Illinois’ McLemore Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (Aug. 19, 2024) – Boater Jeff Ritter of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 14 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River in Prairie du Chien. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Ritter earned $4,247 for his victory.

According to Ritter, heavy rains and prolonged high water on the Mississippi River earlier this summer led to some serious changes in the shallow-water cover that bass anglers are used to fishing.

“It happened right when our grass and pads should’ve been growing,” he said about the flood. “It was muddy, high water that lasted about a month, and it didn’t allow anything to grow well. It kinda stunk, but I like it now.”

As a result of the change, Ritter and others have had to scramble to either find grass and pads that did make it through, or adjust to fish other types of structure and cover. In the BFL, Ritter ran to a couple of large, shallow mud flats along the main slough in Pool 10. These were areas he fished the prior weekend in a team tournament without much luck. Things certainly turned around in the BFL, which Ritter credits to a couple variables.

First, the water had started dropping compared to last week’s tournament, when it had shot up about 8 inches due to storms. Second, the wind and overcast skies had the fish more active. Ritter also thinks the conditions prevented carp from sliding up to sun themselves in the shallow mud, which kept the carp from muddying the waters.

“They’re flats that normally would’ve had grass on them,” Ritter added. “But there’s not much grass. I caught a lot of fish on mud flats without much eye appeal. I don’t think many people got on it at all. I had everything I wanted to fish pretty much to myself.

“In all honesty, I was shocked to find the fish where I found them because of lack of cover. But as long as they eat, I don’t care.”

Ritter’s fish were scattered out and mostly relating to the edge of the flats, where there was a small drop. These areas were loaded with baitfish and swept with “pretty heavy current,” Ritter said.

“I was fishing anywhere from the boat being stuck to the bottom of the mud out to maybe in 2 feet of water,” he added. “They were really shallow.”

Covering water was key for Ritter, who used “a little bit of everything” to get bit, including a buzz bait, frog and Heddon Super Spook topwater.

The top 12 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 17-14, $4,247
2nd:       Rob Leidholdt, Milton, Wis., five bass, 17-4, $1,668
3rd:       Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 16-12, $1,112
4th:        James Keller, Cuba City, Wis., five bass, 16-10, $779
5th:        Joseph Johnson, Maquoketa, Iowa, five bass, 16-8, $639
5th:        Marcus Livingston, Augusta, Wis., five bass, 16-8, $639
7th:        Tony Puelz, Garnavillo, Iowa, five bass, 16-7, $556
8th:        Justin Shepard, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 16-6, $501
9th:        Mark Myers, Cedar Falls, Iowa, five bass, 16-3, $445
10th:     Tyler Fitch, Fall River, Wis., five bass, 15-15, $354
10th:     Austin Brimeyer, Dubuque, Iowa, five bass, 15-15, $354
10th:     Devon Dvorak, Keystone, Iowa, five bass, 15-15, $354

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Ritter caught a bass that weighed 4 pounds, 13 ounces, and earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $410.

Kenneth McLemore of Antioch, Illinois, won the Strike King co-angler division and $1,668 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 15 pounds, 15 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Kenneth McLemore, Antioch, Ill., five bass, 15-15, $1,668
2nd:       Christopher Morgan, Greendale, Wis., five bass, 14-15, $696
2nd:       Lance Olson, Necedah, Wis., five bass, 14-15, $696
4th:        Tim Himsl, Moline, Ill., five bass, 14-9, $389
5th:        Terry Williams, Cedar Falls, Iowa, five bass, 14-1, $320
5th:        Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, five bass, 14-1, $320
7th:        Will Ahnen, Fennimore, Wis., five bass, 14-0, $428
8th:        Brian Brecka, Alma, Wis., five bass, 13-13, $455
9th:        Ma Xiong, Menomonee Falls, Wis., five bass, 13-6, $222
10th:     Matthew Vang, Milwaukee, Wis., five bass, 13-4, $195

Brian Brecka of Alma, Wisconsin, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $205, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

In addition to getting the tournament win, Jeff Ritter also leads the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 948 points after four events, while Jason Olson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, leads the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 953 points.

The next event for BFL Great Lakes Division anglers will be held Sept. 21-22, at the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wisconsin. To register for the event as a boater or a co-angler, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com or call (270)-252-1000.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 10-12 BFL Regional tournament on Pools 13-17 of the Mississippi River in Quad Cities, Illinois. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki 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 or Suzuki outboard.

The 2024 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 2025 BFL All-American will take place May 29-31, 2025, at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and is hosted by hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, REDCON1, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, WIX Filters 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.

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 Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network 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 17 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.