PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (Sept. 28, 2026) – Boater Cade Laufenberg of Onalaska, Wisconsin, caught a total of 10 bass weighing 34 pounds, 4 ounces, over two days to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien. The tournament was the fifth and final event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Laufenberg earned $5,580, including a $2,500 Phoenix bonus, for his victory.

According to Laufenberg, heavy rains the week before the tournament dumped up to six inches of rain locally, which caused one of the tributaries upriver of Prairie du Chien to blow out mud and, as a result, turn the water in Pool 9 to mud.

“I had seen the scenario before and knew what I needed to do to capitalize on it,” Laufenberg said. “Early in the week of practice you couldn’t get a bite, because they were covered in mud. But as the water started to stabilize and clear up a little bit, the fish really started biting. I knew in that scenario I needed to throw moving baits with a lot of vibration and bright color to get a reaction bite in that dirty water.

“I had a really good practice day Friday,” Laufenberg went on to say. “Everywhere I went I was catching fish.”

Laufenberg locked up to Pool 9 both days of the tournament and said he relied on two spots for his fish. He would fish one, then let it rest while he fished the other and alternate back and forth. He turned to a Summer Sexy Shad Strike King KVD 1.0 HC Squarebill crankbait as well as a ¾-ounce Chartreuse Baitfish Strike King Red Eye Shad to trigger strikes.

“I was fishing around a lot of large shad, so I liked the bigger size and profile of the Red Eye Shad, and sometimes you had to make a cast across the current, so having a bigger bait would help you keep it close to the bottom where the fish were positioned in the current. And you would come through that sand, and when you came to a drop or ditch the bait was at their eye level and it dropped right into their face and they reacted. They ate it.

“With that, I lost a lot of fish because sometimes you don’t get a good hook into them on a reaction bite, but ultimately, getting more bites was the deal in the end.”

Laufenberg said he caught his largest fish and multiple 3-pound largemouth on a 5-inch Pearl Strike King 3X ElazTech Z Too Soft Jerkbait.

Laufenberg entered the tournament with expectations of winning because he knew the muddy water would hurt other competitors’ chances and he had faced the same scenario before and was prepared for it.

“There were signs Friday that continued throughout the tournament that made it seem like it was meant to be,” Laufenberg said. “It was just super poetic. I had been so close to winning the Super Tournament so many times and never been able to do it. It just felt like I had to get this one because it was the last one to get.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:          Cade Laufenberg, Onalaska, Wis., 10 bass, 34-4, $5,580 (includes $2,500 Phoenix bonus)
2nd:        Jason Eastman, Waterloo, Iowa, 10 bass, 30-15, $1,640
3rd:         Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 29-11, $920
4th:         Josh Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, 10 bass, 29-5, $770
5th:         Casey Goode, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 28-15, $980
6th:         Chris Welch, Fall River, Wis., 10 bass, 26-0, $650
7th:         Dalton Christoffer, Lansing, Iowa, nine bass, 23-11, $630
8th:         Brian Fitzpatrick, La Crosse, Wis., eight bass, 19-13, $850
9th:         Clayton Reitz, Morton, Ill., seven bass, 18-8, $580
10th:       Zach Williamson, Stoddard, Wis., five bass, 13-5, $560

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Casey Goode of La Crosse, Wisconsin, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 4-pound, 11-ounce bass worth $300.

Shaun Hansen of Spring Grove, Minnesota, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,690 Sunday after bringing six bass to the scale that totaled 17 pounds, 6 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:          Shaun Hansen, Spring Grove, Minn., six bass, 17-6, $1,690
2nd:         Darrin Wood, Rochester, Minn., six bass, 16-4, $820
3rd:         Art Gneuhs, Plainfield, Ill., six bass, 15-8, $460
4th:         Clint Goodwin, La Crescent, Minn., six bass, 14-6, $385
5th:         Jessie Pollard, Whitehall, Wis., six bass, 14-5, $340
6th:         Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, five bass, 12-15, $375
7th:         Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, six bass, 12-2, $320
8th:         Brian Brecka, Alma, Wis., five bass, 10-13, $300
9th:         Wesley Pigeon, Randolph, Wis., three bass, 6-15, $290
10th:       Jeff Mairet, Oskaloosa, Iowa, three bass, 5-8, $380

Hansen also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass worth $150.

With all five events in the division now complete, boater Mike Brueggen of La Crosse, Wisconsin, won the 7 Brew Great Lakes Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 1,342 points and earned the $1,000 prize, while Jason Swanson of Waterloo, Iowa, won the Great Lakes Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 1,345 points and earned the $500 payout.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.

The 2026 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 co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.

Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly Nicotine Pouches, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.