Mixed fortunes

Lake of the Ozarks blesses some, baffles others

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Everyone fished in the same conditions, but day one results told vastly different stories for competitors in the final Stren Central Division event on Lake of the Ozarks.

Several bass of 4 pounds or better tipped the scales and 20 fishermen scored a dozen pounds or more. Nevertheless, only 53 pros and five co-anglers caught limits, with just 40 breaking the 10-pound mark.

A pair of challenges faced the field. First, was that common equation of bright sunshine plus light wind minus clouds equals tough fishing. Second, was the food chain. Marion, Ark. pro Mark Rose (69th place with 6 pounds, 9 ounces) explained: “This time of year, the bass get out in the middle of the lake under those shad schools and it’s tough to find them.”

That was the case, at least part of the time, however, those sunny skies pushed plenty of bass under the many docks scattered throughout the lake. Anglers who focused on these structures found abundant opportunity.

Topping the pro field, Michael Wooley of Collierville, Tenn. found a limit weighing 17 pounds, 2 ounces. He fished a white colored jig around docks and found several big bites – including the 6-pound, 11-ounce largemouth that earned him Big Bass award for day one. His better action came later in the day.

“It got slow this morning and I got on a bad streak and lost a couple of other big fish,” Wooley said. “Then I caught that (6-11) and turned the day around. I ended up catching about 10 keepers.”

Wooley split his time between docks and submerged rock piles. The latter yielded his largest bass.

Endicott ends up second

Joplin, Mo. pro Wes Endicott trails the lead by 12 ounces with his 16-6. He also targeted docks within 30 mile of the launch site. Hitting what he described as “several hundred” docks, he relied on a jig for most of his productivity.

“I caught fish all day long,” Endicott said. “It was one here-one there. I fished fast and covered a lot of water.”

Endicott said he’s hoping for more sunshine on day two. “More sunshine will position the fish under the docks. They will relate to the shade.”

Third place was a tie between Zack Bull of Lakeland, Tenn. and Harmon Davis of Marlow, Ok., both of whom caught 16-1. Rick Fishback of Fair Grove, Mo. placed fifth at 14-4.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 pro leaders at the FLW Stren Series Lake of the Ozarks event:

6th: Kris Anderson of Lees Summit, Mo., 14-3

7th: Mark Goines, Shady Point, Ok., 13-13

8th: Brian Maloney, Osage Beach, Mo., 13-12

9th: Shawn Gordon, Russellville, Ark., 13-10

10th: Robbie Dodson, Harrison, Ark., 13-8

Wooley won Big Bass honors for his 6-pound, 11-ounce largemouth.

Reiter routs co-angler division with massive lead

Saying that Goshen, Ind. co-angler Leo Reiter topped the co-angler division would be like calling the Great Wall of China a fence. Here’s some perspective: The lead Reiter holds over his nearest competitor is just 5 ounces less than the total weight of the fifth place finisher. His 5-fish limit weighed 19 pounds, 14 ounces.

Fishing docks all day, Reiter found the bass very receptive – as long as he made the right delivery. “It was shaky heads, jigs – I caught them on pretty much everything. I caught my fish on the big floating docks – way under them.

“A lot of guys were fishing the fronts and the backs (of docks), but I was getting them way under the docks. I was using a skip cast to reach little gaps between the water and the docks.”

Reiter said he caught fish all day and his limit included a pair of 5-pounders. His 5-10 earned Big Bass honors.

Robert Prebeck of Norwood, Mo. placed second with 10-13, while Teddy Bradley of Mishawaka, Ind. took third with 10-0. Phil Shafer of Lake Ozark, Mo. finished fourth at 9-9 and Juan Steenkamp from the Republic of South Africa was fifth with 9-6.

Best of the rest

Rounding out the top-10 co-angler leaders at the FLW Stren Series Lake of the Ozarks event:

6th: Brad Wiegmann, Springdale, Ark., 7-14

7th: Robert Harley, Ozark, Mo., 7-13

8th: Keeton Blaylock, Benton, Ark., 7-2

9th: Ron Clement, Eldon, Mo., 6-15

10th: Andre Pretorius, Republic of South Africa,6-14

Day two of Stren Series action on Lake of the Ozarks continues at Thursday’s takeoff, scheduled to take place at 7:00 a.m. (CT) at Grand Glaize Recreation Area – Public Beach No. 2 located at 711 Public Beach Road in Osage Beach.