
Dan Ducceschi, Wharton
John Erickson, Pine Hill
David Frost, N. Haledon
Pete Gluszek, Franklinville
David Hadley, Butler
George Hutchinson, Mullica Hill
Michael Iaconelli, Woodbury Heights
David Mansue, Robbinsville
Ed Stiefel, Mahwah
Bill Tyger, Brick

NEW YORK
Warren Brooks, Walden
Timothy Carini, Shirley
Jason Carleton, Rochester
Bill Dimmick, Beacon
Tom Dolin, Palatine Bridge
Daniel Fogg, Scotia
Kraig Kettelkamp, Clifton Springs
Douglas Kirkbride, Beaver Falls
Ed Klepeis, Wallkill
George Lagonia, Jr., Spencertown
Robert Marshall, Wappingers Falls
Bob Mathews, Elizaville
Richard J Nolan, Ballston Spa
Christopher Petrillo, Vestal
Bill Pitt, Bloomingburg
James Schneider, Menandes
Aaron Wessels, Water Vilet
Bobby Williams, Jr., Pine Bush
Randy Yager, Syracuse

OHIO
Jarrod Bishop, Belle Center
Ken Caldwell, Rome
Ray Craig, Crooksville
Kennth J. Garbe, Batavia
Charlie Hartley, Grove City
Gary Hill, Germantown
Tony Jameson, Lexington
Wesley Kemper, New Straitsville
Mitchell P. Lakes, Carlisle
Kevin Price, Westerville
Richard Skelly, Wapokoneta
William Smith, Columbus
Robert Strader, Castailia
Joe Thomas, Milford
Tommy Thompson, North Bend
Robert F. Werner, Lewisburg

OKLAHOMA
O. T. Fears III, Sallisaw
Kenyon Hill, Norman

PENNSYLVANIA
R. Kevin Baldwin, Vandergrift
Jack Bell, Kane
Jack C. Bell, Kane
Jay Boettner, Enola
Gerald Brumbaugh, Martinsburg
William D. Capwell, Allentown
John L. Chaffo, Pittsburgh
Douglas Foulke, Warrington
Rob Genter, Tidioute
David Hall, Kunkletown
Joe Horvath, Dauphin
Kevin Kartesz, Ludlow
Dennis L. Krell Jr., Palmerton
Matthew Lazaroff, Mercer
David LeFebre, Erie
Daniel Lyle, Ford City
Chuck Main, Ellwood City
Ronald A. Metzger, Bloomsburg
Bruce Neal, Manheim
Joby Poster, Dingman's Ferry
Warren A. Robertson, Doylestown
Randall R Romig, Barto
Frank Sipe, Hummelstown
Joe Spano, Scranton
Marcel Veenstra, Newtown
Dave Wolak, Warrior Run
Randy Yarnall, Womelsdorf

RHODE ISLAND
Michael Wolfenden, Warwick

SOUTH CAROLINA
Steve Lowder, Sumter

TENNESSEE
Ray Brazier, Lawrenceburg
Bret King, Lenoir City
Thomas O'Bryant, Drummonds

TEXAS
Takahiro Omori, Emory

VIRGINIA
Tony Black, Manassas
Carl C. Chambers, Salem
James Charlesworth, Woodbridge
Robert A. Clark, Woodbridge
Chris Daves, Spring Grove
Woo Daves, Spring Grove
Robert F deGrandcourt Jr, Alexandria
Kurt Dove, Centreville
Patrick A. Farley, Woodbridge
Bo Fraser, Lorton
Michael Hall, Annandale
Mike Hicks, Mineral
Michael Huminik, Woodbridge
Brian Kirkpatrick, Charles City
Tommy Little, Chester
Curt Lytle, Suffolk
Steve Miller, Mechanicsville
Rick Morris, Virginia Beach
Derek Moyer, Alexandria
Phil Parker, Suffolk
Kelly Pratt, Williamsburg
Todd Schaaf, Hume
LC Troy Williams, Woodbridge
Dale Wilson, Huddleston

VERMONT
Matthew Applebaum, Johnson
Michael Barata, Wells River
Brian Gates, Mendon
Jimmy D. Kennedy, Plainfield

WISCONSIN
Cary Bever, Rhinelander
Mark Duerr, West Allis
David Jagodzinski, Suring

WEST VIRGINIA
Raymond Grimes, Albright

__________________
Trout Fishing Arkansas