Fox Captures Lake of the Ozarks Toyota Series Win

Travis Fox bagged 17 pounds, 10 ounces on the final day of the Lake of the Ozarks Plains Toyota Series to move up from fourth place and claim the victory on the busy mountain reservoir.

The former FLW Tour pro from Arkansas finished with 49-10 to win just over $36,000 and claim his first Major League Fishing victory above the BFL level after more than 150 events. Michael Harlin was the runner-up with 47-12.

In the Plains Division Angler of the Year race, Roger Fitzpatrick edged Brad Jelinek by two points. Bass Pro Tour angler Drew Gill took third. The top 25 pros and co-anglers are now locked in for the Toyota Series Championship this fall at Grand Lake.

Fox got on the right program very fast, and then rode it out throughout the event, never biting off more than he could chew, and relying on a good zone and a few key docks to get the job done.

“I mixed it up: I fished out deep some, I fished shallow some, but I really was fishing the docks,” Fox said. “I was in Cancun in Mexico last week, and our flights got messed up on the way back and my practice got shortened. I caught three 4-pounders the first day of practice in a few hours, so I knew what area was doing good. I started focusing on that area, finding docks with brush. I knew a lot of people were fishing the backs of docks, and I’d mix in the VMC HD Swim Jig doing that. Whenever I got a bite doing that, it would be a dandy.”

Fox caught plenty of fish on Day 1, but after that, he needed to grind for every bite.

“The first day, I fished with (co-angler) Scott Parsons, and we absolutely wrecked ‘em,” he said. “We caught a lot of fish, both of us. The second day, I had just six keepers, and today I had seven or eight. The big fish, all but one of them came out of the same places every time.”

Fox relied on some standards for Lake of the Ozarks to catch his fish: a ½-ounce VMC HD Swim Jig in a shad pattern, a worm on a 5/16-ounce VMC Rugby Jig, and a green pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog with a ½-ounce VMC Tungsten Worm Weight. Across the board, he used 13 Fishing rods and reels, and Sufix line.

Fox was able to stay consistent every day, and landed just enough key bites to do it.

“I knew I couldn’t beat these locals with a giant bag, but I thought I could catch a 4-pounder or two a day, and in the fall that’s pretty strong,” he said.

Fox has a long history with MLF (much of it accumulated in the FLW era). Almost a winner quite a few times, Fox had a good run on the FLW Tour, and nearly won the Forrest Wood Cup in 2017. Winning a big one was probably overdue for Fox, and he got it done on a place near and dear to his heart.

“It feels pretty good,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of history on this lake, it’s where I started cutting my teeth, fishing BFLs and pro-ams. So, it’s special to win on a lake that I grew up competing on. My mom and my aunt drove up every day and watched the weigh-in, so that’s pretty special, too. I’ve got a lot of other friends here I met through life’s journeys, and a lot of them are here and rooting for me. It’s pretty cool.”

Here's how the top 10 finished up:

1. Travis Fox: 15, 49-10

2. Michael Harlin: 15, 47-12

3. Roger Fitzpatrick: 15, 47-2

4. Shane Long: 15, 46-8

5. Tyler Weberg: 15, 46-3

6. Andy Newcomb: 15, 45-14

7. Cole McFarland: 15, 44-15

8. Hayden O’Barr: 15, 44-9

9. Corey Cook: 15, 44-0

10. Cory Steckler: 15, 43-13

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