Sagely Secures Photo Finish on Dardanelle
22-year-old Arkansan wins co-angler Costa FLW Series title
The Costa FLW Series Central Division tournament presented by Mercury on Lake Dardanelle might have begun on a slow step for co-angler Drew Sagely, but the show certainly ended with a memorably dramatic fashion. Specifically, the 22-year-old from Rogers, Ark., notched a three-day total of 29 pounds, 1 ounce, and that final digit defined his margin of victory over day-two leader Michael Watson, who tallied an even 29 pounds.
Sagely began his campaign on day one with two fish for 5-1 and 46th place. He made up a lot of ground on day two by catching four bass that weighed 13-15 and climbing to fourth. On day three, he added 10-1 with his only limit of the tournament to close the door on his first Costa FLW Series title.
On days one and two, Sagely caught all of his fish by working a 1/4-ounce shaky head with a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm around rocky structure. However, taking a cue from his boater, Daniel Kweekul, Sagely made a key bait adjustment that delivered three of his weight fish on the final day.
“Today [Saturday], my boater didn’t have anything for the morning, so we went back to the place where I caught [nearly] 14 pounds yesterday,” Sagely says. “I caught two, and he caught one. Then we ran to his water, and he started catching them on a Texas-rigged Senko with a really light weight, and I followed suit shortly thereafter.”
Sagely fished a junebug Yamamoto Senko on a 4/0 wide-gap hook with a 1/8-ounce pegged weight. Complementing this and the shaky head, he added a day-three keeper with a chartreuse/black 6th Sense Lure Co. crankbait.
Noting that slow presentations were key, Sagely says he enjoyed a change of pace on day three.
“The first two days I fished rock staging areas,” he says. “They left those today and started moving up shallow and got in the wood.”
Top 10 Co-anglers
1. Drew Sagely – Rogers, Ark. – 29-01 (11) – $28,000
2. Michael Watson – Chicago, Ill. – 29-00 (11) – $6,000
3. Rob Crane – Fairview Heights, Ill. – 24-02 (9) – $4,800
4. Kevin Raposo – Doniphan, Mo. – 23-04 (9) – $3,900
5. Roger Olson Jr. – Eagle River, Wis. – 20-14 (7) – $3,400
6. Rusty Reinoehl – Robinson, Ill. – 19-13 (8) – $2,900
7. Alan Bernicky – Joliet, Ill. – 19-12 (7) – $2,400
8. Kyle Landers – Benton, Ark. – 18-11 (8) – $1,950
9. Sawyer Grace – Russellville, Ark. – 17-04 (5) – $1,580
10. Ricky Watkins – Springdale, Ark. – 16-04 (6) – $1,330