Wolf River Chain of Lakes Bass Fishing League 15 June 2019

[Mike Cork]

Wolf River Chain of Lakes Bass Fishing League 15 June 2019

ILLINOIS' SAMO WINS T-H MARINE FLW BASS FISHING LEAGUE TOURNAMENT ON WOLF RIVER CHAIN OF LAKES
Puterbaugh and Rockey Tie for Co-Angler Title
WINNECONNE, Wis. (June 17, 2019) – Boater Curtis Samo of Rochelle, Illinois, won Saturday's T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Great Lakes Division tournament on the Wolf River Chain of Lakes with five bass weighing 15 pounds even. For his win, Samo took home $5,794.
According to post-tournament reports, Samo caught his fish flipping Chompers tubes and running buzzbaits on Lake Winneconne.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
               1st:          Curtis Samo, Rochelle, Ill., five bass, 15-0, $3,794 + $2,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
               2nd:         Joe Pollak, Lake Geneva, Wis., five bass, 14-6, $2,097
               3rd:          Kyler Chelminiak, Franklin, Wis., five bass, 13-4, $1,565
               4th:          Clayton Reitz, Morton, Ill., five bass, 13-3, $885
               5th:          Jason Skutt, Menomonie, Wis., five bass, 12-10, $759
               6th:          Brian Fitzpatrick, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 12-9, $696
               7th:          Jeff Ritter, Prairie du Chien, Wis., five bass, 12-5, $982
               8th:          Chris Aswegan, Tiffin, Iowa, five bass, 12-3, $537
               8th:          William Schultz, Viroqua, Wis., five bass, 12-3, $537
               10th:        Dylan Drephal, Black Creek, Wis., five bass, 12-1, $593
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.
Mike Feldermann of Galena, Illinois, caught a bass weighing 4 pounds, 2 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day's Boater Big Bass award of $495.
Mike Puterbaugh of Montello, Wisconsin, and Joe Rockey of Schaumburg, Illinois, each caught 13 pounds, 4 ounces, worth of bass Saturday to tie for the win in the Co-angler Division. For their efforts, each angler took home $1,423.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
               1st:          Mike Puterbaugh, Montello, Wis., five bass, 13-4, $1,423
               1st:          Joe Rockey, Schaumburg, Ill., five bass, 13-4, $1,423
               3rd:          Josh Yonak, Big Lake, Minn., five bass, 12-0, $983
               4th:          Rick Ragner, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 11-8, $443
               5th:          Andy Heisler, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 11-6, $379
               6th:          Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., five bass, 10-14, $498
               7th:          Tom Lyskawka, Arlington Heights, Ill., four bass, 10-9, $316
               8th:          Gage Griffin, Lake Forest, Ill., five bass, 10-1, $285
               9th:          Andrew Hegerty, Colgate, Wis., five bass, 9-14, $253
               10th:        Brad Bernau, Caledonia, Minn., five bass, 9-13, $221
Josh Mohn of Lansing, Iowa, caught the heaviest bass in the Co-angler Division, a fish weighing in at 3 pounds, 10 ounces. The catch earned him the day's Co-angler Big Bass award of $247.
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 and Barkley lakes in Buchanan, Tennessee, presented by Evinrude. 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.