LA CROSSE, Wis. (May 22, 2023) – Boater Nick Trim of Galesville, Wisconsin, caught a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce, Sunday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Mississippi River at La Crosse. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Trim earned $13,024, including the lucrative $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for his victory.
“First thing this morning, I wanted to lock into Pool 7, but there was a barge in the lock, so I pulled into a dead-end pocket and caught a couple of largemouth,” said Trim, who notched his third BFL win.
Trim said a half hour later he locked into Pool No. 7, where he had 10 bed fish he had found in practice and marked on his electronics.
“I went to them and basically picked them off one at a time,” Trim said.
Trim said his largemouth approach consisted of a black and blue Missile Baits D Bomb Creature Bait on a ¼-ounce tungsten weight. The D Bomb also produced three smallmouth for Trim.
Trim said he used his Garmin Livescope in water that was too dirty to be able to see the bedded fish.
“I watched my biggest fish of the day on my Livescope swim away every time the bait hit the bed,” Trim said. “I fished it for 45 minutes, finally hooked up, and then lost it. So, I left, came back later, and tried again. About 20 minutes went by; she finally bit, and it ended up being the big bass of the day.
“I love the spawn and I love fishing beds,” Trim added. “It’s something I’m really confident in. So, this win feels really good.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Nick Trim, Galesville, Wis., five bass, 19-1, $13,024 (includes $7,000 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
2nd: Cade Laufenberg, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 18-11, $2,197
3rd: Austin Bartholomew, Keosauqua, Iowa, five bass, 15-1, $1,464
4th: Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 15-0, $1,745
5th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie Du Chien, Wis., five bass, 14-9, $879
6th: Ben Potaracke, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 14-7, $805
7th: Aidan Brown, Bangor, Wis., five bass, 14-5, $732
8th: Max Ford, Genoa, Wis., five bass, 14-4, $659
9th: Brent Schroeder, Caledonia, Minn., five bass, 14-3, $549
9th: Austin Brimeyer, Dubuque, Iowa, five bass, 14-3, $549
Trim also caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 7 ounces to earn the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $630. Jeff Benson of Holmen, Wisconsin, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,197 Sunday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Jeff Benson, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 15-11, $2,197
2nd: Kenny Nachtman, Bellevue, Iowa, five bass, 14-0, $1,098
3rd: C.J. Reitz, Morton, Ill., five bass, 12-9, $733
4th: Hertz Skaer, Holmen, Wis., five bass, 12-8, $513
5th: Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., five bass, 12-6, $754
6th: Bernard Campos, Round Lake Beach, Ill., five bass, 11-14, $403
7th: Logan Sullivan, Waunakee, Wis., five bass, 11-12, $366
8th: Maddox Cejka, Prairie Du Chien, Wis., five bass, 11-3, $311
8th: Lance Olson, Necedah, Wis., five bass, 11-3, $311
10th: Troy Jutting, Savage, Minn., five bass, 10-15, $256
Craig Fanning of Elwood, Illinois, earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $315, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After two events, Cade Laufenberg of Onalaska, Wisconsin, leads the BFL Great Lakes Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 499 points, while Hertz Skaer of Holmen, Wisconsin, leads the Co-Angler Division AOY race with 493 points.