OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – Three things you can count on in an early-fall tournament on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks: the bite might be inconsistent to tough (it’s early fall, after all); the lake’s 70,000-plus docks will probably play a key role; and the winner must avoid any costly one-day fumbles.

Check, check, and check for Georgia pro Jared Lintner on the final day of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats event on Lake of the Ozarks. Lintner made the most of an inconsistent fall bite at Lake of the Ozarks by running a wide-open, “hit and run” dock pattern for three days at the Plains Division season finale, wrapping up his first career Toyota Series win. Lintner sacked up 15 pounds, 15 ounces on Saturday to boost his three-day total to 51-8, outdistancing Dennis Berhorst (47-10) and Andy Newcomb (47-3).

“We moved out here to be closer to lakes like these,” Lintner said as he accepted the trophy, referring to his move from Central California to Georgia two years ago. “Living where we do now, I can see a tournament like this on the schedule and go ‘Oh, I think I’ll fish that.’ I like fishing all of these Ozarks lakes, but I couldn’t really jump into tournaments like this living in California.”

The California transplant’s consistency was key at LOZ as he followed up a 16-3 first day with 19-6 on Day 2 and 15-15 on Saturday. Berhorst’s 19-4 on Saturday was the second-biggest bag of the event and followed up 16-3 on Day 2, but he only caught 12-3 on Day 1. Newcomb’s tournament was similar: 17-15, 16-15 and 12-15.

The Milkman’s milk run

Lintner earned the nickname “The Milkman” when he worked as a dairy-delivery driver around his home in Arroyo Grande, California, before committing to a full-time pro career. His approach on Lake of the Ozarks lived up to his nickname – the Tackle Warehouse pro spent all three days with both his big motor and trolling motor warmed up at all times, running “at least 40 or 50 docks a day” in search of docks where he believed he could catch better-than-average fish.

Jared Lintner focused on the docks during his Lake of the Ozarks run. Photo by Jody White

“I covered a ton of water every day, looking for real specific docks,” Lintner said. “I wanted docks that were close to a main lake point and were somewhat isolated. If there were a bunch of docks together, that wasn’t the deal for me. I was looking for real specific areas where there was one, maybe two, docks in a quarter-mile stretch. And the bigger the dock the better.”

Lintner’s dock attack turned up 16-3 on Day 1, good enough for third place, most of it on a 5/16-ounce ARK Wes Logan Swim Jig in blue magic with a white Zoom Z Craw trailer, and a 1/2-ounce ARK Randall Tharp Flipping Jig in old-school brown. He spent that evening poring over the maps on his Garmin EchoMAP Ultra 2 in search of more isolated docks to add to his expanding collection of waypoints.

Day 2 brought clouds and shade on his docks, which Linter exploited with a 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jack Hammer (white/gold blade) with a white Yamamoto Zako trailer and the same ARK swim jig.

“Eighty percent of the water I ran every day was brand new,” Lintner said. “I’d pull up the map and zoom in on docks that looked like what I wanted, and I’d just spent the day running to those docks. That was a key for me in having consistent weights – the volume of docks I ran. I caught a ton of fish every day – probably 50 a day – but only had five to seven keepers a day. Getting those keeper bites was hard, but I think running all new water really helped me. There wasn’t really any reason why a 3 1/2- or 4-pounder would show up, I couldn’t replicate it. I had to just keep fishing as many docks as I could.”

Lintner returned to the reaction baits on the final day, weighing all but one fish on the Chatterbait and swim jig (but catching his biggest fish on the flipping jig).

“I’ve picked up that dock deal over the years fishing all of these lakes around here: Bull Shoals, Table Rock, Lake of the Ozarks,” Lintner said. “It’s something I knew coming into this week, and I caught fish at all kinds of depths doing it. I caught some as shallow as a foot and a half deep, and some where my boat was in 55 feet of water.”

Top 10 pros

1. Jared Lintner – 51-8 (15) – $38,289
2. Dennis Berhorst – 47-10 (15) – $15,837 (includes $1,000 Phoenix Bonus)
3. Andy Newcomb – 47-8 (15) – $11,787
4. Brock Reinkemeyer – 43-12 (14) – $9,822
5. Casey Scanlon – 43-10 (15) – $8,615
6. Chris Digino – 42-11 (15) – $7,658
7. Jake Lawrence – 42-10 (15) – $6,701
8. Corbin Bailey – 42-6 (14) – $5,743
9. Jason Moppin – 39-12 (14) – $4,786
10. Lawson Hibdon – 39-6 (15) – $3,829

Chambers’ afternoon surge keys co-angler win

Mason Chambers topped the Strike King co-angler field with 10 bass weighing 30-3. Photo by Jody White

Missouri co-angler Mason Chambers saved his best day for last at Lake of the Ozarks, hauling in a 14-9 limit on Saturday to finish with 30-3 and jump from fourth to first. That bag was the biggest of the week on the Strike King co-angler side, and the heaviest bag Chambers has weighed in his 32-tournament BFL and Toyota Series career.

“I had just a couple of smaller fish until around 2 o’clock today,” Chambers said. “My wife wanted to know if she should come down to weigh-in, but I told her ‘Nah, I’m having a bad day.’ Right after that, I tied on a Whopper Plopper to see if I could fill out my limit [and caught two 4-pounders].

“Seems like something always happens (to prevent a win). You lose a fish somewhere that costs you. I fished clean today, though, and it shows up when you get to the scales and haven’t lost anything.”

Top 10 Strike King co-anglers

1. Mason Chambers – 30-3 (10) – $33,650
2. Shane Kuehn – 21-7 (6) – $4,804
3. Albert (Skip) Rayborn – 21-0 (9) – $3,843
4. William Hoffert – 18-4 (8) – $3,363
5. Charley Slaton – 17-12 (7) – $2,882
6. William Koerber – 17-2 (7) – $2,402
7. Clayton Hale – 16-14 (8) – $2,071
8. Dennis Meyer – 16-3 (6) – $1,681
9. Les Brandenburg – 15-13 (6) – $1,441
10. Kenny Miller – 15-9 (7) – $1,201

Lawrence lands Fishing Clash AOY

Jake Lawrence earned Fishing Clash Angler of the Year honors with 773 points for the 2024 season in the Plains Division. Photo by Jody White

It would seem like a crime if Jake Lawrence didn’t finish the 2024 season with some Fishing Clash Angler of the Year hardware, considering it’s a year where the Tennessee pro racked up 10 Top 10s and three wins on the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. Mission accomplished, AOY achieved.

Lawrence secured the Plains Division Fishing Clash Angler of the Year trophy and its $5,000 cash bonus Saturday, nailing down his 10^th Top 10 on the year with a seventh-place finish at Lake of the Ozarks. Lawrence entered the weekend with a slim lead over Jordan Hartman (519 points to 516) in the AOY race, but finished with a comfortable cushion over Brock Reinkemeyer in second.

“We’ve had a ton of fun this year,” said Lawrence, who has banked just shy of $375,000 in winnings in two years. “It’s really hard to put into words what’s happened these past two years, it’s been really special. We’re going to do our best to just keep it rolling.”