Brueggen Again on the Mighty Miss
Kjos takes co-angler title in Great Lakes Division event
Mike Brueggen of La Crosse, Wisconsin, brought five bass to the stage weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. For his victory, Brueggen earned $3,804.
“The key for me was that I found a couple of eelgrass lines while practicing on Tuesday,” says Brueggen, who earned his seventh career BFL victory – second this season. “It was way better grass than what I’ve been finding, and it did it for me today.
“I was fishing in the bootom of Pool 7 and the middle of Pool 8,” Brueggen continues. “I caught them all on a swim jig, a frog and a buzzbait.”
The top 10 boaters:
1st: Mike Brueggen of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-1, $3,804
2nd: Chris Welch of Fall River, Wis., five bass, 14-12, $1,584
2nd: Kyle Von Ruden of Stoddard, Wis., five bass, 14-12, $1,584
4th: Edward Elkins of Pacific, Mo., five bass, 14-2, $888
5th: Anthony Getchell of Menominee, Mich., five bass, 13-8, $761
6th: Cade Laufenberg of Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 12-15, $697
7th: Steve Huegerich of Coon Rapids, Iowa, five bass, 12-14, $634
8th: Jeremy Nokken of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 12-11, $539
8th: Bill Frisk of West Salem, Wis., five bass, 12-11, $1,044
10th: Mike Gabel of Saint Charles, Ill., five bass, 12-10, $644
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Frisk won the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $505 with a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass.
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.
Kjos wins co-angler title
Al Kjos of La Crosse, Wis., won the Co-angler Division and $1,902 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers:
1st: Al Kjos of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 13-14, $1,902
2nd: Mike Fischer of Stacy, Minn., five bass, 13-0, $951
3rd: John Grabel of Trivoli, Ill., five bass, 12-13, $634
3rd: Dylan Fisher of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 12-5, $444
5th: Shawn Overton of Coal Valley, Ill., five bass, 11-6, $380
6th: Carter Wijangco of Naperville, Ill., five bass, 11-5, $333
7th: Bradley Thacher of Preston, Minn., five bass, 11-5, $333
8th: Jordan Borgmann of Mount Vernon, Ill., four bass, 10-0, $285
9th: Jason Kushlan of Braham, Minn., four bass, 9-14, $956
10th: Larry Litchfield of Macomb, Ill., five bass, 9-13, $222
Kushlan caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 3 pounds, 13 ounces, to win Co-angler Big Bass award of $252.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin, was hosted by the La Crosse County Convention & Visitors Bureau. It was the fourth 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.