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Lake of the Ozarks: Social media roundup

Catch up with the Opens angler's social media posts during practice for the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake of the Ozarks.

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We start our social media roundup for the next to last St. Croix Bassmaster Open of the 2023 season with this beautiful shot captured by Kenta Kimura of the light driving out the dark.
Bobby Lane started the year in search of re-qualification for the Bassmaster Elite Series, opting to fish all 9 Opens in the EQ (Elite Qualifiers) schedule. Lane sits in 13th currently. The Floridian is looking for a solid finish here at Lake of the Ozarks, and one more a little closer to home in a few weeks at the last Open of the year on the Harris Chain.
Bill McDonald took this shot of roommate Greg Bohannan, two anglers also in pursuit of 2024 Bassmaster Elite Series berths. 
Jamie Bruce found what he was looking for, bass busting on bait.
Kyle Patrick located the schoolers as well. Baitfish come to the surface in September on many fisheries around the country and the bass and other predatory species feed heavily on them. This is happening in several places on Lake of the Ozarks right now.
Kimura found something else that’s prevalent on this fishery — docks.
Turns out, there are lots of deer here too, as is evidenced by this shot from Matt Henry.
Here’s some good bucks Brad Luethener stumbled upon as well.
Kyle Patrick found what he wasn’t looking for— mechanical issues. But he also found a friend in a time of need. Tyler Williams, last week’s Open champ from Watts Barr, came to the rescue.
Kyle Patrick found a good one too. Feel free to let your mind wander as to the pose here.
Joey Nania found something a little out of the norm, a stud spotted bass.
James Niggemeyer with a largemouth that looks more like a prespawn bass about to bust with eggs than a fall fish.
Bobby Lane with a big one.
Clark Reehm too. Two or three of these across the course of three days of competition here will be the difference between a finish in the 100s and a Top 10.
Blake Smith is trying to dial a little something in, despite the difficulties of the fall fishing funk.
Smith reported, “This place is such a crazy fishery. These fish seem to be in some type of summer/early fall pattern depending on what part of the lake you find yourself in. I’ve caught fish from 5 inches of water down to 30 feet but the big bites are few and far between.”
“This week the new Yamamoto 10-inch Oki Worm – Floater has been hard to beat. I modified it slightly for the tournament but I know it’s going to be a big player here.”
Miles Burghoff with a big one.
And another. He appears to be finding a consistent big bite.
Brad Luethener with a nice fish as well.
Trevor McKinney with a good one as well. The Illinois angler says a Rapala Mavrik 110 has been the deal.
Current St. Croix Bassmaster Angler of the Year Points leader JT Thompkins is in great position to make the 2024 Elites. He likely only needs 5 or 6 more bites like this in the next two tournaments to get there.
We leave you with a giant from Matt Henry, another Elite hopeful that stubbed his toe a little last week. Henry reported having had the bites at Watts Barr, but poor execution cost him. He isn’t out of it though, sitting in 14th in points. Tune in tomorrow for Day 1 of competition. And remember, this week’s final day will be on Sunday, and LIVE coverage will be available on Bassmaster.com.

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