LACROSSE, Wis. (Sept. 18, 2006) - Boater Jeff Ritter of Prairie Du Chien, Wis., earned 300 points and $5,648 Sunday as the winner of the Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division Super Bass Tournament on the Mississippi River.
Ritter's two-day winning catch of 10 bass weighed 29 pounds, 2 ounces. He was throwing a Spro Bronze Eye Frog around the edges of grass beds to catch his bass.
Rounding out the top five boaters are Thomas Boynton of Le Claire, Iowa (10 bass, 28 pounds, 1 ounce, $2,824); Douglas Stanton of Winona, Minn. (10 bass, 27 pounds, 9 ounces, $1,882); Dan Thill of LaCrosse, Wis. (10 bass, 27 pounds, 6 ounces, $1,318); and Mike Brueggen of Cashton, Wis. (10 bass, 26 pounds, 14 ounces, $1,130).
Brueggen also won the Boater Division Big Bass award with a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass that earned him an additional $750.
Richie Eaves of Nauvoo, Ill., took home $500 for being the highest-placing Ranger Cup participant.
Michael Syjud of Shorewood, Ill., earned $2,824 as the co-angler winner thanks to 10 bass weighing 23 pounds, 11 ounces that he caught on a Zoom Horny Toad thrown over submerged grass beds.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Al Kjos of LaCrosse, Wis. (10 bass, 23 pounds, 5 ounces, $1,412); Richard Conrad of Eau Claire, Wis. (10 bass, 23 pounds, 1 ounce, $940); Kent Keeshan of Bettendorf, Iowa, (eight bass, 22 pounds, 11 ounces, $659) and Dave Knutstrom of Stronghurst, Ill. (eight bass, 19 pounds, 3 ounces, $565).
Kevin Anderson of Ettrick, Wis., earned $375 as the co-angler Snickers Big Bass winner with a 4-pound bass.
The top 40 Great Lakes Division boaters and co-anglers based on year-end points standings will now advance to the no-entry-fee Fort Madison Regional Championship near Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 5-7, where they will compete against Illini, Michigan and Ozark anglers for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck in the Boater Division plus six slots in the no-entry-fee 2007 Wal-Mart BFL All-American.