Ettrick’s Anderson Earns Co-angler Title
Brandon Gann of Sparta, Wisconsin, caught three bass weighing 10 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River. For his win, Gann pocketed $5,401.
“I primarily fished backwaters off of the main-river channel – basically anywhere that I could find clean water,” said Gann, who logged his third career-win on the Mississippi River in BFL competition. “We had some severe weather roll through and it dirtied everything up, so I had to start from scratch. It was almost like pre-fishing the entire region again.”
Gann said he spent the event fishing Pool No. 8, and that his most productive bait was a Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Frog 65.
“I rotated between four or five different areas and worked the frog through lily pads mixed with duckweed,” said Gann. “It was tough out there – I think I only caught four keepers the entire day.”
One of Gann’s keepers – a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass – ended up being the largest of the event.
“I caught the big bass on the Bronzeye frog around 1 p.m., and it was definitely what won it for me,” said Gann. “I was very fortunate to get that bite.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 10-14, $5,401
2nd: Todd Hancock, Rothschild, Wis., three bass, 10-13, $2,670
3rd: Mike Feldermann, Galena, Ill., three bass, 10-7, $1,514
4th: Bob Bungard, Holmen, Wis., three bass, 10-0, $1,060
5th: Fernando Lobato, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 9-15, $908
6th: Jason Skutt, Menomonie, Wis., three bass, 9-14, $833
7th: Tom Howland, Riceville, Iowa, three bass, 9-11, $757
8th: Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 9-9, $681
9th: Brent Schroeder, Caledonia, Minn., three bass, 9-5, $537
9th: Kyle Meyer, Blaine, Minn., three bass, 9-5, $537
9th: William Schultz, Viroqua, Wis., three bass, 9-5, $537
Gann’s 5-pound, 9-ounce catch also earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $660.
Kevin Anderson of Ettrick, Wisconsin, caught three bass weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Co-Angler Division and $2,435.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kevin Anderson, Ettrick, Wis., three bass, 10-4, $2,435
2nd: Donald Roscovius, Tomah, Wis., three bass, 9-11, $1,235
3rd: Steve Ubersox, Cherry Valley, Ill., three bass, 9-6, $757
4th: Nick Gifford, Cameron, Wis., three bass, 9-2, $530
5th: Tong Lor, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 8-13, $454
6th: Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., three bass, 8-10, $416
7th: Bill Gabel, Willowbrook, Ill., three bass, 8-8, $378
8th: Richard Conrad, Burnsville, Minn., three bass, 8-2, $341
9th: Tim Czesak, Bloomingdale, Ill., three bass, 8-0, $334
9th: Cody Hackett, Stoddard, Wis., three bass, 8-0, $334
Nicholas Leno of Chicago, Illinois, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 9 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $165.
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. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River in Scottsville, Kentucky. 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 2017 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.
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 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 258 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa 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
