OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (March 4, 2022) – Pro Brock Reinkemeyer of Warsaw, Missouri, brought a final-day total of five bass weighing 17 pounds, 4 ounces to the scale Thursday to win the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at Lake of the Ozarks. Reinkemeyer’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 59-13 earned him the win by a 2-pound, 12-ounce margin over second-place angler Josh Shirley of Cabot, Arkansas, and earned Reinkemeyer the top payout of $41,750 in the first tournament of the 2022 Toyota Series Plains Division Presented by Outlaw Ordnance.
“Wow, this feels even better than I thought it would feel,” Reinkemeyer said. “I am in awe right now. Some of these guys that I was fishing against this final day – it’s crazy. They’re my buddies, and they’re better than I am. They all put in more work than I do. To come out on top today is just unreal.”
Reinkemeyer said he spent the week mainly fishing in the Gravois Arm.
“I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t running all over the place,” Reinkemeyer said. “I had a 15-mile zone, and I didn’t stray from it. I grew up in Lee’s Summit, and Gravois is my homeland. The biggest thing was the early morning bite, from 7 (a.m.) to 10 (a.m.). The fish were setting up on the brush piles and rocks and they would show themselves a lot more. Later in the day, they weren’t nearly as active, so I really had to capitalize in that three-hour period.”
Reinkemeyer said he caught his fish on three baits – a Yumbrella Flash Mob Umbrella Rig with Strike King (Rage) Swimmers, a Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait, and a Motion Fishing finesse jig with a Zoom Speed Craw.
“I couldn’t catch them on the bank, so I had to fish a little deeper,” Reinkemeyer said. “I mainly targeted 14 to 22 feet, and the majority came from 18 to 22 (feet). I got one key bite each day in like 14 foot, but most of them were a bit deeper.
“I thought my fish were smaller than they were and that I was leaving the door open today – those last four hours of the day were pretty stressful,” Reinkemeyer went on to say. “Luckily it turned out that I had enough.”
The top 10 pros on Lake of the Ozarks finished:
1st: Brock Reinkemeyer, Warsaw, Mo., 15 bass, 59-13, $41,750
2nd: Josh Shirley, Cabot, Ark., 15 bass, 57-1, $15,500
3rd: Justin Miller, Grain Valley, Mo., 15 bass, 51-3, $12,000
4th: Travis Harriman, Huntsville, Ark., 13 bass, 49-4, $10,000
5th: Austin Culbertson, ,Moberly, Mo., 15 bass, 48-3, $9,000
6th: Grant Akers, Richmond, Mo., 15 bass, 48-2, $8,000
7th: Michael Harlin, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 47-4, $7,000
8th: Brad Jelinek, Lincoln, Mo., 15 bass, 46-10, $7,000 (includes $1,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
9th: Chris Bridges, Clinton, Mo., 15 bass, 46-5, $5,200
10th: Chris Digino, Dallas, Texas, 15 bass, 45-14, $4,000
Pro Kyle Minke of Lindstrom, Minnesota, won the $500 Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division Tuesday with a largemouth weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces. Reinkemeyer and Ben Verhoef of Osage Beach split Wednesday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass award, as both weighed in a 6-pound, 7-ounce bass to each take home a $250 bonus.
Jelinek took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met.
Alan Bernicky of Joliet, Illinois, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Thursday with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 34 pounds even. Bernicky took home the top prize package worth $33,700, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on Lake of the Ozarks finished:
1st: Alan Bernicky, Joliet, Ill., 12 bass, 34-0, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard + $5,000
2nd: Hank Goen, Columbia, Mo., 11 bass, 31-4, $5,000
3rd: Jeff Moss, Oronogo, Mo.., 11bass, 31-2, $4,000
4th: Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, 13 bass, 27-12, $3,500
5th: Dan Bowman, Osage Beach, Mo., 11 bass, 26-11, $3,000
6th: Tom Shewey, Climax Springs, Mo., 11 bass, 26-3, $2,500
7th: Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., 11 bass, 25-13, $2,000
8th: Scott Parsons, Rogers, Ark., nine bass, 25-3, $1,750
9th: Dennis Young, Olathe, Kan., nine bass, 24-8, $1,500
10th: Anthony Scoma, Spring Hill, Kan., nine bass, 23-10, $1,250
The Day 1 Berkley Big Bass $150 award winner in the Strike King co-angler division, was Mark Reynolds of Warrensburg, Missouri, with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass, while the Day 2 $150 award went to Joseph Blackburn of Dixon, Missouri, with a 6-pound, 10-ounce largemouth.
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MLF Toyota Series Archive