Lake of the Ozarks Midday Update Day 2
Leaderboard shakeup looms on cut day
Day two of the Costa FLW Series event presented by Evinrude on Lake of the Ozarks dawned cozy enough. At about 6:40 a.m. that changed, as an approaching cold front ripped into the proceedings, attempting to pull Old Glory off the pole and bringing cold, fall air down on the lake.
Despite the rapid change in weather, the fishing seemed to be very good as the leading edge of the front rolled through this morning. All over the field, most of the competitors reported good luck early, with the bite tapering off a bit as the front settled in. This afternoon, the clouds are expected to finally break, and if the dock fishermen have a chance at them with some good sun, that could provide another afternoon flurry.
Day-one leader Cory Steckler started strong again. After losing a big one in the first 20 minutes or so, Steckler boated two quality fish for a good start at his limit. Even with just two at about 9 a.m., his dock pattern appeared to be producing for him, and with the cushion he started the day with he seems on track to make the top 10 pretty safely.
Back of Steckler, Dion Hibdon began his day with a 5-pounder and a 3-pounder in the first 30 minutes. By about 10 a.m., Hibdon had failed to catch another keeper, making the latter half of the day all the more important for him.
Starting the day in third, Kyle White had four fish in the box by noon, for a total of about 10 pounds. In fourth, Brian Maloney is having himself a day, and had pushed his weight into the mid-teens by 10:30. Back in fifth, Evan Barnes is in severe danger of missing the cut – by noon, he had yet to boat a keeper bass.
Elsewhere, Spencer Grace had four (with two good ones) by about 10 o’clock, Marcus Sykora had a decent limit with a fish that he visually described as a giant and Duke Jenkel was working on a limit that he thinks will go about 16 pounds and maybe put him in the cut.
Weigh-in starts at 3 p.m. CT, and only the top 10 pros and co-anglers fish tomorrow. It’s going to be interesting, and the fishing has been good. You’ll want to tune in.
Tournament details
Format: All boaters and co-anglers will compete for two days. The top 10 boaters and co-anglers based on cumulative weight after two days of competition will advance to the third and final round, with the winner determined by the heaviest cumulative three-day weight.
Takeoff Time: 7:00 a.m. CT
Takeoff Location: Public Beach #2, 711 Public Beach Road, Osage Beach, Mo. 65065
Weigh-In Time: 3:00 p.m. CT days one and two, 4:00 p.m. CT on day three
Weigh-In Location: Public Beach #2 on days one and two, day three at Walmart, 4252 Highway 54, Osage Beach, Mo. 65065