ON TOUR
COSTA FLW SERIES
COSTA FLW SERIES | LAKE OF THE OZARKS
OSAGE BEACH, MO.
By Jody White photoS by Matt paCe
WINNING ANGLER
andre dickneite Freeburg, Mo.
Winning Weight: 48-04( 15 fish)
details: oct. 12-14, 2017
presented by evinrude
hosted by tri-County Lodging association
Costa FLW Series division: Central
most projections had the winning weight for the Central Division finale coming in at about 52 pounds, but brutally tough fishing on the lower and middle sections of Lake of the Ozarks put paid to that notion. Fishing farther up the river, Andre Dickneite stayed consistent when the main-lake bite faltered to charge from fourth to first on the final day with a 15- pound limit that gave him 48-4 overall.
Dickneite’ s decision to stick to fishing docks upriver around Proctor, Mo., was key to his success, and it’ s something he usually does at Lake of the Ozarks.
“ Usually you don’ t get all the fishermen going up there,” says the Missouri pro, who now has 10 top-10 finishes in T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League( BFL) and Costa FLW Series competition on Lake of the Ozarks.“ It’ s a long way to go, and I really do good in multiple-day events there. If you want to catch a big bag you’ ll catch bigger fish down here [ at the lower end near takeoff in Osage Beach ], but in your multiple-day events you have to be consistent.”
Relying on years of local knowledge, Dickneite flipped docks almost exclusively, targeting those in coves and on the main lake in less than 10 feet of water. His baits of choice were a black and blue V & M Adrenaline Flippin Jig with a matching Strike King Rage Craw and a red bug-colored Zoom Magnum Trick Worm on a 1 / 4-ounce Texas rig that he mixed in on the final day.
One ingredient to his success was a dock midway back in a creek that produced two keepers per day for him. Another contributing factor was his recognition that there was current running on day two. Noting that, he concentrated his efforts on the up-current side of docks in the main lake.
KEYS TO THE TOPWATER BITE
Roger Fitzpatrick, James Dill and James Watson ran topwater patterns the first two days and came into the final day in first, second and third place, respectively. Though all came up short on the final day, their early success offers some good lessons to other anglers. Specifically, Dill and Fitzpatrick targeted bass pulling up to eat gizzard shad on steep shorelines, points and pockets near the main channel. Their early success in the event came by targeting less accessible areas behind docks with River2Sea Whopper Ploppers and buzzbaits. They used careful boat positioning to make short, precise casts and employed long-handled nets to reach over obstructions and get fish to the boat. Unfortunately for them, their patterns faltered on the final day.
WINNING CO-ANGLER
steve grizzle edwardsville, Ill.
Winning Weight: 27-12( 11 fish)
Winning Program:
Fishing around docks most of the time, Grizzle relied heavily on a 5 / 16- ounce Crock-O-Gator Shaker Pro Head with a green pumpkin Strike King Rage Menace Grub. He focused on areas in between docks and caught most of his fish shallow on rock drops and ledges that were close to the bank.
70 flWfIshIng. com I january 2018