| Boater Dan Mohn of Lansing, Iowa, and Strike-King co-angler Justin Oppegard of Eagen, Minnesota. |
| Minnesota’s Oppegard Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division LA CROSSE, Wis. (Sept. 18, 2023) – Boater Dan Mohn of Lansing, Iowa, caught 10 bass weighing 37 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the two-day MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River at La Crosse Presented by FVP in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The tournament, hosted by Explore La Crosse, was the fifth and final regular-season event for the Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division. Mohn earned $7,534 for his victory. Mohn has been hot as of late, and his Super Tournament win comes on the heels of a BFL win on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien on Aug. 19. “The fish are starting to move into the current a little more, into more of a fall-transition period,” Mohn said. “I was looking for a mix of grass and rock, and if it had some wood nearby, that was even better. The big thing was that what I was fishing just needed some bait around it. It was a typical fall, find-the-bait, find-the-fish type of thing.” Although he fished in both Pool 8 and Pool 9, Mohn said his bigger fish came out of Pool 8 both days. He employed a variety of baits during the tournament, including a SPRO topwater walking bait, a jig tipped with a Big Bite Baits College Craw trailer, a SPRO Essential Series Aruku Shad Lipless Crankbait , a SPRO Mike McClelland McStick 115 Jerkbait, and a Missile Baits D Bomb Creature Bait. His tactics produced a mixed bag, composed of primarily largemouth. “The fall pattern really plays to my strengths,” Mohn said. “I’ve had a really great run coming off my last BFL win. I’ve had a couple of other wins in some other events recently. My confidence is sky-high right now. I got a new boat after the last BFL win, and it’s been treating me well so far.” The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in: 1st: Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, 10 bass, 37-4, $7,534 2nd: Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., 10 bass, 33-0, $3,102 3rd: Fernando Lobato, Sparta, Wis., 10 bass, 31-5, $2,404 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus) 4th: Cade Laufenberg, Onalaska, Wis., 10 bass, 30-14, $1,331 5th: Chris Aswegan, Tiffin, Iowa, 10 bass, 29-10, $1,141 6th: Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., 10 bass, 29-9, $1,046 7th: Kyle Seubert, Chaseburg, Wis., 10 bass, 29-1, $951 8th: Severin Tubbin, Viroqua, Wis., 10 bass, 28-14, $856 9th: Brandyn Baum, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 28-1, $1,139 10th: Casey Goode, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 27-9, $665Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. Mike Brueggen and Brandyn Baum, both of La Crosse, Wisconsin, both had bass that weighed 4 pounds, 11 ounces that were the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division. Each angler earned a Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $378.  Justin Oppegard of Eagen, Minnesota, won the Strike King Co-angler Division and $2,852 Sunday after catching a two-day total of eight bass weighing 19 pounds, 13 ounces. The top 10 Strike King co-anglers were: 1st: Justin Oppegard, Eagen, Minn., eight bass, 19-13, $2,852 2nd: Will Ahnen, Fennimore, Wis., eight bass, 19-6, $1,576 3rd: Logan Sullivan, Waunakee, Wis., eight bass, 18-15, $950 4th: Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, nine bass, 18-9, $666 5th: Chris Stelter, Chisago, Minn., eight bass, 18-8, $570 6th: Richard Conrad, Arcadia, Wis., nine bass, 18-5, $923 7th: Thad Vettrus, Chippewa Falls, Wis., eight bass, 16-13, $475 8th: Brian Brecka, Alma, Wis., eight bass, 16-9, $428 9th: Brad Juen, La Crosse, Wis., eight bass, 16-2, $380 10th: Shane Kuehn, Bennington, Neb., seven bass, 14-10, $333Austin Frye of Ontario, Wisconsin, caught the largest bass in the Strike King Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 15 ounces. The catch earned him the Berkley Big Bass Co-angler award of $379. With the regular season now complete, boater Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, won the 2023 Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division Boater Angler of the Year (AOY) race with a five-event total of 1,349 points to earn the $1,000 boater AOY award. Hertz Skaer of Holmen, Wisconsin, won the 2023 Strike King Co-Angler Great Lakes Division AOY race with 1,322 points and earned the $500 Strike King Co-angler of the Year award. Now, the top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five winners of each qualifying event, will advance to compete in the Oct. 19-21 Bass Fishing League Regional Championship 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 BFL All-American. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers plus tournament winners from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League division will also earn priority entry into the MLF Toyota Series, the pathway to the MLF Tackle Warehouse Invitationals and ultimately the MLF Bass Pro Tour. 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. |
