OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – With major weather changes every day of the event, the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division opener on Lake of the Ozarks set up well for an adaptable local expert to succeed. Few fit that description better than Andy Newcomb – the 2021 Plains Division Angler of the Year, Newcomb has fished all over the country and has five previous top-six finishes in Toyota Series events on his home lake. This time, after years of “almost” and “next time,” the affable Missouri angler sealed the deal.
Weighing the biggest bag of the final day of competition (19 pounds, 5 ounces) Newcomb rocketed up from eighth place to get the win. With a three-day total of 50-7, he edged last year’s champ, Cole Breeden, by slightly more than a pound. For the win, he pocketed $59,795 and also qualified for the Toyota Series Championship this fall.
Home field advantage finally pays off
A favorite every time he launches the boat on Lake of the Ozarks, Newcomb put together the perfect event this week. Never weighing in less than 15 pounds, he kept himself in the hunt and walloped a big bag on the final day.
“I’ve worked very hard for this one; I’ve fished every inch of this lake,” said the Camdenton, Missouri, pro. “When I have a day that’s fun fishing, I go somewhere I’m not familiar with or haven’t been, and I just try to learn every bit of it. That way, when the conditions arise, I feel comfortable everywhere I go.
“On the last day, I tend to throw caution to the wind, and go for the absolute biggest bag I can, even if that means not catching a bass. That’s what I did today – I went to a part of the lake I hadn’t been to at all in the tournament and just fished some history and fished the conditions. I just did what I used to do.”
Finally a winner on his home lake, Newcomb wasn’t sure he had it when Day 2 leader David Brand put his fish on the scale.
“I literally told a buddy of mine as we were standing there, he said ‘Did you have a good day?’ I said ‘I had a good day, I’m sure just good enough to be in the top three.’ I wasn’t sure until David put his fish on there, so, it’s pretty cool.
“It really feels good to put in all that time and effort and have it come to fruition,” Newcomb added. “Lake of the Ozarks is a super special place to a lot of people. It’s given me the opportunity to fish for a living. To win a big one here, you can’t put it into words – or, I can’t; my vocabulary isn’t big enough.”
Diverse game plan results in win
More than probably any other lake that isn’t filled with grass, Lake of the Ozarks has remained a holdout in the era of high-level forward-facing sonar use. Not that bass can’t be caught with forward-facing sonar, but, many times, it’s not emphatically the way to win. Newcomb proved that again this week, weighing only a couple of fish on ‘Scope the first days, but using it for a 5-pounder and a few other key bites on the final day.
On Day 1, Newcomb went up the lake and threw a jerkbait, and he finished the day out with a 4-pounder on a spinnerbait in dirty water.
“Day 2, I started in the dirty water – I caught a heavy 2-, a 4-pounder, and lost a big one,” he said. “That kind of hurt me – it kept me in the stained water way too long. When I finally made the move and left, I started catching them immediately. I told my co-angler, ‘Man, those guys in the clean water smashed them today,’ and they did.”
On the final day, Newcomb had some decisions to make.
“Last night I really struggled with where I wanted to go,” he said. “Until this morning, I didn’t know – I was rigged up for both situations. I got the gut feeling that I needed to go downlake, and that’s what we did. I threw a jerkbait to begin with, and they didn’t seem to want it. So, I picked up an A-rig and that’s what they wanted – I weighed every fish on an Alabama rig today.”
Kicking on his sonar early helped Newcomb dial in the winning combination.
“I would say I weighed two, maybe three on ‘Scope today,’ he said. “I did do some culling. I used my ‘Scope a lot earlier today. Yesterday I didn’t turn it on until about 1 o’clock. Today, I fished for about half an hour and then went ahead and turned it on, to try to get a vibe for the mood of the fish after that cold night. I wanted to see how they were reacting, if they were there and not biting, or just not even there.”
Newcomb used a variety of Ozark staples to get it done. His jerkbait of choice was a Megabass Vision 110 in clown, wakasagi and a custom pattern. For his spinnerbait, he used a chartreuse and white, 5/8-ounce Zorro Bango Blade with a 4-inch X Zone Swammer as a trailer. His umbrella rig was the venerable YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr., which he paired with some Keitech dummies and three 3.8-inch Bait Cave Customs Cave Swimmers on 1/16-ounce Apex Tackle Pro Series Deaver Swimbait Heads. Of course, he used Daiwa rods and reels, as well as Daiwa line.
The light heads on his umbrella rig were a key move according to Newcomb.
“The fish were following it for a long ways before they would bite it,” he said. “I felt like if I used a heavier head, they would lose interest and swim away. I threw those lighter heads – you didn’t get all of them to bite, but I feel like I got more to bite because of that.”
Earning the win, Newcomb did a little bit of everything you can do at Lake of the Ozarks, and he mostly did it at the right times and in the right places, which is exactly how tournaments should be won.
“The first two days, I never even threw my bait near a dock,” he said. “Today, I weighed one over 5, and another that was probably 3 3/4 off a dock. I just junked it together and fished where I thought I should be.
“I just pieced it together as I went. My game plan on Day 1 turned into something else, and then that was my game plan on Day 2 until halfway through the day,” Newcomb said. “It was one of those tournaments where I did what I thought I should do at the moment. It was the way I should win.”
Top 10 pros
1. Andy Newcomb – 50 – 7 (15) – $59,795 (includes $35,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2. Cole Breeden – 49 – 2 (15) – $9,608
3. Brad Jelinek – 48 – 3 (15) – $7,438
4. David Brand – 47 – 8 (15) – $6,199
5. Chad Satterlee – 47 – 6 (15) – $5,579
6. Harmon Marien – 46 – 11 (15) – $5,959
7. Michael Harlin – 46 – 9 (15) – $4,339
8. Tyler Weberg – 46 – 7 (15) – $3,719
9. Adam Boehle – 45 – 12 (15) – $3,099
10. Jeremy Johnson – 45 – 4 (15) – $2,479