Top 10 Baits from Lake of the Ozarks
Topwaters, jigs were top choices during the fall transition
Fall in the Ozarks is prime time to throw a buzzbait. Sure enough, plenty of the top guys did just that during the Costa FLW Series Central Division finale presented by Evinrude on Lake of the Ozarks.
Yet, when the topwater bite died, it was those that were able to adjust with the weather and changing conditions who ended up doing the best.
Here’s a look at the lures that helped the top 10 anglers.
1. He caught his winning fish on his last cast on a Strike King 6XD (blue herring), but the majority of Dylan Hays’ weight came on a ¾-ounce Jewel football jig (peanut butter jelly) with a green pumpkin Zoom Super Speed Craw trailer, which he pitched to docks, brush and the combo of both.
2. James Watson was firmly in the topwater group, casting a soon-to-be-released Tackle HD buzzbait of his design all around docks (black skirt, gold blade). When that bite died the final day, he picked up a Jewel Special Ops Tactical Flip’n Jig paired with a Tackle HD Hi-Def Craw (green pumpkin blue) and managed a couple more keepers.
3. Casey Scanlon won the award for most rods on his deck, as he had a dozen rods rigged with buzzbaits, jigs, worms, crankbaits and even an Alabama rig at the ready, as he junked and adapted daily. His main lures, though, were a buzzbait (black skirt, black blade), a 5/8-ounce Trophy Bass Company jig of his design and a Luck-E-Strike Original Ringer (plum) rigged on a Hayabusa WRM114 HD hook.
4. He slid into the top 10 by an ounce, and then Ben Verhoef nearly pulled off the victory, fishing both offshore and more than 100 pieces of brush (many of which he planted) a day. Out deep, he utilized a 6th Sense Cloud 9 C25 (bluetruese), and the brush received either a ½-ounce E-Factor jig (black and blue) with a Missile Bait D Bomb (green pumpkin) trailer or a Zoom Magnum Trick Worm (black and blue) behind a ¼-ounce weight.
5. Being the owner of Crock-O-Gator lures, James Dill put a bunch of his creations to use, most notably his Head Knocker Buzzbait (including some older versions with different skirts, and some with a soft-plastic frog) and a Cock-O-Gator jig, which he swam alongside docks.
6. Lance Williams has been wearing out Ozark fish in the fall on a “special” crankbait, which he used again this event. The lure is a Bomber Flat A (shad colors), which he’d cast around the ends of docks up the river. When the sun popped out the final day, he switched to a homemade 7/16-ounce jig (black/blue tinsel) with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer and a Strike King KVD Deep Jerkbait.
7. Cory Steckler focused on main-lake pockets with docks near the dam, utilizing a Crock-O-Gator Head Knocker Buzzbait and a 9/16-ounce jig (green pumpkin) with Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog trailer.
8. Brian Maloney had a great practice, but he figured he might be in trouble with the weather. Thus, he kept one of two jigs in his hands at all times – a 3/8-ounce Strike King Denny Brauer Baby Structure Jig with a Strike King Rage Bug trailer or a custom jig with a tube trailer in “greens and browns.”
9. Having never been to Lake of the Ozarks, Dale Andrews made a long run up the river to flip a Gene Larew Biffle Bug in various colors to “any piece of cover that looked good” and he thought a fish would be near. Unfortunately, the wind muddied up his water, and away went his pattern the final day.
10. Ladd Shannon went for quality over quantity. The plan worked out well the first day when his deep-dock pattern had him in the lead, but he only got three fish on day two to eat his white swim jig and none the final day.