Jeane jams in Ozarks

　 Lake of the Ozarks produces for EverStart Central Division anglers

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. - Warm, rising water has fish on the move to the bank at Lake of the Ozarks, and many anglers figured out how to intercept them at the EverStart Series Central Division event Wednesday.

Consider that 15 pounds of bass, a decent catch by most standards, would have left an angler in about 35th place at the close of today’s weigh-in.

And what if you caught a solid 12-pound limit? Well, you would have to look down to about 70th place to find your name in the standings.

Indeed, Lake of the Ozarks is kicking out some high-grade bass, and it’s taking nearly 17 1/2 pounds to be in the top 10 after day one.

Leading the event is George Jeane of Evans, La., with 21 pounds, 1 ounce.

While many anglers are up sight-fishing in the shallows, Jeane is out fishing a jig in 10 to 25 feet of water.

“I caught what I weighed in by 8:30 this morning,” Jeane said. “I have three creeks holding good fish, and I only fished half of one of those creeks today, so I’m pretty excited about the next couple of days.”

Jeane is targeting staging fish on deep points.

“Most of my fish came out of the 16- to 17-foot range,” he said. “They are staging up before they move into the coves to spawn and I’m just dragging a jig around out there to catch them.”

Pickett goes deep for second

Lloyd Pickett of Bartlett, Tenn., is in second place with 20 pounds, 13 ounces.

Like Jeane, Pickett is targeting deeper fish, but he is using a Carolina rig to do his damage.

“I had a really good practice,” Pickett said. “I’ve caught a lot of 4- and 5-pound fish over the last several days, and I’m looking forward to the next few days.”

Pickett had his limit by 1 p.m.

“I’m trying to save one spot in particular for the finals,” he said. “I only had four fish at noon, so I made a run to that spot and caught a 5-pounder right off the bat.”

Donham third

In third place is Dave Donham of Highlandville, Mo., who rounds out the 20-pound-plus club with 20 pounds, 12 ounces.

While topping the 20-pound mark should garner an angler a little safety margin going into day two, that is not the case on Lake of the Ozarks. None of these leaders can rest on their laurels tomorrow if they want to fish on Friday.

Tormanen fourth

Paul Tormanen of Lees Summit, Mo., is on a solid pattern that produced 19 pounds, 9 ounces for fourth place today.

“I’m basically flipping a tube,” he said. “I’m running a lot of water looking for something specific ? it’s a pretty definitive pattern.

“I caught eight keepers and broke my biggest fish off right at the boat. It was much bigger than any of those I weighed in.”

Ruff fifth

Steve Ruff of Wentzville, Mo., fished shallow to catch 18 pounds, 14 ounces and grab fifth place after day one.

Although he is fishing shallow, Ruff says his water is too stained to sight-fish.

“With the warm weather and rising water, I think it’s only going to get better,” Ruff said of his pattern. “The fish are moving shallow by the day, and I don’t see any reason why they should quit coming to bank.”

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 in the Pro Division are Bob Harter of Tulsa, Okla., in sixth place with 18 pounds, 8 ounces; Troy Eakins of Nixa, Mo., in seventh place with 18 pounds, 6 ounces; Eddy May of Valley Center, Kan., in eighth place with 18 pounds, 3 ounces; and David Seaton of Buchanan, Tenn., who caught the day-one big bass on the pro side, weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces, and is in ninth place with 17 pounds, 7 ounces.

Taylor leads Co-anglers

In the Co-angler Division, Mark Taylor of Mansfield, Mo., leads with 17 pounds, 4 ounces.

Taylor said he drew a sight-fisherman today, but he was determined not to let that deter his enthusiasm.

“He sight-fished all day,” Taylor said. “So I tied on a Carolina rig with a brush hog and threw it out in the deep water on the other side of the boat. Sometimes I would cast clear across to the other side of the cove and work it all the way back to the boat. I ended up having a great day and caught seven keepers and six nonkeepers.”

Ron Seabaugh of Barnhart, Mo., is in second place with 15 pounds, 2 ounces.

Mark Guin of Crossett, Ark., in is third place with 12 pounds, 2 ounces.

Shane Patterson of Alexander City, Ala., grabbed forth place with 11 pounds, 9 ounces.

And Dan Booth of Muskegon, Mich., settled into fifth place with 11 pounds, 8 ounces.

Rest of the best

Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers are Jim McDevitt of Eldon, Mo., in sixth place with 10 pounds, 13 ounces; Todd Lanning of Springfield, Mo., in seventh place with 10 pounds, 11 ounces; Danny Bickom of Canasota, N.Y., and Robert Bogard of Conway, Ark., are tied for eighth place with 10 pounds, 8 ounces; and David Sharpe of Waynesboro, Tenn., is in 10th place with 10 pounds, 3 ounces.

Day two of the EverStart Series Central Division tourney on Lake of the Ozarks begins at 6:30 a.m. Thursday at Public Beach No. 2 (PBII).

?Plus: day-two preview

This week’s EverStart Series event on Lake of the Ozarks is presented by GARMIN

Posted by DODGE at April 20, 2005 02:30 PM in Tournament (FLW)