WINNECONNE, Wis. – Douglas Stanton, 38, of Winona, Minn., out-fished 116 competitors Saturday to earn $4,172 and 50 CITGO Challenge Points on the boater side of the Red Man Tournament Trail’s Great Lakes Division event on the Wolf River Chain.
Stanton caught five bass weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces during the one-day event to edge out Jim McKie of Columbus, Miss., who finished with a five-bass catch of 14-2 worth $2,086. Stanton caught his limit on the stormy day using a topwater frog near clumps of grass.
Mark Martell of LaCrosse, Wis., took third place and collected $1,043 with five bass weighing 12-13. Craig Jahnke of Appleton, Wis., placed fourth and earned $904 with five bass weighing 12-9, while Tom Monsoor of LaCrosse placed fifth and earned $835 with five bass weighing 12-7. Monsoor also won the Berkley Power Bait award, a package of baits valued at $200, for the heaviest overall catch on Power Bait or Frenzy lures.
Bob Kowal, 53, of Onalaska, Wis., won the Abu Garcia Big Bass Award in the Boater Division and collected $580 with a 4-pound, 4-ounce largemouth that he caught while flipping tube jigs to laydowns in the Fox River.
First place in the Co-Angler Division and $1,978 went to Tom Eells, 33, of Freeport, Ill., who topped 110 competitors with five bass weighing 10-14. Second place in the Co-Angler Division and $989 went to Peter Reese of Wautoma, Wis., with four bass weighing 8-1, while Nathan Goodenough of La Crescent, Minn., took third place and $495 with three bass weighing 7-10. Goodenough, 19, also won the co-angler Abu Garcia Big Bass Award of $275 with a 4-pound, 8-ounce bass that he caught on a frog bait.
Overall, 411 bass weighing 878 pounds, 11 ounces were caught during the tournament, including 27 five bass limits.
On Aug. 5, the Red Man Tournament Trail will visit the Mississippi River for the fourth of five events in the Great Lakes Division. The boater with the most CITGO Challenge points after the division’s season finale, a two-day Super Tournament Sept. 16-17 on the Mississippi River, will be declared the Divisional Points Champion and awarded $1,000. The co-angler amassing the most points by the end of the season will receive $500.