OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Not unexpectedly, the fishing was far from on fire on Day 1 of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division event at Lake of the Ozarks. On the day, 12 pros limited, no co-anglers limited, and Andy Newcomb is holding down the cutline in 25th with four for 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Still, there were some high points, and Iowa pro Jordan Hirt was the highest, weighing 18-8 for the early lead. In second, local pro Justin Luetkemeyer tallied 17-11, and assuming some volatility, there were enough other pros with decent limits that we should have a compelling race for the win.
While the co-angler side was pretty dismal for the most part, Dan Bowman knocked out four for 9-7 which gives him a solid lead. In second, Todd Adamitis landed two for 5-14. All told it’s certainly anyone’s game from the back of the boat.
New water pays off for Hirt
The winner of the TBF National Championship in 2022, Hirt isn’t one to count out at weigh-in despite the fact that he’s not really a local when it comes to Lake of the Ozarks. Today, he caught a grand total of six keepers and had solid size across the board.
“I had six keeper bites,” Hirt said. “Well, I lost a couple, but, you know, who knows what they were. But I, had six keepers, so I culled once and then caught probably 10 shorts or so. So, they did bite a little bit better today. My best day in practice, I got three keeper bites.”
With his Lowrance ActiveTarget reading 37 degrees and his Humminbird graphs reading 40 degrees, Hirt and the rest of the field are operating in some very frigid water. Today, he actually fished water that was iced over when he last checked it in practice.
“I’m pretty much locking myself down in two areas,” Hirt said. “I’ll go to one area in the morning, fish for a couple hours, and then spend the afternoon in another area. I don’t know if I just got lucky on that other area or what, but it was all under ice as of the last day of practice, and today it was open.”
As for baits, he did most of his damage with one rod today.
“I’ve been mixing it up,” Hirt said. “I caught most of my fish today on one bait, but I’ve been throwing a bunch of different things at them just trying to get them to react to something. But today, it was pretty much just one bait.”
In cold water, fish don’t tend to move a ton, so, Hirt might have good odds of staying in touch with his fish as the week goes on. But, considering how everyone else is catching, anything could happen at Lake of the Ozarks.
Kicker lifts Luetkemeyer
A guide on the lake, Luetkemeyer caught even more keepers than Hirt, and had a 5-5 that was good for Berkley Big Bass and an extra $500. With a Phoenix Bass Fishing League win under his belt at Table Rock, the young angler is a formidable opponent.
“It was tough, at the beginning of practice it was hard to get a bite,” Luetkemeyer said. “I felt like I could catch a limit, but, I wasn’t catching real big fish, and it definitely got better. And, it wasn’t great today. You know? I got kind of lucky and had that kicker.”
Catching his fish on an umbrella rig for the most part, Luetkemeyer may have been a little fortunate, but the majority of the field would probably have been happy with half his day.
“I caught about 12 keepers, but it took that much culling to get to 17 pounds,” he said. “I had everything by 11:30, and then they shut off. I practiced on two different ends of the lake 50 miles apart. So, it was a big decision which way to go. I felt like I could catch them either way and also felt like either way, I could not catch them.”
Evidently, Luetkemeyer went in the right direction out of takeoff.
Top 10 pros
1. Jordan Hirt – 18 – 8 (5)
2. Justin Luetkemeyer – 17 – 11 (5)
3. Adam Boehle – 16 – 8 (5)
4. Cole Breeden – 14 – 9 (5)
5. Kyle Kitts – 14 – 5 (5)
6. Brad Jelinek – 13 – 15 (5)
7. Roger Fitzpatrick – 13 – 3 (5)
8. Brock Bila – 12 – 9 (5)
9. Cory Steckler – 11 – 1 (5)
9. Koltyn Harbin – 11 – 1 (5)