Illinois’ Jenkel wins Costa FLW Series Central Division finale on Lake of the Ozarks
Category: press release
Oct 10th, 2016 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Oct 10th, 2016 at 12:00 AM
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
Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.