ILLINOIS’ JENKEL WINS COSTA FLW SERIES CENTRAL DIVISION FINALE ON LAKE OF THE OZARKS PRESENTED BY EVINRUDE

ILLINOIS’ JENKEL WINS COSTA FLW SERIES CENTRAL DIVISION FINALE ON LAKE OF THE OZARKS PRESENTED BY EVINRUDE

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OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Oct. 8, 2016) – 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:

1^st:          Derek Jenkel, Pinckneyville, Ill., 15 bass, 52-5, $35,815

2^nd:         Mark Tucker, Kirkwood, Mo., 15 bass, 51-4, $14,078

3^rd:          Dion Hibdon, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 51-1, $10,745

4^th:          Dustin Evans, Eads, Tenn., 15 bass, 48-13, $9,054

5^th:          Marcus Sykora, Osage Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 48-6, $8,058

6^th:          Brian Maloney, Osage Beach, Mo., 14 bass, 47-2, $7,163

7^th:          Cory Steckler, Rocky Mount, Mo., 13 bass, 45-1, $6,268

8^th:          Shawn Kowal, Linn Creek, Mo., 15 bass, 44-9, $5,372

9^th:          Jim Young, House Springs, Mo., 15 bass, 44-1, $4,729

10^th:        Dustin Blevins, Harrison, Ark., 14 bass, 42-7, $3,582

Complete results can be found at FLWFishing.com.

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:

1^st:          Brad Hostetler, Franklin, Ind., 14 bass, 37-10, $27,200 + $5,000 Ranger Cup Bonus

2^nd:         Scott Parsons, Rogers, Ark., 14 bass, 37-10, $4,500

3^rd:          John Bach, Salem, Mo., 12 bass, 31-2, $3,600

4^th:          Arnold Payne Jr., Kokomo, Ind., 12 bass, 29-10, $3,150

5^th:          Jacques Fleischmann, Lampe, Mo., nine bass, 27-12, $2,784

6^th:          Michael Carter, Raytown, Mo., 11 bass, 26-8, $2,250

7^th:          Brian Futch, Vienna, Ill., 12 bass, 25-14, $1,800

8^th:          Derrick Wright, Carl Junction, Mo., nine bass, 24-14, $1,743

9^th:          James Ingram, Quitman, Ark., 13 bass, 23-15, $1,450

10^th:        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. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.