PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. (June 16, 2025) – Boater Devon Dvorak of Keystone, Iowa, caught a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds even Saturday to win the Bass Fishing League (BFL) tournament on the Mississippi River in Prairie du Chien. The tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Dvorak earned $3,553 for his victory. Having to turn to Plan B right away wound up being a pretty good way to start the day for Dvorak.
“I had planned on locking down to Pool 11, and I ran down to the bottom of 10 and there was a barge sitting in the lock,” he said. “So I slid off the side of the channel and fished a spot that we had some fish last week. I never got a bite in the whole area. Then I got down to a part that we hadn’t fished last week and caught a 3-pounder, 3 1/2 and 4 out of one little spot.”
Dvorak added another around 2 1/2, giving him close to 14 pounds by the time the barge cleared the lock. From there, he locked through to 11 and caught a good one on a SPRO Bronzeye Frog right off the bat. He was able to cull the 2 1/2 out for a 3-pound smallmouth, which he caught on a Z-Man ChatterBait Jack Hammer, and that got him to his final weight. He caught more fish throughout the day, but nothing that helped.
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Devon Dvorak, Keystone, Iowa, five bass, 17-0, $3,553
2nd: Ryan Doty, Galena, Ill., five bass, 16-13, $2,232
3rd: Adam Crigger, Le Claire, Iowa, five bass, 16-4, $1,185
4th: Clayton Reitz, Morton, Ill., five bass, 16-1, $829
5th: Maddox Cejka, Prairie Du Chien, Wis., five bass, 15-14, $711
6th: Hunter Litchfield, Macomb, Ill., five bass, 15-13, $651
7th: Wyatt Becker, West Salem, Wis., five bass, 15-10, $592
8th: Austin Brimeyer, Dubuque, Iowa, five bass, 15-9, $533
9th: Rob Leidholdt, Milton, Wis., five bass, 15-5, $474
10th: Derek Ehrhardt, Elkader, Iowa, five bass, 15-1, $415
Ryan Doty of Galena, Illinois, caught a bass that weighed 5 pounds, 10 ounces, and earned the Big Bass Boater award of $455. Nolan McKittrick of La Crosse, Wisconsin, won the co-angler division and $1,777 Saturday, after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 10 pounds, 5 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Nolan McKittrick, La Crosse, Wis., three bass, 10-5, $1,777
2nd: Thomas Bridges, Kankakee, Ill., three bass, 9-12, $938
3rd: Jeff Ripp, Sparta, Wis., three bass, 9-4, $592
4th: Blake Miller, Cedar Falls, Iowa, three bass, 9-2, $415
5th: Wil Plank, Holmen, Wis., three bass, 8-15, $355
6th: Danny Mancini, Necedah, Wis., three bass, 8-14, $326
7th: Timothy Wittren, Ontario, Wis., three bass, 8-12, $266
7th: Mark Folsom, Waterville, Iowa, three bass, 8-12, $266
7th: Sean Ricker, Springfield, Ill., three bass, 8-12, $266
10th: Art Gneuhs, Plainfield, Ill., three bass, 8-9, $207
Brad Parent of Oakdale, Minnesota, earned the Big Bass co-angler award of $227, catching a bass that weighed in at 4 pounds – the largest co-angler catch of the day.
After three events, Wyatt Becker of West Salem, Wisconsin, now leads the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 734 points, while Timothy Wittren of Ontario, Wisconsin, leads the Fishing Clash Great Lakes Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 714 points.
The next event for BFL Great Lakes Division anglers will be held Sept. 22, on the Wolf River Chain of Lakes out of Winneconne, Wisconsin.
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