Dan Mohn wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Tournament on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien
Dan Mohn of Lansing caught a five-bass limit weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces Saturday, August 19 to win the Major League Fishing (MLF) Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) presented by T-H Marine on the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien, WI. The tournament was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Great Lakes Division. Mohn, who had also won a BFL tournament at Prairie du Chien, WI five years ago to the day, earned $4,514 for his most recent victory.
“I locked up to Pool 9 with a big group,” said Mohn. “I ran around to a bunch of different spots and caught two early and just chipped away and kept culling. I added three others that I weighed throughout the day.”
“I ended up using a bunch of different baits,” Mohn continued. “I threw a topwater, I was dragging Big Bite Baits soft plastics on a Carolina rig, and threw a variety of hard baits, including a SPRO Aruku Shad Lipless Crankbait, SPRO jerkbait and a SPRO topwater bait. I was looking at a variety of spots - grass and rock that had current, in three to eight feet of water. It was just a variety of things.”
Mohn said he weighed in all smallmouth, however, he said he caught two largemouth that he culled out late in the day. He said the majority of his fish came from Pool 9, but Pool 10 produced a number of nice bass for him as well.
“The first fish I put in the livewell was my big fish,” Mohn said. “It weighed 3-3/4 pounds. At that point, I figured I had one down and four to go. My second keeper was over three pounds, so I said, ‘This is going good. I only need three more of the right kind of bites.’”
Mohn had four fish over three pounds and one just under three pounds, and figured if he could cull up to one more bass over three pounds, he would have a shot at a high finish in the tournament.
“I tried one more spot on a grass edge and hooked another one that was well over three pounds,” Mohn said. “I thought it was going really great, and I had a nice limit at that point.”
“It seems like wins come when you least expect it,” Mohn added. “I hoped I’d have a decent tournament. I was on decent fish in practice. This is a tough group of fishermen in this division, and it’s hard to win against that competition. I’ve been on a pretty good roll these past few weeks, and people have been telling me when you’re hot, you’re hot, and just ride that momentum while you have it.”
The event’s second-place finisher was Fernando Lobato of Sparta, WI. His five bass weighed in at 16 pounds, eight ounces. Complete results can be found online at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
