LA CROSSE, Wis. (May 19, 2014) – Kurt Mazurek of Antigo, Wis., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 17 pounds, 6 ounces Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River. For his victory, Mazurek earned $4,948.
“I was pitching to laydowns right on the edge of a current seam,” said Mazurek, who earned his first win after fishing in BFL events since 1995. “The key was that the shoreline I targeted was adjacent to the mouth of a large spawning flat.”
Mazurek said that he ran his trolling motor on 70 or 80 all day, but the current near the bank he was pitching too was considerably slower.
“I was doing something a little unusual,” said Mazurek, who works for Mepps and Mister Twister. “I used a prototype soft plastic stickbait from Mister Twister that is somewhat similar to a Slug-Go. I actually pitched it like a jig and let it drift under the logs.
“I only culled three times,” said Mazurek. “Staying patient and focused so that I didn’t miss any of my moments was important.”
Mazurek, who has written a novel titled Personal Best: Fishing and Life, said that his win was strikingly similar to the one that the main character of his book earns and promised to write about it in detail on his blog at FishingForward.com. Rounding out the top 10 pros were:
2nd: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 16-14, $2,474
3rd: Jesse Wolfe, Nelson, Wis., five bass, 16-5, $1,649
4th: Ron Cherkas, Grimes, Iowa, five bass, 14-8, $1,155
5th: Mike Gabel, Woodridge, Ill., five bass, 14-2, $990
6th: Ben Potaracke, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 13-9, $907
7th: Cade Laufenberg, Stoddard, Wis., five bass, 13-1, $825
8th: Rick Bosshard, Hartland, Wis., five bass, 13-0, $742
9th: Jim Tomsovic, Sparta, Wis., five bass, 12-15, $660
10th: Dave Avenarius, Yorkville, Ill., five bass, 12-11, $557
Andy Seaton of Germantown Hills, Ill., weighed in a five-bass limit totaling 13 pounds, 14 ounces Saturday to win $2,474 in the co-angler division. Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:
2nd: Kyle Rabelhofer, Silver Lake, Wis., five bass, 12-4, $1,237
3rd: Kevin Anderson, Ettrick, Wis., five bass, 11-6, $824
4th: Josh Reynolds, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 11-2, $577
5th: Matthew Frisk, Sparta, Wis., four bass, 10-14, $495
6th: Mike Frazer, De Forest, Wis., five bass, 10-7, $454
7th: Brad Wessling, Milwaukee, Wis., five bass, 9-15, $412
8th: Justin Drljaca, Nashotah, Wis., five bass, 9-14, $371
9th: Dustin Smith, Maitland, Fla., four bass, 9-10, $330
10th: Jason Howland, Albert Lea, Minn., five bass, 9-8, $289
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.