PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis., (Aug. 21, 2023) – Boater Dan Mohn of Lansing, Iowa, caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien . The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Mohn, who had also won a BFL tournament at Prairie du Chien five years ago to the day, earned $4,514 for his victory.
“I locked up to Pool 9 with a big group,” said Mohn. “I ran around to a bunch of different spots and caught two early and just chipped away and kept culling. I added three others that I weighed throughout the day.
“I ended up using a bunch of different baits,” Mohn continued. “I threw a topwater, I was dragging Big Bite Baits soft plastics on a Carolina rig, and threw a variety of hard baits, including a SPRO Aruku Shad Lipless Crankbait , SPRO jerkbait and a SPRO topwater bait. I was looking at a variety of spots - grass and rock that had current, in 3 to 8 feet of water. It was just a variety of things.”
Mohn said he weighed in all smallmouth, however, he said he caught two largemouth that he culled out late in the day. He said the majority of his fish came from Pool 9, but Pool 10 produced a number of nice bass for him as well.
“The first fish I put in the livewell was my big fish,” Mohn said. “It weighed 3¾ pounds. At that point, I figured I had one down and four to go. My second keeper was over 3 pounds, so I said, ‘This is going good. I only need three more of the right kind of bites.’”
Mohn had four fish over 3 pounds and one just under 3 pounds, and figured if he could cull up to one more bass over 3 pounds, he would have a shot at a high finish in the tournament.
“I tried one more spot on a grass edge and hooked another one that was well over 3 pounds,” Mohn said. “I thought it was going really great, and I had a nice limit at that point.
“It seems like wins come when you least expect it,” Mohn added. “I hoped I’d have a decent tournament. I was on decent fish in practice. This is a tough group of fishermen in this division, and it’s hard to win against that competition. I’ve been on a pretty good roll these past few weeks, and people have been telling me when you’re hot, you’re hot, and just ride that momentum while you have it.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 16-15, $4,514
2nd: Fernando Lobato, Sparta, Wis., five bass, 16-8, $2,397 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
3rd: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-8, $1,265
4th: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 15-6, $885
5th: Jordan Esser, Galena, Ill., five bass, 14-14, $759
6th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 14-11, $946
7th: Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., five bass, 14-10, $632
8th: Jerry Hauck, Lancaster, Wis., five bass, 14-7, $569
9th: Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 14-6, $506
10th: Kory Rose, Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 14-2, $938
Kory Rose of Waterloo, Iowa, caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $495. Blake Miller of Cedar Falls, Iowa, won the co-angler division and $1,897 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, five bass, 13-10, $1,897
2nd: Brad Juen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 12-7, $949
3rd: David Ondrla, Elmhurst, Ill., five bass, 11-8, $633
4th: Jamie Gomez, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 11-2, $443
5th: Matthew Tinsman, Peoria, Ill., five bass, 10-11, $379
6th: Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 10-7, $348
7th: Jason Olson, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., five bass, 10-3, $316
8th: Hertz Skaer, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 9-15, $485
9th: Charles Tremelling, Dodgeville, Wis., four bass, 9-11, $253
10th: Will Ahnen, Fennimore, Wis., five bass, 9-6, $371
Matt Knox of Metamora, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $247, catching a bass that weighed in at 3 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After four events, Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, leads the BFL Great Lakes Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 975 points, while Hertz Skaer of Holmen, Wisconsin, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 968 points.