August 19, 2019 by FLW Communications
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. – Boater Joe Pollak of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, won the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce. For his win, Pollack netted $4,586.
“I was able to catch a limit fairly quick fishing between the middle and the north side of Pool No. 9, south of Lansing,” said Pollak, who logged his second career victory in BFL competition – both on the Mississippi River. “I had a bunch of spots that had schools of fish on them – probably a dozen or so points that were current-related.”
Pollack said he fished in 1 to 5 feet of water, casting a ¼-ounce white and chartreuse-colored Dirty Jigs swimjig with a 4-inch white Zoom Paddle Tail swimbait trailer, as well as some reaction baits including a white Heddon Zara Spook Jr.
“Around 11 [a.m.], I locked back down to [Pool No.] 10 and sat on another current-related point on the north end and was able to cull out two or three fish using the same baits,” said Pollak. “I upgraded by about 2 pounds which gave me enough to win the tournament.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Joe Pollak, Lake Geneva, Wis., five bass, 15-1, $4,586
2nd: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-0, $1,793
3rd: Brian Fitzpatrick, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 14-10, $1,554
4th: Kyler Chelminiak, Franklin, Wis., five bass, 14-9, $1,090
5th: Kyle Von Ruden, Stoddard, Wis., five bass, 14-6, $677
6th: Robby Tufte, Fountain City, Wis., five bass, 14-5, $771
7th: Terry Fitzpatrick, Waukon, Iowa, five bass, 13-15, $536
7th: Steven Johnson, Lake Villa, Ill., five bass, 13-15, $536
9th: Curtis Samo, Rochelle, Ill., five bass, 13-10, $451
10th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 13-9, $395
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Fitzpatrick caught a bass weighing 3 pounds, 13 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $425.
Kory Krienke of Annandale, Minnesota, won the Co-angler Division and $1,893 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kory Krienke, Annandale, Minn., five bass, 12-4, $1,893
2nd: Bradley Thacher, Preston, Minn., five bass, 11-8, $846
3rd: Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., five bass, 11-5, $764
4th: Rene Luis, Chicago, Ill., five bass, 11-3, $395
5th: Richard Conrad, Arcadia, Wis., five bass, 11-0, $439
6th: Thomas Roberts, Waunakee, Wis., five bass, 10-7, $310
7th: Josh Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 10-4, $282
8th: Mike Toft, Belleville, Wis., five bass, 9-12, $254
9th: Joe Perez, Chanhassen, Minn., five bass, 9-8, $226
10th: Matt Finkeldei, Davenport, Iowa, five bass, 9-6, $198
Jared Greninger of Byron, Illinois, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $212.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Buchanan, Tennessee, presented by Evinrude. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.
The 2019 BFL 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 BFL All-American. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
