Morgenthaler leads at Okeechobee
Illinois pro lands another 8-pound bass Thursday to take lead
OKEECHOBEE CITY, Fla. – Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., quite possibly has the smallest fishing hot spot on Lake Okeechobee. The spot is only about 5 square feet in size, but in the last two days it has produce a pair of Okeechobee lunkers weighing exactly 8 pounds apiece. The Yamaha pro now leads the EverStart Eastern with 31 pounds, 6 ounces.
Morgenthaler said it was deja vu all over again this morning.
“I made the same exact cast to the same exact spot where I caught the 8-pounder yesterday and caught another one exactly like it – 8 pounds on the money,” said an excited Morgenthaler after a 17-pound, 3-ounce catch today. “It was unbelievable.”
Morgenthaler is fishing in a bedding area, but he is not visibly seeing the fish as he fishes for them. He is blind casting to places where beds have been.
“The area has a lot of boats in it, but I’m farther inside, up shallower than most of the other guys,” he said. “There are a lot of beds in the area, but they are empty. One wave has already spawned in there, and I think another wave is coming in to use the old beds.”
Morgenthaler has been catching about three limits per day over the last two days in 4 to 5 feet of water.
“They changed up quite a bit in there today,” he said. “Yesterday the were roaming around more and the bites were here and there. Today the bites were closer together.”
Hailstone is rock solid in second
Second-place pro Patrick Hailstone of Cincinnati, Ohio, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds, 10 ounces today for a two-day total of 29 pounds, 10 ounces.
Hailstone survived the miniature typhoon on Okeechobee yesterday by throwing a spinnerbait in a place he had never fished before.
“Today, when the wind laid down, I got to do what I like to do, where I like to do it,” he said. “I just couldn’t fish there yesterday.”
Hailstone reported getting only six bites all day.
“I’m fishing out deeper in about 7 feet of water,” he said. “The water has funky color to it. It’s not a numbers spot, but when you get a bite it is usually a good one.”
Inman brings in biggest bag of day
Larry Inman of Greensboro, N.C., weighed in the biggest five-bass limit of the tournament today for 23 pounds, 14 ounces. He is now in third with a two-day total of 29 pounds, 2 ounces.
“I finally got to fish my fish today,” Inman said. “I couldn’t even get near them with that wind yesterday. So I just went across the way and caught a little limit. But today I got to go where I had been wanting to go.”
Once he got to his spot, Inman boated nine keepers by casting a worm.
“I’m fishing out on a hydrilla edge where it’s a little deeper and a little dirtier,” he said. “These aren’t bedding fish, they are staging up for the spawn.”
Gagliardi and Vest round out top five
Anthony Gagliardi of Prosperity, S.C., was another comeback story of the day. He brought in 19 pounds, 9 ounces to move up to fourth with a two-day total of 29 pounds, 1 ounce.
Despite the impressive weight, Gagliardi said he really has not figured anything out.
“I’ve been running around fishing a bunch of different spots,” he said. “I just got the right bites today.”
Local pro Doug Vest of Okeechobee, Fla., holds down fifth place with a two-day total of 27 pounds, 11 ounces. Ironically, he is wincing at the forecast which calls for nice fishing weather. Vest, who is strictly a flipper, does best when the weather is the worst on the Big O.
“I’m a little worried about tomorrow because the weather will be nice,” he said. “There is supposed to be a big front coming on Saturday. I ‘d like to still be in this thing when it hits. Hopefully I can survive the cut tomorrow.”
Painful loss
Rick Gunter of Holly Hill, Fla., had three bass that weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces today. He had a five-bass limit, but two got away. Likely story, right? Not exactly. Gunter really did catch a limit and he had them in his livewell. Unfortunately, the livewell’s lid popped open on the way back to check-in, and two of his bass managed to jump out and flop back to freedom before Gunter realized what had happened.
Big-bass honors on the pro side went to John Bitter of Maitland, Fla., for an 8-pound, 6-ounce Lake Okeechobee monster.
Smith leads co-anglers
Gerald Smith of Louisville, Ky., leads the Co-angler Division with a two-day total of 18 pounds, 11 ounces.
Smith said the secret to his success has been good partners.
“I fished with Bobby Lane and Tony Christian, and both guys were on fish that I could fish for,” he said. “They weren’t flipping or sight-fishing. They were fishing open water and I could cast anywhere around the boat and get bit.”
During the windy weather yesterday, Smith fished a spinnerbait because, “That’s all I could throw in those conditions,” he said.
Today Smith switched to a worm in the calmer conditions.
Owens in second
After catching the big bass of the day in the Co-angler Division yesterday, Kenneth Owens of Wise, Va., settled into second place today with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 14 ounces.
Like Smith, Owens fished a spinnerbait in the wind yesterday and a worm today.
“I caught three bass yesterday, including a 6-15, on a spinnerbait. Today I couldn’t get bit on the spinnerbait so I switched to a worm and caught five keepers.”
Rest of the best
The rest of the top five in the Co-angler Division looks like this: Billy Cason of High Springs, Fla., is in third place with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 8 ounces. Asa Godsey of Clewiston, Fla., is in fourth place with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 5 ounces. And Walter Whitman of Greensboro, N.C. is in fifth with a two-day total of 17 pounds, 1 ounce.
Big-bass honors in the Co-angler Division went to Robert Russell of Smyrna, Tenn., for a bass weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces.
Cut weights
The cut weight in the Pro Division ended up being 23 pounds, 1 ounce. Castrol pro David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., was the last man in.
On the co-angler side, 13 pounds, 11 ounces ended up being the cut mark. Ken Crumpler of Marianna, Fla., was the last man in.
The top 20 starts over again tomorrow at 7 a.m. at Okee-Tantie Recreation area. The weigh-in will be held at 3 p.m. at the Wal-Mart Super Center on Parrot Avenue in Okeechobee City.