Illinois’ Duffy Earns Co-angler Title
Boater Kevin Ruh of Onalaska, Wisconsin, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 16 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win the 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division event on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien. For the win, Ruh earned the top prize of $5,594.
“I was fishing sand bars, looking specifically for areas that had the right current,” said Ruh, who earned his first career win in FLW competition. “I started out fishing in Pool 9, but locked up to Pool 10. The majority of my weight came from one spot there.”
Ruh said his key bait Saturday was a swing head jig with a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Brush Hog, but he also caught some keepers dragging a Carolina rig. He estimated that he caught nine keepers throughout the day.
“The fish were grouped up and once I got the school fired up they started biting. Within 20 minutes I had done my damage,” Ruh said. “The fish had been moving throughout the week chasing baitfish, so I knew where they would end up.
“Another big key for me on Saturday was the wind setting up right,” Ruh continued. “The water level was dropping and the current wasn’t flowing as hard, so the wind helped to fire those fish up.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 16-2, $5,594
2nd: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-6, $2,197
3rd: Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 15-4, $1,244
3rd: Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-4, $1,344
5th: Tom Howland, Riceville, Iowa, five bass, 14-14, $879
6th: Jim Caulum, Bangor, Wis., five bass, 14-13, $805
7th: Jeremiah Shaver, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 14-12, $732
8th: Rick Miller, Eastman, Wis., five bass, 14-8, $659
9th: Mark Myers, Cedar Falls, Iowa, five bass, 14-5, $586
10th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 14-4, $513
Jim Tomsovic of Sparta, Wisconsin, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – to earn the Boater’s Big Bass award of $315.
Dennis Duffy of Westmont, Illinois, won the Co-angler Division Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 8 ounces. Duffy earned $2,297 for his victory.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Dennis Duffy, Westmont, Ill., five bass, 12-8, $2,297
2nd: Edward Elkins, Pacific, Mo., five bass, 12-6, $1,148
3rd: Michael Taylor, Tipton, Iowa, five bass, 12-1, $733
4th: Zuteus Sevenants, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 11-12, $513
5th: Kevin Reardon, Peoria, Ill., five bass, 11-9, $439
6th: Hector Garcia, Elgin, Ill., five bass, 11-6, $403
7th: Rick Beck, Roscoe, Ill., five bass, 11-3, $366
8th: Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 11-2, $330
9th: K.C. Shaible, Machesney Park, Ill., five bass, 11-1, $274
9th: Ben Rockey, West Bend, Wis., five bass, 11-1, $274
Ron Check of Prairie du Chien earned the Co-Angler Big Bass Award of $315 after bringing a bass weighing 4 pounds, 15 ounces to the scale.
The 2018 T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division event on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien was hosted by the Prairie du Chien Tourism Council.
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. 11-13 BFL Regional Championship on the Chesapeake Bay in North East, Maryland. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
The 2018 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. 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.
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 2018 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW and their partners conduct 286 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa and Spain. 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: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
