New season begins with EverStart Eastern tournament
2004 FLW Outdoors season under way at Lake Okeechobee
OKEECHOBEE CITY, Fla. – A full field of 200 pros and 200 co-anglers blasted off from Okee-Tantie Recreation Area on Lake Okeechobee this morning to officially kick off the 2004 FLW Outdoors fishing season with the start of the EverStart Series Eastern Division.
Much to the envy of their fellow bassers enduring subfreezing temperatures across the nation, the 400 anglers made their first casts of the season under a full moon and 60-degree air temperatures.
Though it sounds warm, this is actually a cool spell for South Florida. During the practice rounds, the weather was much warmer with highs in the 80-degree range. The calm, sunny conditions presided over the lake for nearly two weeks.
Given the warm temperatures and full moon, Okeechobee bass are currently on a full-blown spawn.
Unlike last year’s Okeechobee EverStart when anglers donned snowsuits and flipped heavy plastics into the thickest available cover, this year the story is beds, beds and more beds. With such stable conditions recently, anglers have reported seeing hundreds of bass beds everywhere around the Big O.
Energizer Pro J.T. Kenney of Frostburg, Md., who has won both an FLW Tour event and a BASS Open on Okeechobee in the last two years, says the heavy mat flipping has given way to sight-fishing.
“Just a few weeks ago I was pitching to the thickest stuff I could find with a magnum bullet weight,” he said. “Now I’m pitching the most open water I can find with a little, tiny sinker.”
Like other anglers, Kenney has seen hundreds of beds, but says many of them are deep and the fish are hard to see.
“The water is clear all over the lake, but it’s also a little high,” he said. “You can see the beds fine, but actually seeing and fishing for the fish is a little more difficult. The wind and clouds today will make it a little harder, but I don’t think this front is going to change things drastically.”
The severe cold front bearing down across the country left clouds and a 10- to 20-mph northeast wind for anglers to deal with today. Okeechobee’s favorite, Scott Martin of Clewiston, Fla., welcomes the cooler, windier weather.
“I know this sounds crazy, but it’s almost been too nice for too long,” he said. “It’s been hot and still for two weeks. Even though the full moon is just now getting here, a lot of fish have already moved in, spawned and left. They don’t wait for the moon here. As soon as the water gets right, they do their thing. And the water has been right for a long time.”
Martin also says the abundance of clear water all over the lake has made choosing where to fish difficult.
“Normally the cold, windy weather helps group the fish up and eliminates large portions of the lake. But now the water is clear everywhere. This tournament could be won from anywhere.”
Last year’s Okeechobee EverStart winner, Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., only laughed when asked about the mat-flipping technique he used to win the event last year.
“Forget it,” he said. “This one is going to the sight-fishermen. I’ve seen a lot of beds with a lot of little fish. But I know somebody will find a patch of big ones to work on this week.”
Pros believe that the Big O will be her usual self this week. A handful of anglers will top the 20-pound mark each day and 10-pound limits will be plentiful. Top-20 cut predictions are hovering in the 25-pound range.
The first Eastern EverStart will set the pace for a very exciting 2004 FLW Outdoors season. The anglers will begin weighing fish at 3 p.m. at Okee-Tantie Recreation Area.
Wednesday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:50 am
Air temperature: 60 degrees
Water temperature: 68 degrees
Wind: 10 to 20 mph out of the northeast
Relative humidity: 74 percent
Day’s outlook: breezy, clearing, high of 67 degrees