Team Series Grand lake Recap

The 2009 O’Reilly Super Start Team Series Championship wrapped up on Lake of the Ozarks with 46 eager teams taking a shot at a new Nitro Z-8 boat rigged with a Mercury OptiMax 250 Pro XS motor. All the marbles were in one basket and every team fished as hard as they could to bring home the victory. Conditions changed quickly on LOZ prior to the tournament as 8 to 10 inches of rain inundated the area and brought the lake up to nearly full pool in a couple days. The bite changed each day of practice but the best Midwest anglers followed the fish to put together two solid days of bass catching.

The Team-of-the-Year title winners were recognized at the Sunday weigh-in. Shawn Kowal and Jeff Ahart topped the field by a wide 36 points after a close race all year. Each was awarded $500 from O’Reilly Auto Parts as title holders. Shawn is sponsored by Mercury Marine, Motor Guide, Nitro Boats, Pro Guide Batteries, Tracker Marine and Highway 42 Boats & More. Jeff is sponsored by Paul’s Supermarket and Gier’s Bass Pro Shop.

Heartland Team Series Team-of-the-Year – Shawn Kowal & Jeff Ahart
The father-son team of Mike and Corey Eutsler blasted the field by over four pounds. They jumped into the lead on Day 1 with a commanding 16.94 lb bag of fish anchored by a 5.49 lb kicker. Stringing two solid days together was the key to success and they did that by dropping another 14.11 lbs on the scales to solidify their first Championship Title with a total of 31.05 lbs.

Mike with part of their Day 1 bag
Mike and Corey went home with a new boat, a fully rigged Nitro Z-8 powered by a Mercury OptiMax 250 Pro XS. This was upgraded from the advertised 225 motor. They also pocketed $500 from the Tracker Trophy Incentive program and another $500 from O’Reilly Auto Parts for running SuperStart batteries. All together the weekend was worth $43,000. A great payday for a regional circuit!

Typically, Mike and Corey would make a long run up the Osage arm in the fall but have found their success in the past to be spotty. “It seemed like we would get beat by anglers fishing close this time of the year,” explained Mike. “We wanted to maximize our fishing time so we stayed within 20 miles of the ramp this time.” It was the winning choice.

Mike and Corey focused on creeks off the main channel. One would have expected the very backs of the creeks to produce but the team found they had to move out a little further. The water had cleared up in the backs and the baitfish moved out to the last 1/3 of the creek. The fish followed and the team found fish under docks and walkways. A black neon BPS flipping tube Texas rigged on a 4/0 Mustad Big Mouth tube hook and a 3/8 oz Tru-Tungsten weight caught most of their fish. They also added to their bag with a ½ oz Eiron Breaker Hid-N-Eye black/blue Living Image jig. All of the baits were tied to 25 lb XPS fluorocarbon line on Bass Pro Shops rods so they could drag their fish out from a tangled maize of cables holding the docks.

The Day 2 Victory fish
The fish where suspended up under the floats. Mike and Corey found that if they didn’t get a bite before the bait hit the bottom, they weren’t going to. The team is sponsored by Cul-M-Rite Scales, Mercury Marine, Motor Guide, Mustad Hooks, Nitro Boats, Bass Pro Shop's Outdoor World, Rat-L- Trap, Tru- Tungsten, Optimun Baits, ima, Pro Pak, Optimum Baits, Oxygenator and U2 Livewell Treatment.

The team of Bobby Sullivan and Matt Jones set themselves in perfect position to make a run at the title with 15.44 lbs after the first day. Their bag was boosted by a 6.07 lb pig that stood as the Big Bass of the weekend. They couldn’t make a strong charge at the title when only 11.38 lbs could be added to the livewell on Day 2. Their 26.82 lbs kept Bobby and Matt in 2nd Place for the weekend. Big Bass paid out $630 and they also bagged free entry fees for the 2010 season valued at $1,750.

The team focused on the upper reaches of the Gravois arm with a spinnerbait. All their fish ate a ¾ oz blue glimmer War Eagle spinnerbait with nickel willow blades. They slow rolled the spinnerbait by stumps and laydowns in 0 to 5 feet of water. They fished reasonably clean with only losing one three pound fish. The addition of that fish would have only kept them in the same position. Bobby is sponsored by Mercury Marine, Stratos Boats, Ulrich Marine, Tindle Feeds / ADM Alliance and Angler's Tackle Box. Matt is sponsored by G-Loomis Rods, War Eagle Baits, Angler's Tackle Box and Jones Construction.

Putting two solid limits together each day was the team of Kelly Power and Mark Weise, Jr. to hold down 3rd Place. They ended the day in 9th Place after the opening round with 11.99 lbs. They moved up the ladder on Day 2 with 14.76 lbs for a total of 26.75 lbs. They were the 1st Place team in the Calcutta side pot and took home $3,000.

They had a rough Day 1 as they quickly broke a steering cable in their trolling motor. Kelly and Mark switched to Kelly’s boat but later in the day, the steering cable snapped on his trolling motor also. A spare trolling motor was loaned to them after the weigh-in by Mike Eutsler and the team put a strong showing together on Day 2.

Kelly and Mark fished from the Toll Bridge to Hurricane Deck. They hit secondary points and the back of pockets off the main lake focusing on the back corners of the docks. A brown Omega jig matched with a green pumpkin trailer was pitched to the docks and around shad, they threw a ¼ oz black War Eagle buzzbait. The key was to fish where the wind was blowing into the banks. Kelly is sponsored by Davis-Barr Chevy / Pontiac, Falcon Rods, Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Pinpoint, Pro Guide Batteries, War Eagle Baits, Bill Lewis Lures and Championship Marine. Mark is sponsored by Mercury Marine, Nitro Boats, Tracker Marine, Fishin Hole and AAA Remodeling Co.