Harlin Cruised With Umbrella Rig On Brush

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Michael Harlin caught a fish that weighed in excess of 5 pounds on each of the three days of the recent Lake of the Ozarks Plains Division Toyota Series event. If the big one was the only fish he'd caught in the final round, he still would've won.

With a trio of stringers that eclipsed the 20-pound mark, the 26-year-old rolled to an easy victory on his home lake that netted him the top prize of $37,802. His 62-01 total left him more than 15 pounds in front of runner-up Andy Newcomb.

He did most of his work with an umbrella rig – a YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. with 1/8-ounce jigheads that held 3.8-inch swimbaits. He also caught a few fish in the final round on a jerkbait.

"I like throwing (an umbrella rig)," he said. "If it's pre-spawn in the Ozarks and the fish are biting, you'd better be throwing it or you're going to get whooped. It has a lot of drawing power – you can cover a lot of water and pull fish in from a long ways off.

"I caught my first 20-pound bag on an A-Rig when I was in college (at the University of Missouri). That was kind of where it all started."

Usually in the Vicinity

Harlin not only spends a lot of time on Lake of the Ozarks itself, but on the dry ground around it, as well. He's a realtor by trade and his operation is centered on properties situated close to the water.

"It works out well because my schedule is usually pretty open," he said. "Working for yourself, you can put in more time on the water than if you had to ask for a vacation."

He put in three days of practice for the Toyota derby – more than that was pretty much impossible due to the previous spate of winter weather that left much of the lake in a frozen state. He used the time to find brushpiles located between the toll bridge and the dam that he was previously unaware of and those were the ones he exploited during the tournament.

He had about 15 locales waypointed and had whittled that number down to eight or 10 by the final day. Forward-facing sonar was critical to his program.

"For the most part, I had to revisit a lot of stuff multiple times during the day to get them to bite," he said. "Some of the piles were holding 10 to 15 fish, but the ones holding four or five usually had better quality.

"Long casts were ideal, but you can't do that when it gets too windy and sometimes I was making 30- to 40-foot casts. The retrieve was pretty slow – we were dealing with 36-degree water most of the time."

His biggest fish of the event was the 6-06 he caught on day 1. He went through a lot of fish en route to compiling his bags, catching 20 or more on two of the three days.

"I think the biggest key for me was just focusing on structure that I knew was holding fish and not fishing everything that looked good."

Winning Gear Notes

> Umbrella rig gear: 7'7" heavy-action FX Custom rod, Shimano Curado 200 casting reel (7.4:1 ratio), 20-pound Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon line, YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. with 1/8-ounce Crock-O-Gator jigheads, 3.8-inch Keitech Swing Impact FAT swimbaits (French pearl or pro blue read pearl.

> His jerkbait was a Megabass Vision 110 (stain reaction OB).

Notable

> Harlin fished the event from a borrowed boat, as his new one had yet to arrive at his local dealership.

> He'd like to fish at the tour level at some point, but isn't obsessed with it. "I'm just going to ride it as far as it'll go. If that route opened up, I'd be happy to do it, but I'm also happy just fishing around the house."

Final Standings

1. Michael Harlin -- 21-11 (5) -- 20-00 (5) -- 20-06 (5) -- 62-01 (15) -- $37,802

2. Andy Newcomb -- 14-09 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 16-05 (5) -- 46-12 (15) -- $15,595

3. Jack Uxa -- 12-11 (5) -- 16-02 (5) -- 17-09 (5) -- 46-06 (15) -- $11,299

4. Brock Reinkemeyer -- 16-15 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 45-09 (15) -- $9,416

5. Eric Olliverson -- 11-10 (3) -- 18-09 (5) -- 15-05 (4) -- 45-08 (12) -- $8,475

6. Kirk Smith -- 16-04 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 43-06 (15) -- $7,533

7. Brad Jelinek -- 14-14 (5) -- 15-05 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 42-12 (15) -- $6,591

8. Stephen Whitesell -- 15-04 (5) -- 14-07 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 42-06 (15) -- $5,650

9. Shonn Goodwin -- 13-10 (5) -- 16-08 (5) -- 10-00 (4) -- 40-02 (14) -- $4,708

10. Russ Lane -- 19-03 (5) -- 10-06 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 29-09 (8) -- $3,766

The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on day 3.

