Okeechobee continues to warm up
EverStart Eastern Division tournament enters semifinal round
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – The top 20 pros and co-anglers departed from the Okee-Tantie launch site this morning for day-three competition of the Lake Okeechobee EverStart Series event. Some anglers were praying for warmer weather; others wanted it to stay cold.
Those that want it to stay cool are the EverStart leaders. But the South-Florida heat pump is starting to warm things up. Last night’s air temperatures only bottomed out in the mid-50s, and the high today is expected to creep up closer to 80 degrees.
All five of the EverStart leaders have been fishing heavy, matted cover where big female bass are staging up before the spawn. Thick mats of hydrilla, hyacinths, vines and roots all float on the surface of the cold water absorbing heat from the sun. The common belief by anglers is that the big females congregate around these gnarly clumps to warm up.
But if the overall water temperatures warm up to a more comfortable level, these females will leave their floating heat “blankets” and begin to scatter out on the flats where they will spawn. This could spell trouble for tournament leaders who are counting solely on the staging pattern.
“I have been checking certain flats first thing in the morning before I go flipping,” says Stanley pro Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., who is in sixth place. “One of these warmer mornings, these big females are going to move onto the flats and start munching top-water, and I want to be there when it happens.”
Leader Glenn Browne also hinted that he had discovered “a little something different” yesterday morning that he might have to go to if his primary bite dies today.
The weigh-in resumes at 4 p.m. today at the Okeechobee Super Wal-Mart located at 2101 S. Parrott Ave.
Vital Stats
Sunrise: 7:15 a.m.
Air temperature: 54 degrees
Water temperature: 58 degrees
Forecasted wind: 10-15 mph from the west-southwest
Relative humidity: 100 percent
Day’s outlook: mostly sunny with a few clouds
Day-three links: