Lake Geneva’s Pollak Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Wolf River Chain
WINNECONNE, Wis. – 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 swimjigs,” said 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 continued. “It was definitely unexpected. I was fishing for smallmouth, so when the largies popped up I was surprised.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
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.
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 finished as follows:
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.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American will be held Nov. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina and is hosted by Visit Anderson. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division earn priority entry into the FLW Series, the pathway to the FLW Pro Circuit and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour, where top pros compete with no entry fees.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, FLW and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Zimbabwe.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show while Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. Acquired by Major League Fishing in late 2019, FLW is expanding its programming in 2020 to the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel as well as on-demand at MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
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