LA CROSSE, Wis. (July 30, 2018) – Boater Nick Trim of Galesville, Wisconsin, brought a three-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 12 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River at La Crosse. For his efforts, Trim pocketed $6,105. Trim worked through backwaters in Pool No. 7 to catch his fish Saturday. He said he weighed his three largemouth off of one bait – a Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye 65 frog, in Barney and Red Ear colors.
“My areas had really thick weed mats with sandy bottoms, which provided some nice cover for the fish,” said Trim, who tallied his first career win in FLW competition. “I didn’t get a bite at my first spot, but I have some history with those fish, so I decided to move 500 yards away and caught a 3-14 as well as a couple of smaller ones.”
At a third area, Trim wasn’t able to get one in the boat. Around 9:30 a.m., he decided to return to where he caught the 3-14 and reeled in another 4-pounder with his frog – his biggest of the day.
“I also lost a big one that rolled on my frog twice,” said Trim. “I switched to a (Missile Baits) D Bomb with a 1½-ounce tungsten weight with a Trokar flipping hook and got it halfway back to the boat, but it came unbuttoned. It was close to 5 pounds, which is a giant for the Mississippi River.”
From there, Trim returned to his first area and caught a 2-15, also on the D Bomb.
“I figured I needed one more big one, so I kept working that weed mat,” said Trim. “I got 60 yards north of where I caught the 2-15 and set the hook on a 4-pounder with the frog. I had just finished telling my co-angler that I could really use a 4-pound bite, and then it happened.”
Trim noted that his 7-foot, 3-inch Fitzgerald Stunner HD heavy rod was crucial to his success.
“The power that rod has to get bass out of heavy cover is phenomenal – it really helped me out.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Nick Trim, Galesville, Wis., three bass, 12-3, $6,105
2nd: Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., three bass, 10-10, $2,144
2nd: Jeff Krisher, Madison, Wis., three bass, 10-10, $2,044
4th: Nathan Huss, Elkhart Lake, Wis., three bass, 10-6, $1,515
5th: Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 10-3, $981
6th: Josh Ystenes, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 9-15, $899
7th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., three bass, 9-14, $818
8th: Nick O’Keefe, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 9-13, $736
9th: Rick Bosshard, Hartland, Wis., three bass, 9-12, $654
10th: Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 9-11, $572
Jerry Robackouski of Joliet, Illinois, brought a 4-pound, 4-ounce, bass to the scale – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $370. Jessie Pollard of Whitehall, Wisconsin, won the Co-angler Division and $2,419 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 9 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jessie Pollard, Whitehall, Wis., three bass, 9-5, $2,419
2nd: Kristian Dus, Chicago, Ill., three bass, 9-4, $1,210
3rd: Chad Schultz, Rockton, Ill., three bass, 9-0, $686
3rd: Kevin Waeyaert, Coal Valley, Ill., three bass, 9-0, $686
5th: Jordan Hirt, Glenwood, Iowa, three bass, 8-15, $484
6th: Kevin Andera, Calmar, Iowa, three bass, 8-12, $444
7th: Ronald Syverson, Holmen, Wis., three bass, 8-9, $403
8th: Greg Oppegard, W. St. Paul, Minn., three bass, 8-7, $363
9th: Ed Remian, Schiller Park, Ill., three bass, 8-1, $323
10th: Spencer Clark, Maryland Heights, Mo., three bass, 8-0, $282
Tom Lindsay of Glenview, Illinois, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division weighing in at 4 pounds even. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $365. https://www.bassresource.com