LA CROSSE, Wis. (July 22, 2019) – Boater Darren Hahne of Ottawa, Illinois, brought in a three-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 7 ounces, to win the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River Saturday. Hahne earned $6,466 for his victory.

“I’ve finished second twice, so to finally earn a win in a BFL tournament feels really good,” said Hahne, who earned his first career victory in FLW competition. “The river was really muddy, but I found one spot that had clear water and had it all to myself and that turned out to be the key.

“I was fishing in Pool No. 8, the lower end, just frogging and flipping,” Hahne continued. “Between my co-angler and I, we caught around 14 or 15 keepers. The best action was in the morning, from 6:30 until 10:30.”

When flipping Hahne threw a Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw (black and blue), and a Booyah Pad Crasher (Bronzeye) while frogging. Two of his three limit-fish came flipping, one frogging.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:

1^st:          Darren Hahne, Ottawa, Ill., three bass, 11-7, $4,466 + $2,000 Ranger Cup

2^nd:         Rick Pieper, Maysville, Iowa, three bass, 10-12, $1,883

3^rd:         Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 10-11, $1,606

4^th:         Brandon Gann, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 10-3, $879

5^th:         Kyle Von Ruden, Stoddard, Wis., three bass, 9-14, $753

6^th:         Dick Crider, Gurnee, Ill., three bass, 9-12, $690

7^th:         Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., three bass, 9-11, $778

8^th:         Chris Aswegan, Tiffin, Iowa, three bass, 9-10, $565

9^th:         Kyler Chelminiak, Franklin, Wis., three bass, 9-9, $802

10^th:       Rick Martin, Winter, Wis., three bass, 9-5, $439

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

Hahne also caught the largest bass of the event – a fish weighing 4 pounds, 9 ounces – to earn the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $500.

Lee Lewis of Peoria, Illinois, won the Co-angler Division and $1,883 Saturday after catching three bass weighing 9 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers were:

1^st:          Lee Lewis, Peoria, Ill., three bass, 9-15, $1,883

2^nd:         Bill Gabel, Willowbrook, Ill., three bass, 9-9, $942

3^rd:         Joseph Johnson, Maquoketa, Iowa, three bass, 9-3, $627

4^th:         Mike Fischer, Stacy, Minn., three bass, 8-15, $758

5^th:         Thomas Roberts, Waunakee, Wis., three bass, 8-15, $508

6^th:         Zuteus Sevenants, Holmen, Wis., three bass, 8-13, $345

7^th:         Dylan Drephal, Black Creek, Wis., three bass, 8-12, $514

8^th:         Kevin Anderson, Ettrick, Wis., three bass, 8-9, $282

9^th:         Richard Conrad, Arcadia, Wis., three bass, 8-4, $251

10^th:       Levi Schmidt, Caledonia, Minn., three bass, 8-2, $220

The T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River in La Crosse was hosted by the La Crosse County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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. 17-19 BFL Regional Championship on Kentucky Lake presented by Evinrude in Paris, Tennessee. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard and $20,000, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518L with a 200-horsepower outboard.

The 2019 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. The 2020 BFL All-American will be held April 30-May 2 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina, and is hosted by Visit Anderson. Top performers in the BFL can move up to the Costa FLW Series or even the FLW Tour.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League on FLW’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.