Bass are biting GOOD at Lake of the Ozarks!
The weather finally broke in the days leading up to the April, 7th Lake of the Ozarks tournament sponsored by BassingBob.com. Water temperatures were finally into the low to mid 50’s depending on location and the big girls were snapping for some.
Taking the top spot today was the team of Roger Fitzpatrick and Dennis Berhorst. Roger and Dennis fished the lower portion of the lake, maximizing their fishing time and located quality fish near secondary points close to spawning pockets. Their lures of choice were Omega Genesis spinnerbaits, Omega Rapture Chatterbaits and a jig. Catching over 15 keepers on the day Roger and Dennis’ best 5 weighed in at 21.70 pounds! Included in their bag was the Ozark Chevrolet Big Joe Bass weighing 6.16 pounds. Roger also was the SportBoats USA highest finishing Skeeter owner fishing out of his 2019 FX21 and with the Skeeter Real Money incentive the teams winnings could exceed $6000.00. It pays to fish Joe Bass Team Trail out of a Skeeter! Roger is sponsored by Skeeter, Yamaha, Sports Boats USA, TH Marine, Lowrance, St. Croix, Omega, Daiwa, P-Line, Crankwraps, Biospawn and Fitz’s Fishing. Dennis is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Yamaha, Omega, Chompers, Lew’s, Bassing Bob, Fitz’s Fishing Lowrance, Gamma Line, Eberlin Boats and Motors.
Taking a close second today was the team of Bryan Tracy and Andy Newcomb. Bryan and Andy also fished the lower portion of the lake, from the 8 mile marker to the Dam. The key for this team was wind. Focusing on windy main lake and secondary points early then fishing the back ends of creeks at the mouths of spawning pockets. Their Lures of choice were stickbaits and the A-Rig. Culling through over 12 Keepers on the day the teams best 5 weighed in at 21.34 pounds! Included in their bag was the second big bass of the day weighing 5.72 pounds. Andy is sponsored by Mercury, Daiwa, Biospawn, Jakked Baits, Dude”s Custom Baits, Vicious Fishing, Marty’s Marine S&S Custom Building and Scott & Son Well Drilling.
Finishing in third place today was the team of Brad Jelinek and John Slavens. Brad and John made a run up to the Hurricane Deck area where they fished a jig around brush, on swing banks, toward the backs of creeks to catch the majority of their fish, with a key bite coming on a spinnerbait late in the day.
38 teams 124 fish 20 limits. 5 limits over 20 pounds
Truth Verification was performed by Greg Martin.
Joe Bass will be taking a “Big Boat Break” from Lake of the Ozarks and will return for the season finale on 9/22. Host Lodging for Joe Bass Team Trail is Alhonna Resort (573)365-2634
Photos
Results
| Place | Team Members | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Pts | Payout | |
| 1 | Roger Fitzpatrick – *Dennis Berhorst | 5 | 6.16 | 21.7 | 110 | $3,120.00 | 1BB Top Skeeter |
| 2 | Bryan Tracy – *Andy Newcomb | 5 | 5.72 | 21.34 | 109 | $1,150.00 | 2BB |
| 3 | Brad Jelinek – John Slavens | 5 | 5.61 | 21.14 | 108 | $700.00 | |
| 4 | Jeremy Johnson – *Joel Johnson | 5 | 5.13 | 20.46 | 107 | $410.00 | |
| 5 | Mike Kraus – John McGahan | 5 | 5.12 | 20.09 | 106 | $320.00 | |
| 6 | Nathan Oliver – Jamie Eynard | 5 | 5.46 | 19.06 | 105 | $250.00 | |
| 7 | Chad Deaver – Dirk Sluyter | 5 | 5.01 | 17.05 | 104 | $200.00 | |
| 8 | Randy Krull – Greg West | 5 | 4.19 | 16.97 | 103 | ||
| 9 | Matt Miller – Kory Ries | 5 | 15.69 | 102 | |||
| 10 | Chris D’Aquila – Denny D’Aquila | 5 | 4.41 | 14.97 | 101 | ||
| 11 | Greg Berhorst – Matt Hargartan | 5 | 3.99 | 14.5 | 100 | ||
| 12 | Grant Akers – *Greg Profit | 3 | 5.68 | 14.2 | 99 | ||
| 13 | Chuck Clutts Jr. – Ryne Borchelt | 5 | 14.02 | 98 | |||
| 14 | David Kampschroeder – Jason Huskey | 4 | 4.84 | 12.67 | 97 | ||
| 15 | Bob Bueltmann – Bob Renken | 5 | 12.07 | 96 | |||
| 16 | Gus Adkinson – Riley Phillips | 5 | 3.52 | 11.13 | 95 | ||
| 17 | Brian Maloney – Josh Wisdom | 5 | 10.71 | 94 | |||
| 18 | Chad Denningmann – *fished aalone | 5 | 9.83 | 93 | |||
| 19 | Kyle Alsop – Thomas Alsop | 5 | 9.74 | 92 | |||
| 20 | Steven Dickerson – Samantha Dickerson | 5 | 9.14 | 91 | |||
| 21 | Jim Callahan Jr – Doug Rinck | 5 | 9.04 | 90 | |||
| 22 | Randy Gain – Chuck Mueller | 4 | 8.52 | 89 | |||
| 23 | Kim Fischer – Mark Glass | 4 | 8.18 | 88 | |||
| 24 | Nick Werle – Curt Werle | 4 | 7.48 | 87 | |||
| 25 | Ralph Laster – Steve Helms | 5 | 7.43 | 86 | |||
| 26 | Nathan Klepper – Wayne Klepper | 3 | 7.26 | 85 | |||
| 27 | Ron Peek – Pat Deaton | 2 | 5.01 | 84 | |||
| 28 | John Campbell – Rusty Darnell | 0 | 10 | ||||
| Rob Crangle – Bryan Loseman | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Scott Danek – Scott Danek Jr | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Derek Galitin – Ryan Fritz | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Sheldon Gentry – *Gabe Bisges | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Scott Hankinson – Brandon Rowland | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Ed Matthews – Bill Hall | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Corey Nelson – Tyler Branson | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Steve Ortiz – Sean Fincham | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Rick Reinkemeyer – Brock Reinkemeyer | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Troy Thomas – Mike Eickmann | 0 | 10 |
*alternate