Wieczorek Locks up on Mighty Miss
Conrad takes co-angler title in Great Lakes Division event
Randy Wieczorek of Buffalo City, Wisconsin, brought a three-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 11 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. For his victory, Wieczorek earned $5,463.
“It’s been a long time – more than 15 years since I’ve won one of these (BFL) tournaments,” says Wieczorek, who picked up his second career win. “It feels good to know that I can still keep up with some of these young bucks that are out here.”
Wieczorek spent his tournament day fishing in Pool No. 7, throwing a jig and a frog to bring three nice largemouth to the scale.
“I was catching largemouth all the way up to the lock and dam to Pool No. 6,” Wieczorek says. “Most of the fish I caught early came flipping a black and blue jig around wood and in a little bit of eelgrass. I caught my bigger one fishing a frog in the slop.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Randy Wieczorek of Buffalo City, Wis., three bass, 11-9, $5,463
2nd: Mike Brueggen of La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 10-14, $2,232
3rd: Cade Laufenberg of Goodview, Minn., three bass, 9-12, $1,489
4th: Hunter Litchfield of Macomb, Ill., three bass, 9-10, $967
4th: Brandon Gann of Sparta, Wis., three bass, 9-10, $967
6th: Jeremy Nokken of La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 9-6, $818
7th: Travis Brueggen of Cashton, Wis., three bass, 9-4, $744
8th: Josh Ystenes of La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 9-3, $669
9th: Tyler Fitch of Oregon, Wis., three bass, 9-0, $595
10th: Kyle Meyer of Blaine, Minn., three bass, 8-14, $473
10th: Adam Hatfield of Sparta, Wis., three bass, 8-14, $473
10th: Joe Pollak of Lake Geneva, Wis., three bass, 8-14, $673
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Rene Luis of Chicago, Illinois, claimed the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $640 after bringing a 4-pound, 7-ounce bass to the scale.
Kevin Ruh of Onalaska, Wisconsin, 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.
Conrad wins co-angler title
Richard Conrad of Arcadia, Wisconsin, won the Co-angler Division and $2,232 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Richard Conrad of Arcadia, Wis., three bass, 10-10, $2,232
2nd: Brian Baker of Onalaska, Wis., three bass, 8-14, $1,116
3rd: Tom Rothering of Fountain City, Wis., three bass, 8-11, $952
3rd: Nycholas Swanson of Waterloo, Iowa, three bass, 8-11, $632
5th: Jessie Pollard of Whitehall, Wis., three bass, 8-10, $446
6th: Thad Vettrus of Chippewa Falls, Wis., three bass, 8-7, $409
7th: Douglas Ley of Janesville, Wis., three bass, 8-5, $372
8th: Chuck Davis of Farmington, Ill., three bass, 8-3, $335
9th: Mike Fischer of Stacy, Minn., three bass, 8-0, $298
10th: Greg Oppegard of West St. Paul, Minn., three bass, 7-15, $260
Rothering caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 4 pounds, 6 ounces. The catch earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $320.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River in La Crosse was hosted by the La Crosse County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was the second 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.