WARSAW, Mo. (June 26, 2017) – Joe Waggoner of Carthage, Missouri, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 15 ounces, Saturday to earn top honors at the FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Ozark Division tournament on Lake of the Ozarks. For his efforts, Waggoner pocketed $4,672.
“I focused on main-lake and secondary points with brush, from mid-lake down to the lower end,” said Waggoner, who earned his first career-victory as a boater in BFL competition. “I probably hit 12 areas and revisited the ones that were the most productive.”
Waggoner said his primary points were littered with bait after local authorities pulled water to bring the lake level down.
“My Lowrance units helped me see the bait on the points, which gave me more confidence to stop and fish them,” said Waggoner. “I caught almost all of my weight by 8 (a.m.) and after that it died off. They actually stopped pulling water the morning of the tournament, and I think that’s what scattered them.”
Waggoner said he caught his limit on a plum-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster Worm with a ½-ounce Bullet Weights tungsten slip sinker.
“In the afternoon I caught three good ones on points that were across from each other to finish out my day,” said Waggoner. “I guess I just ran the right points at the right time.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament in:
1st: Joe Waggoner, Carthage, Mo., five bass, 18-15, $4,672
2nd: Stan Tucker, Festus, Mo., five bass, 18-11, $2,236
3rd: Brett Govreau, House Springs, Mo., five bass, 18-9, $1,492
4th: Jeremy Johnson, Kansas City, Kan., five bass, 17-14, $968
4th: Tom Alsop, Overland Park, Kan., five bass, 17-14, $1,068
6th: Bryan Tracy, Saint Peters, Mo., five bass, 17-8, $820
7th: Matthew Roberts, Osage Beach, Mo., five bass, 17-5, $745
8th: Mike Roller, Purdy, Mo., five bass, 15-15, $671
9th: Drew Sanford, Springfield, Mo., five bass, 15-12, $596
10th: Wesley Myers, Raytown, Mo., five bass, 15-9, $522
Roger Fitzpatrick of Eldon, Missouri, caught a bass weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces – the heaviest of the event in the Boater Division – and earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $650. Jacob Sloan of Paola, Kansas, won the Co-angler Division and $2,436 Saturday after catching a five-bass limit weighing 17 pounds, 13 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers were:
1st: Jacob Sloan, Paola, Kan., five bass, 17-13, $2,436
2nd: Derrick Tyree, Owensville, Mo., five bass, 16-4, $1,168
3rd: Kory Ries, Union, Mo., five bass, 15-3, $745
4th: Matt Wertheimer, Arnold, Mo., five bass, 15-2, $522
5th: Daniel Ashby, Independence, Mo., five bass, 15-1, $447
6th: Chris Dale, Chanute, Kan., five bass, 14-1, $410
7th: Rich Carpenter, Parkville, Mo., five bass, 12-11, $373
8th: Quenten Reed, Osage Beach, Mo., five bass, 11-13, $335
9th: Alan Quick, Springfield, Mo., four bass, 11-10, $298
10th: Brandon Hecker, Camdenton, Mo., four bass, 10-11, $261
Charles Frick of Saint Louis, Missouri, caught the largest bass in the Co-angler Division – a fish weighing 5 pounds, 11 ounces. The catch earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $325.