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