Andre Dickneite of Freeburg, Mo. caught a 15-pound bag on Saturday to win the FLW Series Central Division event on Lake of the Ozarks. Dickneite’s three-day total of 48-04 gave him a 2 1/2-pound margin of victory and the top prize of $40,000.
“I am on top of the world right now,” said Dickneite, who after two previous wins at the BFL level earned his first triumph in the FLW Series. “I did not think that I had enough to win today. I started the day in 4th place, and I thought that my weight would likely maintain my standing. But the other guys struggled, and now here I am.”
Dickneite said that he caught his fish throughout the week flipping a jig to docks. His main bait was a half-ounce black and blue-colored V&M jig trailered with a Strike King Rage Craw.
“The key for me was fishing the conditions that I was given,” Dickneite said. “I had one magic dock that I caught two keepers on each day, but other than that I was fishing different areas. I fished from the Hurricane Deck Bridge to up as far as Mossy Creek.”
Dickneite mentioned that every fish that he caught came flipping with the jig, except for Saturday when he managed to catch three on a Texas-rigged red bug-colored Zoom Magnum Trick Worm.
“I caught 10 keepers on Thursday, then seven on Friday and seven more today. I didn’t throw the worm at all earlier this week, but it felt right to throw it today. I was fortunate to make the right decisions this week and I couldn’t be happier with how I ended up.”
Here are the final totals for the top 10:
1. Andre Dickneite: 48-04
2. Roger Fitzpatrick: 45-12
3. James Dill: 45-12
4. Dylan Hays: 45-07
5. Dennis Berhorst: 44-04
6. Shane Long: 44-03
7. Casey Scanlon: 43-03
8. Jeremy Lawyer: 42-14
9. Greg Bohanan: 40-11
10. James Watson: 34-15
