Pro Nick Prvonozac of Warren, Ohio, won the Costa FLW Series Southwestern Division tournament on Grand Lake presented by Ranger Boats Saturday after weighing a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 10 ounces. Prvonozac’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 36 pounds, 6 ounces was enough to earn him $42,400 and a new Ranger Z518C boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard.
“I feel great right now – it’s unbelievable,” said Prvonozac, who earned his third career-win in FLW competition, first in the Costa FLW Series. “Over the past few years I’ve been able to compete on this lake and get a good feel for it. That knowledge really helped in this event. I’ve made some mistakes before that I was able to correct this time around.”
Prvonozac said he spent his tournament working through a variety of areas stretching from the Shangri-La Resort to down near the dam. On Day One he said he split his time between sight-fishing bass on beds and targeting larger females in nearby areas that were staging to spawn.
“On Day One I caught two off of the beds with a Yum Vibra King Tube,” said Prvonozac. “The females were more off to the sides of the bedding areas. I hit a lot of 45-degree banks along secondary points and threw a Smithwick Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue jerkbait to catch one. I also caught one from a dock near bedding areas with a Booyah Bankroll Jig and a Yum Chunk trailer.”
Day Two of the three-day tournament was canceled due to severe thunderstorms and lightning in the Grove area. With the sudden influx of rain, Prvonozac said he was forced to make some adjustments heading into the final day of competition.
“I wanted to sight-fish today but the lake rose by a foot and a half so I couldn’t see them on the beds,” said Prvonozac. “I decided to make a run to a creek by the dam to target some fish that I had saved. I caught three good ones using the tube in two different areas with secondary points.”
Prvonozac said he flipped a bush with the Booyah jig for another keeper before making his way back to check-in.
“I went to my last area near Shangri-La and ended up finding one that looked good,” said Prvonozac. “I threw the Rogue and caught him out of some flooded bushes. It was my last fish, and it culled.”
The top 10 pros on Grand Lake finished:
1st: Nick Prvonozac, Warren, Ohio, 10 bass, 36-6, $42,400 + Ranger Z518C boat w/ 200-horsepower outboard
2nd: Quaker State pro Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 33-10, $16,600
3rd: Chad Warren, Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 30-11, $12,700
4th: Matt Cooper, Smithville, Texas, 10 bass, 30-0, $10,600
5th: Tommy Martin, Hemphill, Texas, 10 bass, 28-12, $9,500
6th: Albert Collins, Nacogdoches, Texas, nine bass, 28-10, $8,250
7th: Dave Donham, Highlandville, Mo., 10 bass, 28-7, $7,200
8th: Jim Moynagh, Carver, Minn., 10 bass, 28-6, $6,200
9th: Tye Smith, Fort Gibson, Okla., 10 bass, 28-5, $5,350
10th: Todd Castledine, Nacogdoches, Texas, 10 bass, 27-15, $4,100
A complete list of results will be posted at FLWFishing.com.
Charlie Apperson of Jay, Oklahoma, caught a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass Saturday – the biggest of the tournament in the Pro Division. For his catch, Apperson earned the day’s Boater Big Bass award of $300.
Mark Talley of Grove, Oklahoma, won the Co-angler Division and a Ranger Z175 with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard motor. Talley earned his win with a two-day total catch of 10 bass weighing 25 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers on Grand Lake finished:
1st: Mark Talley, Grove, Okla., 10 bass, 25-11, $450 + Ranger Z175 boat w/ 90 horsepower outboard
2nd: James Allen Pruitt, Houston, Texas, 10 bass, 24-4, $5,300
3rd: John Dickerson, Orange, Texas, nine bass, 23-0, $4,200
4th: Frank Divis Sr., Farmington, Ark., seven bass, 21-6, $3,600
5th: Lonnie Miller, Broken Arrow, Okla., eight bass, 21-1, $3,100
6th: Tommy Henley, Gonzales, La., eight bass, 20-0, $2,650
7th: Robert Heath, Wellsville, Kan., 10 bass, 19-10, $2,100
8th: Robert Derr, Hawkins, Texas, eight bass, 19-9, $1,800
9th: Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., eight bass, 18-11, $1,520
10th: Shane Hill, LaGrange, Ga., eight bass, 17-7, $1,270
Taylor Sherrill of Granbury, Texas, caught the biggest bass of the tournament in the Co-angler Division Saturday, a fish weighing 6 pounds even that earned him the day’s Co-angler Big Bass award of $200.
The Costa FLW Series on Grand Lake presented by Ranger Boats was hosted by the City of Grove. It was the second Southwestern Division tournament of the 2017 season. The next Costa FLW Series tournament will be the Southeastern Division finale, held May 4-6 on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. For a complete schedule, visit FLWFishing.com.
The Costa FLW Series consists of five U.S. divisions – Central, Northern, Southeastern, Southwestern and Western. Each division consists of three tournaments with competitors vying for valuable points that could earn them the opportunity to fish in the Costa FLW Series Championship. The 2017 Costa FLW Series Championship is being held Nov. 2-4 on Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Costa FLW Series on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.
FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.
