FLW preview: Big-bass bash back at the Big O?
Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Lake Okeechobee, Jan. 21-24
Florida’s Lake Okeechobee is to Wal-Mart FLW Tour anglers as a box of chocolates is to Forrest Gump: You never know what you’re going to get.
Correct that. You know what you should get at Okeechobee – some of the country’s biggest Florida-strain largemouths patrol the renowned bass fishery – but in January, it seems, you just never know if you’re going get at them.
As the FLW Tour opens its 2004 $6.8 million road show in South Florida next week, look for some of these big Okeechobee questions to be answered as increased fields of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers – up from 175 apiece in 2003 – seek out the lake’s biggest bass in search of the biggest chunk of the tournament’s $500,000 total purse.
Spawning time
For FLW competitors, it’s probably going to take a concerted effort to cash that winning check.
In addition to the increased field sizes, anglers might have to deal with uncertain fishing conditions. Expectations are high for a spawning tournament. While Okeechobee bass tend to spawn on and off year-round, January is when things really start to kick in. But some pros in practice this month are finding the shallow fish more elusive than they had hoped.
Pro J.T. Kenney of Frostburg, Md., won the FLW tournament at Okeechobee in 2002. Last week, he finished in fourth place at the EverStart Series Eastern Division opener on the same lake. Despite his strong performances, he said that he’s no lock for FLW glory next week because the bass bite has been unpredictable of late.
“Actually, I’m a little bit confused by it right now,” he said. “I’m not exactly sure what (the bass) should be doing right now. They should be under all those grass mats, but they’re not. A lot of fish spawned right before the EverStart tournament, but it seemed like they were a lot of little ones. On the third day there I caught 50 fish, but I only weighed in 13 pounds.”
Lots of cover
As always, cover will be a key factor at the Big O. The lake has recovered nicely from several years ago when water levels were at record low depths. Pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., who has a solid track record at Okeechobee, said the drawdown and subsequent return to normal lake levels has helped the lake’s grass grow back tremendously.
For that reason, Pat Fisher of Dacula, Ga., the reigning FLW Okeechobee pro champion, has his sights set on those hydrilla mats, literally.
“I believe it’s going to be a sight-fishing contest for the FLW,” said Fisher, who also fished in the EverStart Eastern opener. “They’re spawning right now, and it’s getting better every day. The thing is, they’re still scattered. They’re in general spawning areas, but you just have to find them.”
Fisher found that there is even more hydrilla in the lake than last year, but he doubts that he will be able to use the same flipping technique that earned him the title in 2003.
“I don’t think it’s going to won flipping like last year unless it gets cold,” he said.
Weather will be key
The weather will be of main concern to the anglers. The extended forecast is calling for typical Florida winter weather with highs in the 70-degree range and lows in the 50s. But if temperatures drop, look for catch weights to fall with them.
“Cold weather and Florida bass don’t seem to mix,” Walker said.
The wind will be crucial, as well, on the massive waterway. One of the reasons that Kenney gives for his repeated success at Okeechobee is that he, paradoxically, doesn’t spend much time pre-fishing the lake before tournaments.
“A lot of the deal with me at Okeechobee is the north wind,” he said via cell phone on a saltwater fishing trip between the EverStart and FLW tournaments. “I don’t even practice anywhere that isn’t protected from the north wind. I think that’s why I’m consistent there. I don’t practice too much because the wind will just blow me around later.”
Walker seems to agree with Kenney’s laissez-faire approach to the Okeechobee tournament since so many factors are unpredictable. Practice all you want, but it only counts during those two short days – four, if you’re lucky – in late January.
“It’s just a fish factory down there,” said Walker, who caught a 9-pound, 10-ounce largemouth in the 2001 FLW Okeechobee tournament. “But I’ll never claim to understand those fish because that’s when you get into trouble. There are so many areas to go to and so many different ways to catch them; you can win on any portion of the lake – north, south, east or west.”
Top techniques
Depending on conditions, and where and how they’re fishing, anglers’ techniques will be as varied as the contents of their tackle boxes.
Kenney caught the bulk of his bass at the EverStart Eastern tournament using 10-inch worms. He likes to go to a spinner bait when he can, which helped him win in 2002, but he couldn’t get them to bite on a blade earlier this month.
“Who knows down here?” he said. “When it gets cold, then I go to a Rat-L-Trap.”
Fisher said he’s focusing on flukes and speed worms as well as spinner baits. Walker likes a similar approach, saying he preferred to go flipping, but also leaned toward spinner baits and Rat-L-Traps.
“But you can really fish with whatever you like at Okeechobee,” Walker said.
Lake facts and history
Located just south of the city of Okeechobee and just north of Clewiston, Fla., Lake Okeechobee literally translates as “big water” in the native Seminole language.
Covering more than 467,000 acres (or more than 750 square miles), the lake spans approximately 40 miles from north to south and about 30 miles from east to west. However, while Lake Okeechobee is the second largest freshwater lake in the lower 48 states (Lake Michigan is the largest), the lake is relatively shallow with an average depth of 15 feet.
Despite its shallow waters, however, the Big O is home to myriad wildlife including alligators, osprey, pelicans, eagles, crappie, bream and, of course, bass.
Let’s get ready to rumble
The 2004 season of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour begins Wednesday morning, Jan. 21, when all 400 pros and co-anglers take off onto Lake Okeechobee from Roland Martin’s Marina in Clewiston, Fla. The Okeechobee event marks the beginning of the most lucrative FLW Tour season to date, as the popular tournament series features a $6.8 million purse in 2004, including two $500,000 events, two $900,000 events and two $1.25 million Open events during the regular season. Each event leads up to the historic $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship, which will be held Aug. 11-14 on Logan Martin near Birmingham, Ala.
Coverage of the Lake Okeechobee tournament will be broadcast to 65 million subscribers of the Outdoor Life Network on the “FLW Outdoors” television program. A tournament preview show featuring bass-fishing legend Hank Parker will air Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. Eastern time and Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. Eastern time, and fishing fans can watch the tournament weigh-in with hosts Carlton Wing, Taylor Carr and Charlie Evans Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Tournament veteran Larry Nixon will host a tournament wrap-up show Feb. 22 at 1 p.m. Eastern time, and that show will re-air Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
You can also catch all the weigh-in action at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. The first live show of 2004 will be broadcast Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 3 p.m. Eastern time and will continue throughout all four days’ weigh-ins.
Past FLW Okeechobee winners
1996 (Feb.) – Steve Daniel, Clewiston, Fla.
1996 (Dec.) – Mike Surman, Boca Raton, Fla.
1997 – Chris Daniels, Clayton, N.C.
1999 – Joel Richardson, Kernersville, N.C.
2000 – Steve Daniel, Clewiston, Fla.
2001 – David Fritts, Lexington, N.C.
2002 – J.T. Kenney, Frostburg, Md.
2003 – Pat Fisher, Dacula, Ga.
Links:
Pundits’ Picks
Destination: Lake Okeechobee
Pre-tournament press release
Pro field
Co-angler field
FLW Live