Pollak Wins Wolf River Title
Gray scores co-angler honors in Great Lakes Division opener
Boater Joe Pollak of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 2 ounces to win the 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the Wolf River Chain of Lakes in Winneconne, Wisconsin. For his victory, Pollak earned $5,127.
“I went up the Wolf River and ended up catching a few fish on swim jigs,” says Pollak, who earned his third career victory in FLW competition. “I didn’t really catch them good, and it took a little bit to figure them out. Towards the end of the day I switched to a Carolina rig as I was fishing back down and upgraded a few times.
“I ended up having a few largemouth to go along with three smallmouth,” Pollak continues. “It was definitely unexpected. I was fishing for smallmouth, so when the largies popped up I was surprised.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Joe Pollak of Lake Geneva, Wis., five bass, 15-2, $5,127
2nd: Clayton Reitz of Morton, Ill., five bass, 13-7, $2,064
3rd: Mike Brueggen of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 13-5, $1,377
4th: Adam Hatfield of Sparta, Wis., five bass, 13-3, $963
5th: Kyle Meyer of Blaine, Minn., five bass, 13-0, $825
6th: Rick Miller of Eastman, Wis., five bass, 12-15, $1,332
7th: Brian Fitzpatrick of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 12-11, $653
7th: Mike Kochanski of Bolingbrook, Ill., five bass, 12-11, $653
9th: Kevin Ruh of Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 12-10, $1,016
9th: Neal Wisinski of Stevens Point, Wis., five bass, 12-10, $516
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Miller claimed the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $575 after bringing a 4-pound bass to the scale.
Ruh was the highest-finishing FLW PHOENIX BONUS member and took home an extra $500. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $7,000 per event in each Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the FLW PHOENIX BONUS contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.
Gray wins co-angler title
Michael Gray of Stoddard, Wisconsin, won the Co-angler Division and $2,078 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Michael Gray of Stoddard, Wis., five bass, 12-1, $2,078
2nd: Bradley Thatcher of Preston, Minn., five bass, 11-0, $1,039
2nd: Bruce Biermann of Byron, Ill., five bass, 10-12, $691
4th: Ed Remian of Schiller Park, Ill., five bass, 10-11, $485
5th: Andrew Hegerty of Colgate, Wis., five bass, 9-6, $416
6th: Jason Olson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., five bass, 9-2, $381
7th: Douglas Ley of Janesville, Wis., three bass, 8-8, $346
8th: Mike Marr of Westfield, Wis., four bass, 8-6, $312
8th: Scott Miller of Burlington, Wis., four bass, 7-11, $277
10th: Gregg Kizewski of Saint Germain, Wis., three bass, 6-15, $242
Alan Pierschalla of Slinger, Wisconsin, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 3 pounds, 12 ounces. The catch earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $285.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Wolf River Chain of Lakes was the opening event of five qualifying tournaments in the Great Lakes division.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the Great Lakes Division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 22-24 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Regional Championship on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, hosted by ExploreBranson.com. Boaters will compete for a $60,000 prize package, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro bass boat with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new 18-foot Phoenix bass boat with a 200-horsepower outboard.