WINNECONNE, Wis. (June 22, 2009) - Clayton Reitz of Morton, Ill., won the Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division bass fishing tournament on Lake Winneconne Saturday with a five-bass catch weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces. The victory earned Reitz $4,472 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Fort Madison Regional Championship in Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 1-3, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
Reitz said he caught his fish by flipping a 4-inch brown tube in the West Poygan area.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Brady Farrell of Fort Atkinson, Wis. (five bass, 13-8, $1,864); Bill Frisk of Holmen, Wis. (five bass, 13-8, $1,864); Bradley Ksionek of Wausau, Wis. (five bass, 12-9, $1,043); and Paul Trudeau of Huntley, Ill. (five bass, 12-5, $894).
Frisk won the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $650 for a 4-pound, 4-ounce bass.
Mark McCartney of Rochelle, Ill., earned $2,157 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 13 pounds, 2 ounces.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ronald Syverson of La Crosse, Wis. (five bass, 11-4, $1,079); Dave Robel of Muscoda, Wis. (five bass, 10-9, $717); Nick Kasten of Lake Geneva, Wis. (five bass, 9-13, $503); and Arden Damberg of Wheatland, Iowa. (five bass, 9-11, $431).
Ken Haslam of Mukwonago, Wis., earned $305 as the co-angler Big Bass winner after catching a 3-pound, 9-ounce bass.
The next Great Lakes Division event will be held on the Mississippi River in Prairie Du Chien, Wis., July 18.