OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – While Lake Okeechobee is still not fishing like its usual self, things appear to be picking up on the big Florida lake. The Bass Pro Tour Favorite Fishing Stage Two Presented by Bass Cat has proven to be difficult fishing, but if the big bass that were caught during Qualifying Day 3 are any sign, things will continue to get better as the weather warms.
The total weight of bass caught today was the best of the tournament so far. That was helped by several big catches that included a 7, 8, and 9-pound Okeechobee bass. Dave Lefebre landed a 9-0 largemouth that is the biggest bass of the event and the young season.
Lots of Movement on the Day
MLF NOW! analysts JT Kenney and Marty Stone noted several times the frequent “in and back out” nature of anglers moving above and below the 20th-place Elimination Line. In total, five anglers moved in, and five dropped out.
To get an idea of how fickle the bite has been, the leader going into the day, Michael Neal, didn’t record a scorable bass today. On the other end of the spectrum, Zack Birge came in empty-handed his first day on the water and had the biggest total of the event today and currently sits in third place.
Things are changing here on Okeechobee and it’s set up to be a dramatic finish to the tournament.
Tak Takes Over
It was roughly 30 minutes into the second period when Takahiro Omori first took the lead, largely thanks to a morning bite that included an 8-pound, 4-ounce bass. He remained in control through lunchtime before briefly losing the edge to Wesley Strader.
Less than 10 minutes later, Omori was back in the lead and kept it for good.
“Take that, Wesley,” Omori joked on the MLF NOW! live stream.
The Daiwa pro finished up with six bass for 19–13, and the big one he landed was the turning point.
“After that big one, I knew I had a chance to get it done,” he said.,
Omori will skip the Knockout Round thanks to winning his group and advance straight to the Championship Round.
“It’s fishing, so you never know what is going to happen, but I feel good about it. See you all Wednesday,” he said.
Strader in Second
Going into the day, Strader found himself in 14th, but he moved to 2nd place thanks to a strong morning bite.
“I found a little something going on with a shad spawn, but that is a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ deal and it might not happen again,” Strader said. “I also saw a lot of fish swimming around this afternoon, but they were hard to catch. Any time you have water rising and falling, it seems like they get pretty spooky.”
Even though he missed out on the automatic qualification, Strader is upbeat.
“I feel a lot better going into the Knockout Round than I did going into today,” he said.
Strader finished the day with seven bass for 18-11.
Birge’s Gamble Pays Off
After not catching a scorable bass in Qualifying Round 1, Birge had nowhere to go but up, and he took that as a sign to take a gamble. That move paid off handsomely as he had the most fish (nine) and most weight (27-3) for the day.
“I had nothing to lose and went to a place I’ve never been before,” Birge recapped. “I kept an open mind and just went fishing. It was a fun day out there.”
Birge says he likes his chances of advancing during the Knockout Round.
“If I can figure some things out to go along with what I’m doing, there is potential to do really well there,” said the Oklahoma pro.
Moving Day
As noted, there was quite a bit of shuffling on SCORETRACKER® on Day 3. Five anglers dropped out of contention and five anglers get another shot at Okeechobee.
James Watson (12th to 26th), Justin Lucas (13th to 29th), Jonathan VanDam (16th to 32nd), Luke Clausen (17th to 22nd), and Edwin Evers (19th to 24th) have been eliminated.
They were replaced by Birge (last to 3rd), Gerald Spohrer (32nd to 20th), Fred Roumbanis (21st to 17th), Mike McClelland (22nd to 7th), and Ish Monroe (27th to 8th).
Looking Ahead
Group B gets its chance to advance Monday as Okeechobee shows signs up waking up. The weather forecast calls for a high of 80 degrees with mostly sunny skies.
Daily Winners
Qualifying Round daily awards were:
- The Berkley Big Bass of the day was Dave Lefebre and his 9-0 largemouth.
- Zack Birge caught the most scorable bass on the day with nine.
- Omori won the Phoenix Daily Winner award ($1,000) with 19-13.
How, When, Where to Watch
Watch all three periods of competition during the MLF NOW! live stream beginning at 7:45 a.m EST Monday through Wednesday (Feb. 24-26). Catch the action on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF app or the MyOutdoorTV app.
The General Tire Takeout begins at approximately 4:15 p.m. EST after each day of competition.