Derek Jenkel of Pinckneyville, Illinois, weighed in five bass totaling 18 pounds, 3 ounces, Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Central Division finale on Lake of the Ozarks presented by Evinrude with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 52 pounds, 5 ounces. For his win, Jenkel took home $35,815.

“I spent the event fishing three areas near Hurricane Deck Bridge,” said Jenkel. “I flipped between six to eight docks at each area, and moved on when I had a limit.”
Jenkel said he used a green-pumpkin and blue-colored Gambler Lures Tube and a Cumberland Craw-colored Lunker Lures Limit Series Jig to catch eight keepers on Day One.
“On Day Two, I worked a Watermelon Candy-colored Zoom Magnum Trick Worm into the mix,” said Jenkel. “The bite was getting tough with my other two baits, so I went with a more finesse-style presentation. I was able to get seven keepers into the boat on Friday.”
On the final day of the event, Jenkel said he focused on one key stretch of docks. He said that particular area produced the majority of the bass he brought to the scale.
“I’m not sure why, but there was a great population of fish in that location,” said Jenkel. “I had three different rods on the deck, and flipped until my arm hurt – and then I flipped some more.”
Jenkel said his decision to switch to the finesse bait was what helped him edge out the rest of the field.
“When I switched to the Zoom Worm, I started getting bites,” said Jenkel. “It was a very crucial part of my tournament. I didn’t get a lot of bites, but when I did, they were nice ones.”
The top 10 pros on Lake of the Ozarks were:
1st: Derek Jenkel, Pinckneyville, Ill., 15 bass, 52-5, $35,815
2nd: Mark Tucker, Kirkwood, Mo., 15 bass, 51-4, $14,078
3rd: Dion Hibdon, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 51-1, $10,745
4th: Dustin Evans, Eads, Tenn., 15 bass, 48-13, $9,054
5th: Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 48-6, $8,058
6th: Brian Maloney, Osage Beach, Mo., 14 bass, 47-2, $7,163
7th: Cory Steckler, Rocky Mount, Mo., 13 bass, 45-1, $6,268
8th: Shawn Kowal, Linn Creek, Mo., 15 bass, 44-9, $5,372
9th: Jim Young, House Springs, Mo., 15 bass, 44-1, $4,729
10th: Dustin Blevins, Harrison, Ark., 14 bass, 42-7, $3,582
Peter Wenners of Galena, Missouri, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces Thursday – the biggest bass of the tournament in the pro division – that earned him the day’s Big Bass award of $252.
Brad Hostetler Jr., of Franklin, Indiana, won the co-angler division and a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard motor. Hostetler earned his win with a three-day total catch of 14 bass weighing 37 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Lake of the Ozarks were:
1st: Brad Hostetler, Franklin, Ind., 14 bass, 37-10, $27,200 + $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus
2nd: Scott Parsons, Rogers, Ark., 14 bass, 37-10, $4,500
3rd: John Bach, Salem, Mo., 12 bass, 31-2, $3,600
4th: Arnold Payne Jr., Kokomo, Ind., 12 bass, 29-10, $3,150
5th: Jacques Fleischmann, Lampe, Mo., nine bass, 27-12, $2,784
6th: Michael Carter, Raytown, Mo., 11 bass, 26-8, $2,250
7th: Brian Futch, Vienna, Ill., 12 bass, 25-14, $1,800
8th: Derrick Wright, Carl Junction, Mo., nine bass, 24-14, $1,743
9th: James Ingram, Quitman, Ark., 13 bass, 23-15, $1,450
10th: Chris Dunlap, Foristell, Mo., eight bass, 23-7, $1,125
Gerald Andrews of Benton, Kentucky, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the co-angler division Thursday, a bass weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces that earned him a share of the day’s $168 Big Bass award.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 3-5 on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri.
The Costa FLW Series on Lake of the Ozarks presented by Evinrude was the third and final stop of 2016 in the Central Division. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be the 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2016 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 235 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
By: Brian Johnson, FLW
