Minnesota’s Hansen Wins Co-Angler Division

LA CROSSE, Wis. (May 18, 2026) – Boater Cade Laufenberg of Onalaska, Wisconsin, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 19 pounds even to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River in La Crosse . The tournament was the second of five events of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Laufenberg earned $2,780 for his victory.

Laufenberg relied on a patient finesse approach to earn his 12th career BFL victory, targeting postspawn smallmouth bass throughout Pool No. 8 on the Mississippi River. Fishing slowly around bass recovering from the spawn or guarding fry, he used subtle presentations to coax reluctant fish into biting.

“It’s that time of year that I’ve done well in the past,” Laufenberg said. “Just dragging super slow and fishing finesse presentations for those weary postspawn smallmouth.”

A Strike King Rage Scounbug accounted for multiple key fish, while additional finesse baits helped him pick apart areas holding inactive bass. Rather than covering large amounts of water, Laufenberg focused on thoroughly working individual fish and trusting that patience would eventually pay off. That persistence proved to be the defining factor in the victory.

“Sometimes a fish would take 45 minutes to catch,” he said. “Just having the confidence that it’s the right fish and it’s worth giving that time to when you only got those three hours to make it happen with the scope.”

Laufenberg added that forward-facing sonar played a critical role in allowing him to stay locked onto specific fish.

“Without the scope, I couldn’t catch any of those fish,” he said.

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Cade Laufenberg, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 19-0, $2,780
2nd:      Kevin Ruh, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 16-12, $2,020 (includes $500 Phoenix Bonus)
3rd:       Wyatt Becker, West Salem, Wis., five bass, 16-9, $740
4th:        Fernando Lobato, Sparta, Wis., five bass, 15-5, $700
5th:        Tyler Fitch, Fall River, Wis., five bass, 14-15, $530
6th:        Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 14-13, $460
7th:        Rob Leidholdt, Milton, Wis., five bass, 14-9, $440
7th:        Brandyn Baum, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 14-9, $440
9th:        Clayton Reitz, Morton, Ill., five bass, 14-8, $410
10th:     Devin Teigen, Nelson, Wis., five bass, 14-6, $400

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Kevin Ruh of Onalaska, Wisconsin, and Brent Schroeder of Caledonia, Minnesota, split the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after each brought a bass weighing 4 pounds, 2 ounces, to the scale to split the $200 award.

Shaun Hansen of Spring Grove, Minnesota, earned the win the co-angler division on Saturday with a three-bass limit weighing in at 10 pounds, 8 ounces. Hanser earned the top co-angler payout of $1,390 for his victory.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Shaun Hansen, Spring Grove, Minn., three bass, 10-8, $1,390
2nd:      Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, three bass, 8-11, $760
3rd:       Dan Goeke, West Point, Iowa, three bass, 8-10, $370
4th:        Danny Mancini, Necedah, Wis., three bass, 8-7, $282
4th:        Ian Wiese, Slinger, Wis., three bass, 8-7, $282
6th:        Shane Treu, Belvidere, Ill., two bass, 8-6, $330
6th:        Lee Lewis, Peoria, Ill., three bass, 8-6, $230
8th:        David Ondrla, Elmhurst, Ill., three bass, 8-2, $212
8th:        Thomas Bridges, Kanakee, Ill., three bass, 8-2, $212
10th:     Mike Bonewitz, Dakota, Minn., three bass, 8-0, $200

Shane Treu of Belvidere, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass, good for the $100 prize.

After two events, Wyatt Becker of West Salem, Wisconsin, now leads the 7 Brew Great Lakes Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 494 points, while David Ondrla of Elmhurst, Illinois, leads the Great Lakes Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 488 points.

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 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

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, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, 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.