OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (Sept. 28, 2025) – As usual, the final day of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division event on Lake of the Ozarks was a doozy. With increased boat traffic and the third consecutive day of fishing pressure taking a toll, weights are seldom predictable on the final day at the big lake. Travis Fox, however, didn’t let any of the uncertainly get to him.
The Arkansas pro tallied 17 pounds, 10 ounces on the final day to move up from fourth for the win with 49-10. Fox pockets just over $36,000 for his first MLF win above the Phoenix Bass Fishing League level after more than 150 events.
Finishing second, Michael Harlin was also very consistent, but faltered a little on the final day to finish with 47-12.
In the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race, Roger Fitzpatrick came out ahead by 2 points, with Brad Jelinek finishing runner-up and Drew Gill finishing third. The top 25 pros and co-anglers have now locked in their qualifications to the Toyota Series Championship this fall on Grand Lake.
Fox got on the right program very fast, and then rode it out throughout the event, never biting off more than he could chew, and relying on a good zone and a few key docks to get the job done.
“I mixed it up: I fished out deep some, I fished shallow some, but I really was fishing the docks,” Fox said. “I was in Cancun in Mexico last week, and our flights got messed up on the way back and my practice got shortened. I caught three 4-pounders the first day of practice in a few hours, so I knew what area was doing good. I started focusing on that area, finding docks with brush. I knew a lot of people were fishing the backs of docks, and I’d mix in the VMC HD Swim Jig doing that. Whenever I got a bite doing that, it would be a dandy.”
Fox caught plenty of fish on Day 1, but after that, he needed to grind for every bite.
“The first day, I fished with (co-angler) Scott Parsons, and we absolutely wrecked ‘em,” he said. “We caught a lot of fish, both of us. The second day, I had just six keepers, and today I had seven or eight. The big fish, all but one of them came out of the same places every time.”
Fox relied on some standards for Lake of the Ozarks to catch his fish: a ½-ounce VMC HD Swim Jig in a shad pattern, a worm on a 5/16-ounce VMC Rugby Jig, and a green pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog with a ½-ounce VMC Tungsten Worm Weight. Across the board, he used 13 Fishing rods and reels, and Suffix line.
Fox was able to stay consistent every day, and landed just enough key bites to do it.
“I knew I couldn’t beat these locals with a giant bag, but I thought I could catch a 4-pounder or two a day, and in the fall that’s pretty strong,” he said.
Fox has a long history with MLF (much of it accumulated in the FLW era). Almost a winner quite a few times, Fox had a good run on the FLW Tour, and nearly won the Forrest Wood Cup in 2017. Winning a big one was probably overdue for Fox, and he got it done on a place near and dear to his heart.
“It feels pretty good,’ he said. “I’ve got a lot of history on this lake, it’s where I started cutting my teeth, fishing BFLs and pro-ams. So, it’s special to win on a lake that I grew up competing on. My mom and my aunt drove up every day and watched the weigh-in, so that’s pretty special too. I’ve got a lot of other friends here I met through life’s journeys, and a lot of them are here and rooting for me. It’s pretty cool.”
The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at Lake of the Ozarks finished:
1st: Travis Fox, Rogers, Ark., 15 bass, 49-10, $36,639
2nd: Michael Harlin, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 47-12, $14,197
3rd: Roger Fitzpatrick, Eldon, Mo., 15 bass, 47-2, $11,242
4th: Shane Long, Willard, Mo., 15 bass, 46-8, $9,160
5th: Tyler Weberg, Eugene, Mo., 15 bass, 46-3, $8,244
6th: Andy Newcomb, Camdenton, Mo., 15 bass, 45-14, $8,328
7th: Cole McFarland, Lake Ozark, Mo., 15 bass, 44-15, $6,412
8th: Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 15 bass, 44-9, $5,496
9th: Corey Cook, Osage Beach, Mo., 15 bass, 44-0, $4,580
10th: Cory Steckler, Rocky Mount, Mo., 15 bass, 43-13, $3,664
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Charlie Weyer of Branson West, Missouri, earned Thursday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 5 pounds, 5 ounces, while pro Anthony Johnson of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, won Friday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass, weighing in a 5-pound, 10-ouncer to earn the $500 award.
Mike Mueller of Elkhorn, Nebraska, won the co-angler division Saturday at Lake of the Ozarks with a three-day total of 13 bass weighing 35 pounds, 4 ounces. Mueller earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.
The top 10 co-anglers at the Toyota Series at Lake of the Ozarks finished:
1st: Mike Mueller, Elkhorn, Neb., 13 bass, 35-4, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd: Scott Parsons, Rogers, Ark., 14 bass, 33-9, $4,623
3rd: Noah Dickneite, Freeburg, Mo., 14 bass, 30-8, $3,699
4th: Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., 14 bass, 28-8, $3,336
5th: Mark Cowart, Kearney, Mo., 12 bass, 27-13, $2,774
6th: Yusuke Takahashi, Inahshiki, Japan, 12 bass, 27-7, $2,312
7th: Joe Lee, Midlothian, Texas, 11 bass, 27-1, $1,849
8th: Mason Chambers, Galena, Mo., 12 bass, 26-1, $1,618
9th: Takaaki Kojima, Temecula, Calif., 10 bass, 25-6, $1,387
10th: Jason Swanson, Waterloo, Iowa, 12 bass, 25-5, $1,1156
Co-angler Jonathan Hopper of Springdale, Arkansas, earned the first Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of the week on Thursday with a 5-pound, 12-ounce bass to earn the $150 prize, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Christopher Fierce of Dixon, Missouri, who weighed in a bass totaling 5 pounds, 13 ounces.
The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake of the Ozarks was hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association. It was the third and final regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Plains Division. The final event of the season for Toyota Series anglers will be the Toyota Series Championship, Nov. 6-8, at Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2025 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and the Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2026. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2025 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 6-8 on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma, and is hosted by the City of Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau.