Underway at Lake Okeechobee: “It Could Get Interesting Really Quick”
CLEWISTON, Fla. – If you’re looking for a repeat of history as the 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season kicks off today at Lake Okeechobee, Florida at the 13 Fishing Stop 1, the odds are in your favor.
The boats headed out of Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort this morning – bound for Okeechobee standbys like Tin House, Kings Bar, South Bay, Harney Pond, Monkey Box, etc. – are peppered with anglers with winning pedigrees on Florida’s 450,000-acre “inland sea.”
Tim Frederick, Brett Hite, Brandon McMillan, Shin Fukae, Chris Lane…the list of this week’s anglers with career tour-level wins on Okeechobee is impressive. Throw in the field’s historical top-five finishes on Okeechobee in Pro Circuit, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League tournaments and that list stretches from one end of Hendry County to the other.
Of course, the Big O’s ever-changing personality and February weather conditions don’t care much about lists and history – nighttime lows dropped into the low 40s the week before the field arrived in Clewiston for practice. Water temperatures dipped, and the two-day practice window proved to be a case of the “haves and the have-nots” – with many more “nots” than “haves” – as the field dabbed around Okeechobee’s north and south ends in search of the kind of fish to fill a bag going 20-plus pounds.
But here’s where we sit on opening morning of the 2021 season: warmer days and nights have bumped Okeechobee’s water temperatures by nearly 3 degrees in the past 36 hours. Bucks are locking onto beds. And with temperatures continuing to inch upwards on Thursday and Friday, in the words of one competitor: “It could get interesting really quick” if the females show up in waves.
The first flight was out at 7:30 a.m. EST, and we’re already seeing our first 8-plus-pounder.
Keep your eyes on the leaderboard!
CONDITIONS
Temperature at takeoff: 59 degrees
Forecast high: 80 degrees
Sky/visibility: Patchy fog until 9 a.m., then sunny
Precipitation: 30 percent chance of showers after 1 p.m.
Wind: East at 5 to 9 mph
TOURNAMENT DETAILS
Hosted by Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort and the Hendry County Tourism Development Council
Takeoff: 7:30 a.m. ET at Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort, 920 E Del Monte Avenue, Clewiston, FL 33440
Weigh-in: Days 1 and 2 at 3 p.m. ET; Days 3 and 4 at 4 p.m. ET Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort
MLF NOW!® live streamed coverage: Starts at 8 a.m. EST, Feb. 13 & 14