LA CROSSE, Wis. (Sept. 18, 2023) – Boater Dan Mohn of Lansing, Iowa, caught 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Bass Fishing League tournament on the Mississippi River at La Crosse, Wisconsin. The tournament was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division. Mohn earned $7,534 for his victory.
Mohn has been hot as of late, and his Super Tournament win comes on the heels of a BFL win on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien on Aug. 19.
“The fish are starting to move into the current a little more, into more of a fall-transition period,” Mohn said. “I was looking for a mix of grass and rock, and if it had some wood nearby, that was even better. The big thing was that what I was fishing just needed some bait around it. It was a typical fall, find-the-bait, find-the-fish type of thing.”
Although he fished in both Pool 8 and Pool 9, Mohn said his bigger fish came out of Pool 8 both days. He employed a variety of baits during the tournament, including a SPRO topwater walking bait, a jig tipped with a Big Bite Baits College Craw trailer, a SPRO Essential Series Aruku Shad Lipless Crankbait, a SPRO Mike McClelland McStick 115 Jerkbait, and a Missile Baits D Bomb Creature Bait. His tactics produced a mixed bag, composed of primarily largemouth.
“The fall pattern really plays to my strengths,” Mohn said. “I’ve had a really great run coming off my last BFL win. I’ve had a couple of other wins in some other events recently. My confidence is sky-high right now. I got a new boat after the last BFL win, and it’s been treating me well so far.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, 10 bass, 37-4, $7,534
2nd: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., 10 bass, 33-0, $3,102
3rd: Fernando Lobato, Sparta, Wis., 10 bass, 31-5, $2,404 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th: Cade Laufenberg, Onalaska, Wis., 10 bass, 30-14, $1,331
5th: Chris Aswegan, Tiffin, Iowa, 10 bass, 29-10, $1,141
6th: Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., 10 bass, 29-9, $1,046
7th: Kyle Seubert, Chaseburg, Wis., 10 bass, 29-1, $951
8th: Severin Tubbin, Viroqua, Wis., 10 bass, 28-14, $856
9th: Brandyn Baum, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 28-1, $1,139
10th: Casey Goode, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 27-9, $665
Mike Brueggen and Brandyn Baum, both of La Crosse, Wisconsin, both had bass that weighed 4 pounds, 11 ounces that were the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. Each angler earned a Big Bass Boater award of $378. Justin Oppegard of Eagen, Minnesota, won the Co-angler Division and $2,852 Sunday after catching a two-day total of eight bass weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Justin Oppegard, Eagen, Minn., eight bass, 19-13, $2,852
2nd: Will Ahnen, Fennimore, Wis., eight bass, 19-6, $1,576
3rd: Logan Sullivan, Waunakee, Wis., eight bass, 18-15, $950
4th: Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, nine bass, 18-9, $666
5th: Chris Stelter, Chisago, Minn., eight bass, 18-8, $570
6th: Richard Conrad, Arcadia, Wis., nine bass, 18-5, $923
7th: Thad Vettrus, Chippewa Falls, Wis., eight bass, 16-13, $475
8th: Brian Brecka, Alma, Wis., eight bass, 16-9, $428
9th: Brad Juen, La Crosse, Wis., eight bass, 16-2, $380
10th: Shane Kuehn, Bennington, Neb., seven bass, 14-10, $333
Austin Frye of Ontario, Wisconsin, caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $379.
With the regular season now complete, boater Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, won the 2023 Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with a five-event total of 1,349 points to earn the $1,000 boater AOY award. Hertz Skaer of Holmen, Wisconsin, won the 2023 Strike King Co-Angler Great Lakes Division AOY race with 1,322 points and earned the $500 Strike King Co-angler of the Year award.