| Boater Kyle Meyer of Blaine, Minnesota, and Strike-King co-angler Gage Griffin of Lake Forest, Illinois. |
| Illinois’ Griffin Wins Strike King Co-Angler Division WINNECONNE, Wis. (June 19, 2023) – Boater Kyle Meyer of Blaine, Minnesota, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 5 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Wolf River Chain of Lakes. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Meyer earned $5,204 for his victory. “I ran up to Lake Winnebago, and once I was there, I got three fish for 10 pounds,” said Meyer. “It was a good start to the day.” Meyer said his first bass was a 3¼-pound bass that fell for a swimjig in lily pads, and a 4-pounder followed soon after. A couple of minutes later a 2¾-pounder took the jig. Meyer said his weight held with those three fish until 11 o’clock, then he relocated in search of bass to fill his limit. “I caught two more keepers, but they were just small ones, so I knew I had to cull them,” Meyer said. “I ran back to my starting spot about noon, caught one, then ended up catching the big one, a 4-15. There was nothing special about today – just throwing a swimjig at the same stuff. “When I caught that big one, I said, ‘Game over,’” Meyer continued. “There’s not that many 5-pounders out there. That was an absolute unicorn on this body of water.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament: 1st: Kyle Meyer, Blaine, Minn., five bass, 18-5, $5,204 2nd: Joe Pollak, Lake Geneva, Wis., five bass, 14-4, $2,629 3rd: Randy Oppermann, Redgranite, Wis., five bass, 14-0, $1,452 4th: Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 13-15, $1,517 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 5th: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 13-9, $872 6th: Brad Wessling, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 13-5, $799 7th: Christopher Smith, North Branch, Minn., five bass, 13-3, $726 8th: Travis Seitzinger, Lakefield, Minn., five bass, 13-2, $654 9th: Curtis Samo, Rochelle, Ill., five bass, 13-1, $581 10th: Tanner Bock, Davenport, Iowa, five bass, 12-11, $509 Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Meyer also caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 15 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $625.  Gage Griffin of Lake Forest, Illinois, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,442 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 6 ounces. The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished: 1st: Gage Griffin, Lake Forest, Ill., five bass, 15-6, $2,442 2nd: Troy Jutting, Savage, Minn., five bass, 12-6, $1,070 3rd: Kenny Nachtman, Bellevue, Iowa, five bass, 11-8, $712 4th: Will Ahnen, Fennimore, Wis., five bass, 10-15, $499 5th: Michael White, Waupun, Wis., five bass, 10-12, $428 6th: Mike Marr, Oxford, Wis., five bass, 10-10, $392 7th: Jason von Bargen, Prior Lake, Minn., four bass, 9-13, $357 8th: Frank Miller, Barrington, Ill., four bass, 9-0, $303 8th: Jill Kerzisnik, Plainfield, Ill., four bass, 9-0, $303 10th: Clifton Williams, Wood Dale, Ill., four bass, 8-15, $250 Griffin also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $302, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 11 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day. After three events, Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, leads the BFL Great Lakes Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 730 points, while Hertz Skaer of Holmen, Wisconsin, leads the Strike King Co-Angler Division AOY race with 725 points. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard. The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the 2024 BFL All-American. Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Mystik Lubricants, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI. For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. |
