PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (Aug. 19, 2019) – Boater Joe Pollak of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, won the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien Saturday after catching five bass weighing 15 pounds, 1 ounce. For his win, Pollack netted $4,586.
“I was able to catch a limit fairly quick fishing between the middle and the north side of Pool No. 9, south of Lansing,” said Pollak, who logged his second career victory in BFL competition – both on the Mississippi River. “I had a bunch of spots that had schools of fish on them – probably a dozen or so points that were current-related.”
Pollack said he fished in 1 to 5 feet of water, casting a ¼-ounce white and chartreuse-colored Dirty Jigs swimjig with a 4-inch white Zoom Paddle Tail swimbait trailer, as well as some reaction baits including a white Heddon Zara Spook Jr.
“Around 11 [a.m.], I locked back down to [Pool No.] 10 and sat on another current-related point on the north end and was able to cull out two or three fish using the same baits,” said Pollak. “I upgraded by about 2 pounds which gave me enough to win the tournament.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Joe Pollak, Lake Geneva, Wis., five bass, 15-1, $4,586
2nd: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-0, $1,793
3rd: Brian Fitzpatrick, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 14-10, $1,554
4th: Kyler Chelminiak, Franklin, Wis., five bass, 14-9, $1,090
5th: Kyle Von Ruden, Stoddard, Wis., five bass, 14-6, $677
6th: Robby Tufte, Fountain City, Wis., five bass, 14-5, $771
7th: Terry Fitzpatrick, Waukon, Iowa, five bass, 13-15, $536
7th: Steven Johnson, Lake Villa, Ill., five bass, 13-15, $536
9th: Curtis Samo, Rochelle, Ill., five bass, 13-10, $451
10th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 13-9, $395
Fitzpatrick caught a bass weighing 3 pounds, 13 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $425. Kory Krienke of Annandale, Minnesota, won the Co-angler Division and $1,893 Saturday after catching five bass weighing 12 pounds, 4 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Kory Krienke, Annandale, Minn., five bass, 12-4, $1,893
2nd: Bradley Thacher, Preston, Minn., five bass, 11-8, $846
3rd: Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., five bass, 11-5, $764
4th: Rene Luis, Chicago, Ill., five bass, 11-3, $395
5th: Richard Conrad, Arcadia, Wis., five bass, 11-0, $439
6th: Thomas Roberts, Waunakee, Wis., five bass, 10-7, $310
7th: Josh Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 10-4, $282
8th: Mike Toft, Belleville, Wis., five bass, 9-12, $254
9th: Joe Perez, Chanhassen, Minn., five bass, 9-8, $226
10th: Matt Finkeldei, Davenport, Iowa, five bass, 9-6, $198
Jared Greninger of Byron, Illinois, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $212.