11. T J Martin -- 14-08 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 28-04 (10) -- $3,531

12. Ryan Otto -- 11-11 (5) -- 15-09 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-04 (10) -- $3,296

13. Bruce Parsons -- 15-03 (3) -- 12-00 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 27-03 (6) -- $2,825

14. Garrett Olivotti -- 13-06 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-04 (10) -- $2,825

15. Shawn Kowal -- 12-13 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 26-03 (10) -- $2,825

16. Andre Dickneite -- 13-15 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-11 (10) -- $2,825

17. Mark Rose -- 8-12 (3) -- 15-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 24-07 (8) -- $2,825

18. Cade Alsbury -- 13-06 (5) -- 10-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-12 (10) -- $2,825

19. Mike Smola -- 9-05 (4) -- 14-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 23-05 (9) -- $2,825

20. David Burks -- 12-02 (4) -- 10-11 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-13 (9) -- $2,825

21. Ben Verhoef -- 6-04 (3) -- 16-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-12 (8) -- $2,589

22. Josh Busby -- 11-02 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-01 (10) -- $2,589

23. David Wootton -- 10-00 (4) -- 11-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-13 (9) -- $2,589

24. Shane Long -- 9-07 (4) -- 11-15 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-06 (8) -- $2,589

25. Chris Aswegan -- 10-10 (5) -- 10-10 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-04 (8) -- $2,589

26. Adam Deakin -- 13-09 (5) -- 7-10 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-03 (8) -- $2,354

27. Casey Scanlon -- 10-13 (3) -- 10-06 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 21-03 (7) -- $2,354

28. Joe McBride -- 12-11 (4) -- 8-00 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 20-11 (6) -- $2,354

29. Kyle Weisenburger -- 12-08 (5) -- 7-04 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-12 (9) -- $2,354

30. Michael Stetich -- 2-06 (1) -- 17-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 19-06 (6) -- $2,354

31. Tom Silber -- 7-08 (3) -- 11-05 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-13 (8) -- $1,883

32. Ken Graeber -- 1-15 (1) -- 16-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-12 (6) -- $1,883

33. Nick Aber -- 8-05 (4) -- 10-04 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-09 (8) -- $1,883

34. Roger Fitzpatrick -- 8-05 (5) -- 10-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-05 (10) -- $1,883

35. Joey Cantrell -- 7-05 (4) -- 10-14 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 18-03 (8) -- $1,883

36. Chris Torkleson -- 9-01 (5) -- 8-14 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-15 (7) -- $1,883

37. Kyle Minke -- 5-13 (3) -- 12-00 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-13 (8) -- $1,883

38. Brent Algeo -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 17-04 (5)

39. Mark Dunbar -- 5-10 (2) -- 11-04 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-14 (7)

40. B J Miller -- 14-01 (4) -- 2-12 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-13 (5)

41. Sheldon Rogge -- 9-12 (5) -- 7-01 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-13 (9)

42. Grant Akers -- 9-11 (4) -- 7-02 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-13 (7)

43. Jack Hippe III -- 12-09 (4) -- 3-15 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 16-08 (7)

44. Austin Culbertson -- 9-01 (2) -- 6-12 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-13 (5)

45. Shannon Pierce -- 6-15 (3) -- 8-11 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-10 (6)

46. Terry Blankenship -- 3-02 (1) -- 12-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-08 (6)

47. Jason Allred -- 2-15 (1) -- 12-06 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-05 (6)

48. Mike Gilbreath -- 7-13 (3) -- 7-03 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-00 (6)

49. Lance Freeman -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-13 (5)

50. Jeff Kriet -- 7-07 (3) -- 7-05 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-12 (6)

51. Mike Rhinehart -- 12-04 (5) -- 2-02 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-06 (6)

52. Alex Heintze -- 7-15 (4) -- 6-04 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-03 (8)

53. Larry Puckett -- 12-01 (5) -- 2-00 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 14-01 (6)

54. Dennis Berhorst -- 2-03 (1) -- 11-08 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-11 (6)

55. Brian Hanes -- 5-06 (2) -- 8-05 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-11 (4)

56. Marcus Sykora -- 3-11 (2) -- 9-12 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-07 (7)

57. Kyle Kitts -- 7-01 (3) -- 6-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-07 (5)

58. Rob Bueltmann -- 13-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-03 (5)

59. Brett Haake -- 5-03 (1) -- 7-13 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-00 (3)

60. Dewayne French -- 5-00 (2) -- 7-13 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-13 (5)

61. Paul Browning -- 4-15 (2) -- 7-13 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-12 (7)

62. Roy Hawk -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-10 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 12-10 (5)

63. Bill McDonald -- 10-08 (4) -- 1-07 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-15 (5)

64. -- 7-10 (3) -- 3-13 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-07 (4)

