Waddington is still in the lead in the Northeast with 5,406 votes in the online Ultimate Fishing Town contest, ahead of second-place Roscoe, N.Y., with 5,050 votes by mid-afternooon. Ogdensburg is fourth with 269 votes.

The top prize of $25,000 is to be awarded June 6.

Waddington is still well ahead of the field. The next-highest vote getter behind Roscoe is Baudette, Minn, in the Midwest region, which as of Monday morning had 1,003 votes.

Many people were unhappy about Ogdensburg's entry, which pitted itself against Waddington. The consternation expressed by the Waddington Chamber of Commerce was over what they hoped would have been a regional effort at promoting St. Lawrence County as the "Fishing Capital of the World," as envisioned by the county Chamber of Commerce.

Fishing events along the St. Lawrence River frequently extend to the waters from Ogdensburg to Massena, with Waddington in the middle and frequently the center of competition.

The voting is divided into regions, the Northeast, Pacific, Rockies, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Florida. In the early going, no town in any of the other regions came close to Waddington's margin.

People can vote and get more information at www.wfnfishingtown.com, a web site set up by The World Fishing Network, worldfishingnetwork.com, for the contest.

Voting in the first round ends May 3. Then the first two towns in each region, plus six other towns determined to be worthy to continue by the contest organizers, are up for another round of voting that starts May 10.

The winner will be announced no later than June 6.

First place is worth $25,000; second place, $5,000; and third place, $2,500.