Bernicky Saves Best for Last to Take Strike King Co-angler Honors
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Starting the final day of the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. event on Lake of the Ozarks in sixth place, Strike King co-angler Alan Bernicky dropped his biggest bag of the event –15 pounds, 7 ounces – on the scale to push his three-day total to 34 pounds even and claim the top prize – a Phoenix 518 Pro with 115 HP Mercury.
Though Bernicky has had a heck of a career from the back of the boat – including winning Strike King co-angler of the Year in the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Great Lakes Division for the last three years straight – the Toyota Series hasn’t been as kind to him.
“I was at Sam Rayburn two weeks ago (for the Toyota Series event) and I made the final day sitting in sixth,” Bernicky said. “I got a quick limit and then disaster struck. I had a 10-pounder on a Carolina rig like 15 to 20 feet from the boat, we saw it on top of the water and it pulled off. That would have been a win. So, after missing a win by losing a fish two weeks ago, it was nice to pull it off.
“I haven’t fished the Toyota Series in two years. I was fishing the Great Lakes and Illini divisions (of the BFLs) trying to make it back to the All-American. I had a string of [Toyota Series] three years ago where I didn’t do very good. I fished six or seven in four months, had fun, but didn’t do real well, so I figured I’d take a break.”
Apparently, the break did wonders.
The Joliet, Illinois, co-angler got the week started with two quality fish that weighed 6-3. On Day 2, he mustered up a limit worth 12-6 to climb the leaderboard. Thursday, paired with Grant Akers, Bernicky turned in his best day of the event.
“I was lucky enough this week where my boaters were fishing basically flat points with channel swings,” he said. “There were brush piles and all kinds of timber and today I just tried to do something a little different. I went to a different color than my boater for my A-rig and jerkbait.
“[Akers] was fishing slow and I’m not all that patient, so I worked my jerkbait a lot faster. I’d give it a long pause, but I’d work it pretty aggressively for 3 to 5 feet and then kill it for 6, 8, 10 seconds and then work it aggressively again.”
While speeding up his jerkbait retrieve got his limit, a A-rig with natural-colored swimbaits got his kickers.
“Every big fish I caught this week was on a A-rig. Day 1 I had one close to 4 ½, Day 2 I had one close to 4 ½ and today I had one close to 5. When I switched to the A-rig today, that’s when I got my kicker bites.”
Locking up the biggest win of his career, Bernicky is also excited about another career milestone.
“This win was cool,” said Bernicky. “This win put me over $100,000 (career earnings) and that was kind of a bucket-list goal, so I’m happy.”
Top 10 Co-anglers
1. Alan Bernicky – 34 – 00 (12) – $33,700
2. Hank Goen – 31 – 04 (11) – $5,000
3. Jeff Moss – 31 – 02 (11) – $4,000
4. Jason Swanson – 27 – 12 (13) – $3,500
5. Dan Bowman – 26 – 11 (11) – $3,000
6. Tom Shewey – 26 – 03 (11) – $2,500
7. Jason Sandidge – 25 – 13 (11) – $2,000
8. Scott Parsons – 25 – 03 (9) – $1,750
9. Dennis Young – 24 – 08 (9) – $1,500
10. Anthony Scoma – 23 – 10 (9) – $1,250
The Plains Division is presented by Outlaw Ordnance and this event was presented by Smart Digital.