Herburger wins BFL event on Wolf River Chain of Lakes - Major League Fishing

Herburger wins BFL event on Wolf River Chain of Lakes

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Boater Jeff Herburger of Dubuque, Iowa, earned $4,541 June 17 as winner of the BFL Great Lakes Division event on the Wolf River Chain of Lakes. Angler: Jeff Herburger.
June 17, 2006 • MLF • Archives

WINNECONNE, Wis. – Boater Jeff Herburger of Dubuque, Iowa, earned $4,541 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division event on the Wolf River Chain of Lakes. The tournament was the second of five regular-season Great Lakes Division events and earned Herburger 200 points in the Boater Division.

Herburgers’ winning catch of five bass weighed 12 pounds, 15 ounces. He was throwing a buzzbait and tubes along grass and reeds in the main-lake area to catch his bass.

Rounding out the top five boaters are Clayton Reitz of Morton, Ill. (five bass, 12 pounds, 10 ounces, $2,270); Ted Buckman of Machesney Park, Ill. (five bass, 12 pounds, 2 ounces, $1,514); Mike Mayan of Rosendale, Wis. (five bass, 12 pounds, 1 ounce, $1,060) and Robert Greenwood of Barneveld, Wis., (five bass, 11 pounds, 14 ounces, $908).

Reitz also took home an additional $500 for being the highest placing Ranger Cup participant.

Gary Gottschalk of Fall River, Wis., took Boater Division big-bass award honors, earning $660 for a 3-pound, 13-ounce bass he caught on a tube.

Michael Parve of West Bend, Wis., won the Co-angler Division to earn $2,236 as the co-angler winner, thanks to five bass weighing 10 pounds, 8 ounces that he caught on a jig and pig combination around lily pads and wood.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Robin Piwoni of Racine, Wis. (five bass, 10 pounds, 8 ounces, $1,118); Dennis Marcinek of Chicago, Ill., tied for third with Jordan Truttmann of Oshkosh, Wis. (five bass, 9 pounds, 10 ounces, $633); Chris Pennybacker of Racine, Wis. (five bass, 9 pounds, 5 ounces, $447).

Craig Fanning of Elwood, Ill., earned $325 as the co-angler big-bass award winner with a 3-pound, 12-ounce bass.

The Great Lakes Division’s next event will be held July 15 on the Mississippi River near Prairie Du Chien, Wis., followed by an event on the Mississippi River near Clinton, Iowa, Aug. 19. The Great Lakes Division will wrap up its regular season Sept. 16-17 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wis.

Following the regular season, the Great Lakes Division boater with the most points who advances farthest in the Wal-Mart BFL All-American will earn $10,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion. The co-angler points champion who advances farthest will earn $5,000 as the Yamaha “Be the Best” points champion in the Co-angler Division.

Every angler who receives weight credit in a tournament earns points, with 200 points going to the winner, 199 for second, 198 for third, and so on except for Super Tournaments, which award 300 points to the winner, 299 for second, 298 for third, and so on. The top 40 Great Lakes Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will advance to the Fort Madison Regional near Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 5-7, where they will compete against Illini, Michigan, and Ozark anglers for one of six slots in the 2007 All-American. With a total purse of $1 million and a potential $140,000 cash prize going to the winning boater and $70,000 going to the winning co-angler, the All-American is one of the most prestigious and lucrative events in bass fishing.

The $8.8 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League features 28 divisions nationwide. In BFL competition, boaters and co-anglers are randomly paired, with boaters supplying the boat and fishing against other boaters and co-anglers fishing from the back deck against other co-anglers. For more information or to enter a tournament, call (270) 252-1000 or visit FLWOutdoors.com.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Stratos Owners’ Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses exceeding $37.9 million through 249 events in 2006.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Wal-Mart.com.