Ohio’s Prvonozac wins Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division event on Grand Lake
Apr 24th, 2017 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Apr 24th, 2017 at 12:00 AM
Pro Nick Prvonozac of Warren, Ohio, won the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division tournament on Grand Lake presented by Ranger Boats Saturday after weighing a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 10 ounces. Prvonozac’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 6 ounces was enough to earn him $42,400 and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
“I feel great right now – it’s unbelievable,” said Prvonozac, who earned his third career-win in FLW competition, first in the Costa FLW Series. “Over the past few years I’ve been able to compete on this lake and get a good feel for it. That knowledge really helped in
this event. I’ve made some
mistakes before that I was
able to correct this time
around.”
Prvonozac said he spent his tournament working through a variety of areas stretching from the Shangri-La Resort to down near the dam. On Day One he said he split his time between sight-fishing bass on beds and targeting larger females in nearby areas that were staging to spawn.
“On Day One I caught two off of the beds with a Yum Vibra King Tube,” said Prvonozac. “The females were more off to the sides of the bedding areas. I hit a lot of 45-degree banks along secondary points and threw a Smithwick Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue jerkbait to catch one. I also caught one from a dock near bedding areas with a Booyah Bankroll Jig and a Yum Chunk trailer.”
Day Two of the three-day tournament was canceled due to severe thunderstorms and lightning in the Grove area. With the sudden influx of rain, Prvonozac said he was forced to make some adjustments heading into the final day of competition.
“I wanted to sight-fish today but the lake rose by a foot and a half so I couldn’t see them on the beds,” said Prvonozac. “I decided to make a run to a creek by the dam to target some fish that I had saved. I caught three good ones using the tube in two different areas with secondary points.”
Prvonozac said he flipped a bush with the Booyah jig for another keeper before making his way back to check-in.
“I went to my last area near Shangri-La and ended up finding one that looked good,” said Prvonozac. “I threw the Rogue and caught him out of some flooded bushes. It was my last fish, and it culled.”
The top 10 pros on Grand Lake finished:
1st: Nick Prvonozac, Warren, Ohio, 10 bass, 36-6, $42,400 + Ranger Z518C boat w/ 200-horsepower outboard
2nd: Quaker State pro Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 33-10, $16,600
3rd: Chad Warren, Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 30-11, $12,700
4th: Matt Cooper, Smithville, Texas, 10 bass, 30-0, $10,600
5th: Tommy Martin, Hemphill, Texas, 10 bass, 28-12, $9,500
6th: Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, nine bass, 28-10, $8,250
7th: Dave Donham, Highlandville, Mo., 10 bass, 28-7, $7,200
8th: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 10 bass, 28-6, $6,200
9th: Tye Smith, Fort Gibson, Okla., 10 bass, 28-5, $5,350
10th: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 10 bass, 27-15, $4,100
A complete list of results will be posted at FLWFishing.com.