65. Cory Steckler -- 4-04 (1) -- 7-01 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-05 (4)

66. Brent Toon -- 1-15 (1) -- 9-03 (5) -- 0-00 (0) -- 11-02 (6)

67. Travis Loyd -- 8-12 (3) -- 2-01 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-13 (4)

68. Todd Hollowell -- 4-10 (3) -- 6-03 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-13 (6)

69. Shawn Huwar -- 7-07 (3) -- 2-14 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-05 (4)

70. Justin Hayden -- 2-00 (1) -- 8-01 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-01 (4)

71. Kyle Schutta -- 5-09 (3) -- 4-08 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 10-01 (4)

72. Wesley Anderson -- 7-13 (4) -- 1-15 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-12 (5)

73. Kevin Late -- 2-03 (1) -- 7-00 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-03 (3)

74. Lance Williams -- 6-01 (5) -- 3-02 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-03 (6)

75. Blain Jackson -- 2-13 (1) -- 6-05 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-02 (4)

76. Marty Scudder -- 2-08 (1) -- 6-09 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 9-01 (3)

77. James Watson -- 6-13 (3) -- 2-01 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-14 (4)

78. Brien Vaughn -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-12 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-12 (2) -- $137

79. Randy Blaukat -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-11 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-11 (4)

80. Brian Wilson -- 3-06 (2) -- 5-05 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-11 (4)

81. Jeff Colwell -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-08 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-08 (2)

82. Keith Amerson -- 5-06 (2) -- 2-13 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-03 (3)

83. Chris Bridges -- 4-03 (2) -- 3-15 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-02 (3)

84. Luke Hendrixson -- 1-05 (1) -- 6-12 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-01 (4)

85. Larry Caldwell -- 4-14 (2) -- 2-14 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-12 (3)

86. Jake Biram -- 3-14 (2) -- 3-14 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-12 (4)

87. Jordan Mueller -- 7-11 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-11 (3)

88. Michael Dove -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-10 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-10 (3)

89. Jesse Wolfe -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 7-06 (2)

90. Hayden Newberry -- 3-02 (2) -- 3-11 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-13 (3)

91. Blake Edwards -- 6-12 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-12 (3)

92. Greg Bohannan -- 2-01 (1) -- 4-09 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-10 (3)

93. Robert(bobby) Shockley -- 1-07 (1) -- 5-02 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-09 (3)

94. Bryan Partak -- 2-15 (1) -- 3-07 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-06 (2)

95. Jeremy Johnson -- 3-11 (2) -- 2-08 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-03 (3)

96. Nicky Parsons -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-00 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-00 (2)

97. Doyle Isom Jr -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-12 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-12 (3)

98. James Dill -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-11 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-11 (3)

99. Martin Sims -- 2-00 (1) -- 3-07 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-07 (2)

100. Carson McCone -- 5-06 (4) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-06 (4)

101. Mark Fields -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-05 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-05 (1)

102. Tracy Mitchell -- 2-02 (1) -- 3-00 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-02 (2)

103. David Holbrook -- 2-09 (1) -- 2-08 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-01 (2)

104. Corey Cook -- 5-00 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 5-00 (2)

105. Jessie Ayers -- 2-14 (1) -- 2-00 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-14 (2)

106. Leondias (lee) Butcher -- 2-11 (1) -- 2-02 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-13 (2)

107. Greg Sapp -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-06 (2)

108. Brock Bolden -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-05 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-05 (2)

109. Mike Marfell -- 4-05 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-05 (1)

110. Bryan Tracy -- 1-15 (1) -- 1-15 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-14 (2)

111. Josh Shirley -- 3-12 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-12 (1)

112. Theron Caldwell -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-08 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-08 (2)

113. Cody Arth -- 1-03 (1) -- 2-03 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-06 (2)

114. Bobby Albert -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-08 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-08 (1)

115. Ladd Shannon -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-05 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-05 (1)

115. Joe Grafeman -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-05 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-05 (1)

115. Brandon Paladino -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-05 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-05 (1)

118. Grant Pavelka -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-04 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-04 (1)

119. Ryan Klatt -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-01 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-01 (1)

119. Naohiro Maruo -- 2-01 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-01 (1)

121. Travis Ledford -- 2-00 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 2-00 (1)

122. Lane Haymond -- 1-14 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-14 (1)

122. Nathen Luce -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-14 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-14 (1)

124. Trevor Stevenson -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-12 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-12 (1)

125. John (jack) Morris Jr -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-11 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-11 (1)

126. Gunner West -- 1-07 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-07 (1)

127. Steven Weber -- 1-04 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-04 (1)

128. Scout Echols -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-03 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 1-03 (1)

Timothy Gill -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Travis Coleman -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Chris Gable -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Ronny Webb -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Chad G Allison -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Brandon Hunter -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Craig Schuff -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Dayton Taylor -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Lawson Tilghman -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Colton Arnold -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Terry Cordum -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Scott Rice -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Larry Stoafer -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Bradley Perkins -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Erick Fernengel -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Bob Bueltmann -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Mason Big Crow -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)

Michael Sheppard -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00 (0)