Ettrick’s Anderson Earns Co-angler Title

LA CROSSE, Wis. (July 24, 2017) – Brandon Gann of Sparta, Wisconsin, caught three bass weighing 10 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River. For his win, Gann pocketed $5,401.

“I primarily fished backwaters off of the main-river channel – basically anywhere that I could find clean water,” said Gann, who logged his third career-win on the Mississippi River in BFL competition. “We had some severe weather roll through and it dirtied everything up, so I had to start from scratch. It was almost like pre-fishing the entire region again.”

Gann said he spent the event fishing Pool No. 8, and that his most productive bait was a Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Frog 65.

“I rotated between four or five different areas and worked the frog through lily pads mixed with duckweed,” said Gann. “It was tough out there – I think I only caught four keepers the entire day.”

One of Gann’s keepers – a 5-pound, 9-ounce bass – ended up being the largest of the event.

“I caught the big bass on the Bronzeye frog around 1 p.m., and it was definitely what won it for me,” said Gann. “I was very fortunate to get that bite.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 10-14, $5,401

2^nd:         Todd Hancock, Rothschild, Wis., three bass, 10-13, $2,670

3^rd:          Mike Feldermann, Galena, Ill., three bass, 10-7, $1,514

4^th:          Bob Bungard, Holmen, Wis., three bass, 10-0, $1,060

5^th:          Fernando Lobato, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 9-15, $908

6^th:          Jason Skutt, Menomonie, Wis., three bass, 9-14, $833

7^th:          Tom Howland, Riceville, Iowa, three bass, 9-11, $757

8^th:          Yamamoto Baits pro Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 9-9, $681

9^th:          Brent Schroeder, Caledonia, Minn., three bass, 9-5, $537

9^th:          Kyle Meyer, Blaine, Minn., three bass, 9-5, $537

9^th:          William Schultz, Viroqua, Wis., three bass, 9-5, $537

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Gann’s 5-pound, 9-ounce catch also earned him the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $660.

Kevin Anderson of Ettrick, Wisconsin, caught three bass weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the Co-Angler Division and $2,435.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Kevin Anderson, Ettrick, Wis., three bass, 10-4, $2,435

2^nd:         Donald Roscovius, Tomah, Wis., three bass, 9-11, $1,235

3^rd:          Steve Ubersox, Cherry Valley, Ill., three bass, 9-6, $757

4^th:          Nick Gifford, Cameron, Wis., three bass, 9-2, $530

5^th:          Tong Lor, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 8-13, $454

6^th:          Craig Fanning, Elwood, Ill., three bass, 8-10, $416

7^th:          Bill Gabel, Willowbrook, Ill., three bass, 8-8, $378

8^th:          Richard Conrad, Burnsville, Minn., three bass, 8-2, $341

9^th:          Tim Czesak, Bloomingdale, Ill., three bass, 8-0, $334

9^th:          Cody Hackett, Stoddard, Wis., three bass, 8-0, $334

Nicholas Leno of Chicago, Illinois, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 3 pounds, 9 ounces – and earned the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $165.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five winners in each qualifying event, will be entered in the Oct. 12-14 BFL Regional Championship on the Barren River in Scottsville, Kentucky. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.

The 2017 BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 tournaments throughout the season, five qualifying events in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five winners of the qualifying events, will advance to one of six 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. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the BFL on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.