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Big O monsters

Image for Big O monsters

Castrol pro Mike Surman and Jim Finley show off their catch from the Gambler Bass Open on Lake Okeechobee.

May 8, 2013 • Mike Surman • Angler Columns

I fished this past weekend with my good friend, Jim Finley, on Lake Okeechobee in the Gambler Bass Open. We had a fantastic day pitching reeds, throwing a Gambler Big EZ and swimming jigs. We started out the day catching lots of small fish, but then like many magical days we kind of got dialed into the secret that started unlocking the big ones.

The better fish seemed to move tighter to the cover as the day wore on. Our big fish of the day weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces, but our limit was all filled with 6-pound plus fish for a total of 35 pounds. We were very confident as we came to the scales that we had the winning bag. To our surprise, someone had already weighed in 33 pounds. We both looked at each other and knew it would be close, but thought we may have had them beat. We were both excited when the scales registered our 35 pounds and we thought we had it won. To our surprise (again) a little bit later someone weighed in 38 pounds! We ended up in second place, but Jim and I had a blast catching these Big O monsters.

This weekend I’m headed to Lake Eufaula in Alabama. I am looking forward to this tournament as the lake should be high and muddy and we should be able to do some power fishing just like we do on Lake Okeechobee. I’m hoping I can find a clue to unlock the big ones on Lake Eufaula – wish me luck. I`ll keep you posted.