WINNECONNE, Wis. (July 12, 2004) - Jim Jones of Big Bend earned $4,291 Saturday as winner of the third regular-season Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division bass fishing tournament on the Wolf River Chain near Winneconne. He caught five bass weighing 15 pounds, 14 ounces to claim the win and 200 points in the Boater Division.
Jones caught his tournament-winning bass on a tube in Wolf Creek. He has two other BFL top-10s on the Wolf River Chain, but this was his first BFL victory.
Rounding out the top four boaters are Clayton Reitz of Morton, Ill. (five bass, 14 pounds, 13 ounces, $2,145); Douglas Stanton of Winona, Minn. (three bass, 12 pounds, 4 ounces, $1,459); and Jerry Robackouski Jr. of Plainfield, Ill. (five bass, 11 pounds, 12 ounces, $1,116). Tied for fifth were Gary Schild of Mundelein, Ill., and Joe Sukowatey of Greendale. Both anglers caught five bass weighing 10 pounds, 7 ounces that earned each of them $858.
Reitz earned a $500 bonus from Ranger Boats as the highest-finishing participant in the Ranger Cup incentive program. Stanton earned Boater Division big-bass award honors and $815 with a 5-pound bass he caught on a Scum Frog.
Joe Woods of Fremont claimed $2,034 as winner of the Co-angler Division with a four-bass catch weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces that he caught on Scum Frog.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Dave Linton of Twin Lakes (five bass, 9 pounds, 15 ounces, $1,017); Don Bakken of Madison (five bass, 9 pounds, 7 ounces, $692); Brad Rubin of Mundelein, Ill. (five bass, 9 pounds, 3 ounces, $529); and Kevin Whitaker of West Chicago, Ill. (two bass, 8 pounds, 15 ounces, $448).
Whitaker earned co-angler big-bass honors with a 4-pound, 10-ounce bass he caught on a black tube. He earned $378 for his big bass.
The Great Lakes Division's next stop will be Aug. 7 on the Mississippi River in Prairie du Chien, and the regular season will come to a close Sept. 11-12 with a two-day Super Tournament on the Mississippi River in La Crosse.