Consistency has put Ott DeFoe in position to win his first Bassmaster event on his home waters of Douglas Lake.
“Every big tournament we’ve had here I've done well, but I have yet to win one,” said DeFoe, a Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Knoxville, Tenn. “I've made the Top 12 in every one of them, so I want to close the dang deal one time.
“This lake is very hard to be consistent on. A couple of those 4 1/2-, 5- or 5 1/2-pound bites are what makes you have a 20- to 21-pound day. So, it is hard to be consistent here with all 4-pounders.”
After catching a 19-03 sack Thursday, DeFoe backed up that catch with a 19-01 bag Friday to take over the lead in first Northern Open of 2014 with a 38-04 total. He has an advantage of almost 2 1/2 pounds over 2nd-place Ricky Shepherd.
He said the lake is fishing tougher than usual.
“The deep bite is the way to win here, but that’s not the way it should be,” DeFoe said. “There should be a lot more fish out there, and there should be bigger bags caught. The lake is doing well, but it is not where it should be.”
Here are the totals for the 12 competitors who advanced to the final day:
1. Ott DeFoe: 38-04
2. Ricky Shepherd: 35-14
3. Todd Schmitz 35-03
4. Dewayne Wilson: 34-14
5. Brent Ehrler: 34-09
6. Jacob Wheeler: 34-04
7. Michael Neal: 32-04
8. David Walker: 31-15
9. David Mullins: 31-02
10. Luke Clausen: 31-01
11. Derrick Shavely: 30-12
12. Craig Workman: 30-04
