Tackle used for the Lake of the Ozarks Tournament

Well, I'm only about a month behind on putting out the tackle and pattern information from the Lake of the Ozarks Stren Sereis Tournament, but better late than never, right?

I was fairly excited about this tournament, I had been to the lake several times over the last few years, and was looking forward to catching a lot of fish. My practice went well, but it was the last day of practice that I felt like I figured out exactly what the fish were doing. I started fishing the first few days of practice by flipping docks and fishing a top water bait, but on the last day of practice, I started fishing some deeper brushpiles in the creek arms on the lower third of the lake. And man, it was automatic! As I began to get more bites, I was able to dial in exactly what sections of teh creek arms the fish were in, and the exact depth range they were utilizing. The old saying that 90% the fish live in 10% of the water is very accurate, you just have to locate that 10% and you can call your shot on catching a fish.

It seemed that the fish were approximately half-way back in the creeks and using brush piles in the 15-18 foot range. Some of the fish in these areas would also pull up and suspend on the docks located near the brushpiles, but most stayed right in or near the brushpile.

I used the following baits to employ the pattern I had found:

When the I fished the docks, I flipped a Lunker Lure 3/8ths oz Ball Head Jig in Cumberland Craw, I tipped the jig with a Net Bait Paca Chunk. I fished the jig on a G Loomis 7'1" Model # BCR 854 rod and 12lb Maxima Fluorocarbon Line. I also used a Heddon Super Spook jr. around the docks as I was approaching them. Here's a picture of the jig:

If the fish weren't up on the docks, I fished the brushpiles surrounding the docks with a Zoom Ole' Monster 10.5" worm. I fished the worm with a G Loomis 7'1" Rod Model # BCR854, 15lb Maxima Fluorocarbon line and a Pentetrater 3/8ths ounce weight. Here's a photo of the worm:

When the tournament was over, I had finished in 43rd place, not too good really, but trust me when I tell you, I endured a bout of very strange events in this tournament, I feel very fortunate to have finished that well, regardless, I finished the season well enough to gain a berth into the Stren Series Championship on Pickwick Lake November 5th -7th

Here's a group photo of the baits, the Lunker Lure Jig can be purchased by contacting Lunker Lure on their website, or looking at a retailer near you that carries Lunker Lure Products.

Sorry for the delay in posting this info, 'til the next one...

God Bless,

D