Holmen’s Shaver Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien
Wilton’s Fry Wins Co-angler Title
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. – Boater Jeremiah Shaver of Holmen, Wisconsin, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 15 pounds, 7 ounces to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine event on the Mississippi River in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Shaver earned $3,879. for his victory.
“I threw a black and yellow Spro Bronzeye Frog all day – I never picked up another rod,” said Shaver, who earned the first tournament win of his career. “I made a long run to the top of Pool 9. It took me about an hour and a half to get there through the lock.
“I was fishing a cheese mat – literally the most disgusting, yellow cheese mat that you’d ever seen,” Shaver continued. “I caught a limit there for around 13½ pounds and made the trip back down around 11:30 (a.m.). I had two key culls late in the day that really helped.
“The wind kind of made the bite sporadic, but I just stayed confident with the frog and didn’t put it down,” Shaver went on to say. “It’s exciting to finally get a win – it was long overdue.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament as follows:
1st: Jeremiah Shaver of Holmen, Wis., five bass, 15-7, $3,879
2nd: Douglas Chapin of Green Bay, Wis., five bass, 14-8, $2,440
3rd: Mike Mertens of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, five bass, 14-3, $1,293
4th: Ryan Doty of Galena, Ill., five bass, 13-13, $905
5th: Travis Madrazo of Owatonna, Minn., five bass, 13-10, $1,291
6th: Josh Ystenes of La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 13-9, $711
7th: Kevin Ruh of Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 13-5, $647
8th: Jordan Hirt of Glenwood, Iowa, five bass, 13-4, $582
9th: Rick Bosshard of Hartland, Wis., five bass, 13-0, $485
9th: Brad Wessling of Elkhorn, Wis., five bass, 13-0, $485
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Madrazo claimed the day’s Boater Big Bass Award of $515 after bringing a 5-pound bass to the scale.
Chapin 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.
Austin Frye of Wilton, Wisconsin, won the Co-angler Division and $1,940 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds even.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
1st: Austin Frye of Wilton, Wis., five bass, 13-0, $1,940
2nd: Andrew Hegerty of Colgate, Wis., five bass, 12-13, $970
3rd: Tyler Ackerlund of Colfax, Wis., five bass, 12-5, $646
3rd: Troy Sippl of Sussex, Wis., five bass, 12-0, $453
5th: Chris Thomas of Milan, Ill., five bass, 11-15, $388
6th: Douglas Ley of Janesville, Wis., five bass, 11-14, $356
7th: Alan Bernicky of Joliet, Ill., five bass, 11-4, $523
8th: Christopher Morgan of Greendale, Wis., five bass, 11-1, $291
9th: Bill Borgert of Boyceville, Wis., five bass, 10-10, $259
10th: Neil Stensland of Houston, Minn., five bass, 10-7, $226
Steve Schaefer of Palmyra, Missouri, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division, weighing in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces. The catch earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $257.
The 2020 Phoenix Bass Fishing League presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, was the third 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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