2001 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Stop #1
Lake Okeechobee, Fla.
Jan. 24-27
South Florida’s Lake Okeechobee has become a wintertime Mecca for bass anglers. Okeechobee’s 448,000 acres of water combined with mild winter weather make the natural lake near Clewiston one of the best bass fishing destinations in the country, especially from January to April.
Catching bass from Okeechobee requires fishing some type of grass. There are miles of shoreline ringed with standing grass such as buggy whips and saw grass. Pitching a plastic lure to the edge of the grass line can be a productive pattern.
Besides the grass that you can see, there is even more submerged grass. Hydrilla and eelgrass are the two most productive species of submerged grass. From January to March, bass are drawn to the hydrilla and eelgrass as they prepare to spawn in bare spots that the male bass fan out in the aquatic grass.
For the past couple of years, the eelgrass beds growing on the huge flats near the north shore of Okeechobee have produced some of the most consistent fishing on the lake. To catch bass from the area, anglers drift across the flats in two to four feet of water and cast a plastic worm to open areas in the grass. You may fish for several hours without a strike. Then, locate an area in the grass where you limit out in a matter of minutes.
For fishing the open-water grass beds at Okeechobee, co-anglers would do well to employ a 7-foot, heavy-action spinning rod spooled up with 12-pound-test line and a plastic worm paired up with a 1/8- to 1/4-ounce slip sinker. With such an outfit, a co-angler can make long casts even in a strong wind. In Okeechobee’s clear waters, the lighter line will produce more strikes, especially in a heavily fished area, and the lightest sinker that you can use and still feel the grass will give your plastic lure a more natural appearance.
Okeechobee is the second largest lake located entirely within the United States, and the direction of the wind is a major factor in its fishing. Because Okeechobee is almost bowl-shaped with so much shallow water, a strong wind can raise the water level on the lee side of the lake.
Even more important than its influence on water level is the wind’s effect on water clarity. When you are searching for Florida bass, you need to find clear water. If a heavy wind stirs up the silt and dirties up the water, you won’t catch any bass there until the water clears. So, move!
Wendlandt’s Wisdom:
2000 Wal-Mart FLW Tour Angler of the Year Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas, is on track to bass-tournament superstardom. Wendlandt, whose photo is currently featured on Kellogg’s cereal boxes to commemorate his title, also claimed the Angler of the Year title in 1997 as well as winning the 1992 Red Man All-American and two regular Wal-Mart FLW Tour events. Wendlandt, who travels the FLW circuit with his wife, Patti, and his two daughters, Emily, 7, and Katie, 4, offers these tips to tackling Lake Okeechobee:
“I believe the water will be low for this year’s event. So, the productive areas will probably get crowded. My favorite lure on Okeechobee is a 7-inch, Gambler ribbon-tail worm in a June bug or black-grape-and-green-flake color. I’ll flip it into thick hyacinth mats or cast it to open-water hydrilla.”
– Clark Wendlandt
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