La Crosse Angler Mike Brueggen Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event on Mississippi River
Clean Sweep for La Crosse as Kjos Takes Home Co-angler Title
LA CROSSE, Wis. – Boater 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,” said 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 continued. “I caught them all on a swimjig, a frog and a buzzbait.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
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.
Al Kjos of La Crosse, Wisconsin, won the Co-angler Division and $1,902 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished as follows:
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.
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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