FLW  Outdoors
Published May 18, 2009

LACROSSE, Wis. (May 18, 2009) – Jeff Herburger of Dubuque, Iowa, won the Walmart Bass Fishing League® Great Lakes Division tournament on the Mississippi River Saturday with a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds even. The victory earned Herburger $4,541 and placed him one step closer to qualifying for the Fort Madison Regional Championship in Fort Madison, Iowa, Oct. 1-3, where he could ultimately win a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck.
                                                                                                                                               
Herburger said he caught the majority of his bass fishing open water in Pool 7 with a black tube and a yellow and black spinnerbait.
                                                                                                                   
Rounding out the top five boaters are Clayton Reitz of Morton, Ill. (five bass, 17-2, $2,270); Daniel Ehmen of Rockford, Ill. (five bass, 16-0, $1,287); Jay Mannel of Onalaska, Wis. (five bass, 16-0, $1,287) and tied for fifth, Jeff Benson of Holmen, Wis., Dan McGarry of Tomah, Wis., and Jesse Wolfe of Nelson, Wis. (five bass, 15-14, $832).
 
James Tomsovic of Sparta, Wis., took home the Boater Division Big Bass award, earning $660 for a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught on a black and blue jig in Pool 7.
                                                                                                                    
James Medved of Milwaukee, Wis., earned $2,270 as the co-angler winner Saturday thanks to five bass weighing 18 pounds, 1 ounce.
 
Medved said he caught the majority of his bass swimming a black and blue jig over grass in Pool 7.
                                                                                                                                                   
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Ben Due of Mauston, Wis. (five bass, 14-4, $1,135); Brett Shillin of LaCrosse, Wis. (five bass, 14-3, $757); Tyler Schulz of LaCrosse, Wis. (five bass, 13-15, $530) and Branden Gifford of Rochester, Minn. (five bass, 13-14, $454).
                                                                                     
Medved earned $330 as the co-angler Big Bass winner with a 5-pound, 6-ounce bass he caught.
                                                                                                               
 The next Great Lakes Division event will be held on Lake Winneconne in Winneconne, Wis., June 20.
 
The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers in each of the BFL’s 28 divisions at the end of the season advance to a no-entry-fee Regional Championship where boaters fish for a new Ranger boat and a Chevy truck and co-anglers fish for a new Ranger boat. Seven regional championships will each send six boaters and six co-anglers to the no-entry-fee Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy, which features a $1 million purse and a top award of $140,000 in the Boater Division and $70,000 in the Co-angler Division. Anglers who compete in all five regular-season events within a division but do not advance to a Regional Championship are eligible to compete in the Chevy Wild Card, which will also send six boaters and six co-anglers to the All-American for a total of 48 boaters and 48 co-anglers advancing through BFL competition.
 
The winning boater and winning co-angler at the All-American will advance to the no-entry-fee $2.5 million Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta in 2010. This event, featuring a top award of $1 million, is the most lucrative tournament in all of competitive bass fishing. In all, the BFL offers weekend anglers the opportunity to qualify for three no-entry-fee championships with total cash awards exceeding $3.5 million. Plus, the top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers from each BFL division may move up to the Stren Series™ for 2010 while All-American champions have the option to advance directly to the Walmart FLW Tour®.
 
In BFL competition, boaters supply the boat and compete from the front deck against other boaters. Co-anglers compete from the back deck against other co-anglers.
 
As the nation’s leading provider of affordable, close-to-home weekend tournaments, the BFL is widely credited with opening competitive bass fishing to the masses. It also serves as a steppingstone for anglers who wish to advance to the Stren Series and ultimately the FLW Tour – bass fishing’s most lucrative tournament circuit.
 
Total awards are based on a full field of 200 boats in every tournament.
 
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes. Sign up for Player’s Advantage for only $10 to get your edge and win.



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