LA CROSSE, Wis. (April 28, 2025) – Boater Mike Feldermann of Galena, Illinois, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The tournament was the first event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Feldermann earned $4,437 for his victory.
One of the upper Mississippi River’s all-time greats, Feldermann has now won BFL events out of La Crosse in back-to-back years, just one calendar day apart. This is also his 13th career win, to go along with five BFL All-American appearances and more than $378,000 in career earnings.
“I just pretty much did the same thing I did last year,” he said. “I just fished pondweed with a ChatterBait and a spinnerbait, and I had one spot where I caught a limit pretty quick. Then I went to another spot later in the day and caught my big fish – a 6-6. They were all largemouth, no current, in about 3 feet of water.”
Feldermann’s history on the river is his biggest strength. He says he just “kind of knows where those big ones want to stage before they spawn.” In practice, he caught a few just to get an idea of what was going on, then ran history and applied his expertise to put together the winning weight in the tournament.
“Where I caught the 6-6 is probably 200 to 300 yards long – a 3-foot weed edge,” he added. “It’s a big lake.”
The top 11 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Mike Feldermann, Galena, Ill., five bass, 22-13, $4,437
2nd: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 21-1, $1,958
3rd: Casey Goode, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 20-5, $1,307
4th: Tyler Fitch, Fall River, Wis., five bass, 20-3, $914
5th: Clayton Weber, West Salem, Wis., five bass, 20-2, $783
6th: Hunter Litchfield, Macomb, Ill., five bass, 19-14, $718
7th: Dan Mohn, Lansing, Iowa, five bass, 19-9, $653
8th: Cade Laufenberg, Onalaska, Wis., five bass, 18-10, $1,055 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
8th: Jeremy Nokken, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 18-10, $555
10th: Mike Brueggen, La Crosse, Wis., five bass, 18-7, $434
10th: Wyatt Becker, West Salem, Wis., five bass, 18-7, $434
Feldermann’s kicker bass weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $520. Matthew Tinsman of Peoria, Illinois, won the co-angler division and $1,958 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Matthew Tinsman, Peoria, Ill., three bass, 12-3, $1,958
2nd: Philip Olson, Waukesha, Wis., three bass, 12-2, $979
3rd: Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, three bass, 11-13, $703
4th: Larry Litchfield, Macomb, Ill., three bass, 11-5, $457
5th: Duke Lensert, Sister Bay, Wis., three bass, 11-4, $652
6th: Lee Lewis, Peoria, Ill., three bass, 11-2, $342
6th: Trevor Gnotke, Pine Island, Minn., three bass, 11-2, $342
8th: Brad Juen, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 10-9, $294
9th: Garrett Koster, Vergas, Minn., three bass, 10-8, $261
10th: Matthew Commerford, Wendell, Minn., three bass, 10-5, $228
Duke Lensert of Sister Bay, Wisconsin, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $260, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
In addition to winning the event, Mike Feldermann of Galena, Illinois, has the early lead in the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 250 points, while Matthew Tinsman of Peoria, Illinois, leads the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 250 points.
The next event for BFL Great Lakes Division anglers will be held May 17, at the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/bfl-mississippi-42825.html
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