With the nasty weather in January forcing the rescheduling of the second Window World Lake of the Ozarks Division event, teams were chomping at the bit to have another go at the lake. Some of the excitement was quelled with the artic chill from a few weeks ago, as water temps plummeted and a tremendous shad die-off seemed to have the fish in a very lethargic mood. Bites were at a premium, and never did the mantra of “every fish counts for points” ring truer. 18 brave teams took off from Alhonna Resort and brought back a total of 36 keepers, emphasizing the importance of every fish that provides qualifying points for the Joe Bass Invitational to be held next fall.
Andrew Messina and Corbin Bailey topped the field with a 14.99 pound bag. Andrew shared their Window World Winning approach centered on working an umbrella rig around various brush and rockpiles with 15-20’ being the preferred depth range. They used their electronics to make multiple throws to a target if they saw fish react to their rigs. Andrew and Corbin also boated the Impel Union big bass of the event, a solid 4.02 pounder.
Lorenzo Debrecht went solo to take the runner up position. Lorenzo used the second place big bass, a 3.85 pound bass, to anchor his 14.94 limit. He paired a jerkbait with live sonar to draw a handful of bites scattered throughout the day.
Kason Henderson and Joe Dougherty switched it up after a slow practice day on Saturday to bring in a 13.75 pound limit on Sunday. They hit the trifecta as their bag included largemouth, spotted bass and even a smallmouth. Kason and Joe noted their bite was pretty scattered, forcing them to make a lot of throws with an A-rig in between strikes.
Landon Edwards and Cody Ellison made the trek north after a successful day during Saturday’s Table Rock Joe Bass event where they took third place and the Top Skeeter check with a 21.62 pound limit. They found things considerably tougher at LoZ, but still pulled down the Top Skeeter award with a staggering 2 fish “limit” that weighed 4.45 pounds! Landon and Cody made it a double as they fished out of Landon’s 2013 ZX21 Skeeter.
Take note!!! Clear Cast marine electronics repair is now supporting Joe Bass Team Trail. Be sure and visit the Joe Bass website for details for your repair and setup needs!
Peyton Stumpf of Trippple P Custom’s will award a replica fishmount valued at $500 to the winner of the big bass award at this fall’s Truman Invitational. Check out Trippple P for custom painted swimbaits, crankbaits and more!
The next event of the Lake of the Ozarks Division will take place on Sunday February 23 with a 7:30am (website takeoff time is being corrected ) takeoff from Alhonna Resort. The January event is being rescheduled for Sunday March 2, meaning some back-to-back events brought on by other events starting to kick off in March.
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Photos
Results
| Place | Team Members | Boat | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Pts | Payout |
| 1 | Andrew Messina – *Corbin Bailey | Nitro | 5 | 4.02 | 14.99 | 220 | $1,648.00 |
| 2 | Lorenzo Debrecht – *fished aalone | Phoenix | 5 | 3.85 | 14.94 | 219 | $870.00 |
| 3 | Kason Henderson – Joe Dougherty | Allison | 5 | 3.8 | 13.75 | 218 | $270.00 |
| 4 | Dallas Stamper – Jason Hollandsworth | Stratos | 5 | 10.75 | 217 | ||
| 5 | Jon Hardy – Korden Messina | Triton | 3 | 8.79 | 216 | ||
| 6 | Tony Torretta – | Vexus | 5 | 7.55 | 215 | ||
| 7 | Terry Cordrum – Brent Toon | Vexus | 3 | 2.42 | 6.44 | 214 | |
| 8 | Landon Edwards – Cody Ellison | Skeeter | 2 | 4.45 | 213 | $250.00 | |
| 9 | Matt King – Cody Yates | Phoenix | 1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 212 | |
| 10 | Adam Morrison – Chris Phillips | Triton | 1 | 2.68 | 2.68 | 211 | |
| 11 | Joe St.Clair – Nathan Hill | Nitro | 1 | 1.86 | 1.86 | 210 | |
| 12 | Tim Brunnert – Michael Hogan | Ranger | 0 | 20 | |||
| Tom Herndon – *Logan Miller | Phoenix | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Cole McFarland – Ryan Jordan | Phoenix | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Dewayne Rich – Joseph Provart | Skeeter | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Mike Thomas – Dirk Thomas | Phoenix | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Mark Thompson – *Luke Thompson | Skeeter | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Chad Wagner – Kevin Altman | Nitro | 0 | 20 |
*alternate