Juen wins co-angler title
Mike Brueggen of La Crosse, Wisconsin, weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 11 ounces, Saturday to win the fourth FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament of 2016 on the Mississippi River. For his efforts, Brueggen took home $5,963.
“I started off the day in the middle of Pool No. 9 targeting largemouth in weeds,” said Brueggen, who earned his third win in BFL competition. “I was in the backwaters and the water was running high.”
Brueggen said he used a black and purple-colored Kureiji swimjig to catch four keepers.
“As the day progressed, I switched patterns to target smallmouth,” said Brueggen. “I ran to a shell bed and used a green-pumpkin-orange Kureiji football-head jig and a Carolina-rigged Zoom Lizard. I dragged them until a fish came up to the surface for a minnow, and then I threw a Heddon Zara Spook to it.”
Brueggen said he ended up weighing a mixed limit of bass – three smallmouth and two largemouth.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-11, $3,963 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Travis Brueggen, Cashton, Wis., five bass, 15-9, $1,981
3rd: Curtis Samo, Rochelle, Ill., five bass, 14-14, $1,322
4th: Chris Aswegan, Tiffin, Iowa, five bass, 14-12, $925
5th: Kyle Schauf, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 14-11, $793
6th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 13-5, $893
6th: Kevin Wolfram, Wheaton, Ill., five bass, 13-5, $893
8th: Jimmy Johnson, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 13-2, $594
9th: Jim Caulum, Rockland, Wis., five bass, 13-0, $528
10th: Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 12-12, $562
Don Gerz of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, caught a bass weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces – the biggest of the tournament in the pro division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $535.
Bradley Juen of La Crosse, Wisconsin, weighed in five bass totaling 12 pounds, 4 ounces, Saturday to win the co-angler division and earn $1,981.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Bradley Juen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 12-4, $1,981
2nd: Ben Fisher, Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 11-9, $991
3rd: Michael Taylor, Tipton, Iowa, five bass, 11-0, $662
4th: Matt Knox, Metamora, Ill., five bass, 10-12, $462
5th: David Boelkins, Waukesha, Wis., five bass, 10-5, $396
6th: Jeffrey Phillip, Montfort, Wis., five bass, 10-4, $363
7th: Cody Hackett, Stoddard, Wis., five bass, 10-3, $266
7th: Bryan Bye, Beloit, Wis., four bass, 10-3, $266
7th: Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., five bass, 10-3, $266
7th: Art Sukowatey, Greendale, Wis., five bass, 10-3, $266
7th: Ovidiu Marginean, Des Plaines, Ill., five bass, 10-3, $266
Donald Roscovius of Tomah, Wisconsin, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division, a fish weighing 3 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $267.
The top 50 boaters and 50 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 13-15 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.
The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 50 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and 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. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.
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 in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
