LA CROSSE, Wis. (July 22, 2019) – Boater Darren Hahne of Ottawa, Illinois, brought in a three-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River Saturday. Hahne earned $6,466 for his victory.
“I’ve finished second twice, so to finally earn a win in a BFL tournament feels really good,” said Hahne, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “The river was really muddy, but I found one spot that had clear water and had it all to myself and that turned out to be the key.
“I was fishing in Pool No. 8, the lower end, just frogging and flipping,” Hahne continued. “Between my co-angler and I, we caught around 14 or 15 keepers. The best action was in the morning, from 6:30 until 10:30.”
When flipping Hahne threw a Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw (black and blue), and a Booyah Pad Crasher (Bronzeye) while frogging. Two of his three limit-fish came flipping, one frogging.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Darren Hahne, Ottawa, Ill., three bass, 11-7, $4,466 + $2,000 Ranger Cup
2nd: Rick Pieper, Maysville, Iowa, three bass, 10-12, $1,883
3rd: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 10-11, $1,606
4th: Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 10-3, $879
5th: Kyle Von Ruden, Stoddard, Wis., three bass, 9-14, $753
6th: Dick Crider, Gurnee, Ill., three bass, 9-12, $690
7th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., three bass, 9-11, $778
8th: Chris Aswegan, Tiffin, Iowa, three bass, 9-10, $565
9th: Kyler Chelminiak, Franklin, Wis., three bass, 9-9, $802
10th: Rick Martin, Winter, Wis., three bass, 9-5, $439
Hahne also caught the largest bass of the event – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces – to earn the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $500. Lee Lewis of Peoria, Illinois, won the Co-angler Division and $1,883 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Lee Lewis, Peoria, Ill., three bass, 9-15, $1,883
2nd: Bill Gabel, Willowbrook, Ill., three bass, 9-9, $942
3rd: Joseph Johnson, Maquoketa, Iowa, three bass, 9-3, $627
4th: Mike Fischer, Stacy, Minn., three bass, 8-15, $758
5th: Thomas Roberts, Waunakee, Wis., three bass, 8-15, $508
6th: Zuteus Sevenants, Holmen, Wis., three bass, 8-13, $345
7th: Dylan Drephal, Black Creek, Wis., three bass, 8-12, $514
8th: Kevin Anderson, Ettrick, Wis., three bass, 8-9, $282
9th: Richard Conrad, Arcadia, Wis., three bass, 8-4, $251
10th: Levi Schmidt, Caledonia, Minn., three bass, 8-2, $220