Maglio the Man on Mighty Miss

Rothering nets co-angler title

T.J. Maglio of La Crosse, Wisconsin, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River Sunday with a two-day cumulative catch of 10 bass weighing 31 pounds, 3 ounces. For his win, Maglio earned $6,295.

“I’ve been looking forward to this Super Tournament all year. This tournament is one of my favorites because it’s in the fall and provides a bigger payout,” says Maglio, who earned his first win in FLW competition. “The river rose about a foot from takeoff on Saturday to weigh-in on Sunday – it definitely made it tougher.”

Maglio states that the water he was fishing in Pool No. 8 managed to stay clear during the two days of competition. He says he caught all of his fish on moving baits – ChatterBaits, Rat-L-Traps and swim jigs, all in white or shad colors.

“In my rotation I would hit spots two or three times a day with different bait presentations,” says Maglio. “I caught fish from three different areas – grass, current seams and rocks. The largest shad were in the areas I was fishing and that is what the bass were feeding on.”

The top 10 boaters:

1st:          T.J. Maglio, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 31-3, $6,295

2nd:         Cade Laufenberg, Goodview, Minn., 10 bass, 30-6, $3,348

3rd:          Curtis Samo, Rochelle, Ill., 10 bass, 29-5, $2,096

4th:          Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 29-4, $1,469

5th:          Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., 10 bass, 28-1, $1,359

6th:          Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 28-0, $1,154

7th:          Devin Teigen, Eau Claire, Wis., 10 bass, 27-7, $1,049

8th:          Mark Myers, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 10 bass, 27-4, $944

9th:          Kyle Von Ruden, Stoddard, Wis., 10 bass, 26-14, $839

10th:        John Engler, Vinton, Iowa, 10 bass, 26-10, $734

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.  

Kevin Johnson of Sparta, Wisconsin, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 13 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. The catch earned him the Boater Big Bass award of $877.

Rothering wins co-angler title

Tom Rothering of Cochrane, Wisconsin, caught a two-day total of nine bass weighing 24 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Co-angler Division and $3,148.

The top 10 co-anglers:

1st:          Tom Rothering, Cochrane, Wis., nine bass, 24-4, $3,148

2nd:         Nathan Huss, Elkhart Lake, Wis., eight bass, 22-14, $1,574

3rd:          Pelli Lee, La Crosse, Wis., nine bass, 21-8, $1,050

4th:          Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, 10 bass, 20-8, $934

5th:          Josh Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, nine bass, 20-5, $630

6th:          Matt Knox, Metamora, Ill., eight bass, 19-15, $577

7th:          Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., seven bass, 18-1, $575

8th:          Rick Ragner, La Crosse, Wis., six bass, 17-1, $472

9th:          Arden Damberg, Wheatland, Iowa, seven bass, 15-15, $420

10th:        Kristian Dus, Chicago, Ill., seven bass, 15-11, $367

Andrew Hegerty of Colgate, Wisconsin, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 4 ounces – and earned the Co-angler Big Bass award of $439.

The 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division finale on the Mississippi River at La Crosse was hosted by the La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

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. 25-27 BFL Regional Championship Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.