Will 30-pound mark be broken again?
'Big O' big-bass factory kicking into high gear at EverStart Southeast tourney
CLEWISTON, Fla. – During Wednesday’s opening round of EverStart Series competition, J.T. Kenney of Frostburg, Md., had the kind of bass-fishing day everyone dreams of. While he only caught seven bass, four of them were in the 7- to 8-pound class, allowing him to break the impressive 30-pound mark with a five-fish limit. It’s something that only a handful of anglers have done in competition.
So will the EverStart Southeast tourney on Lake Okeechobee see another 30-plus-pound creel this week? Some pros are doubtful, including Kenney himself. But when conditions are right in Florida, the unthinkable can happen. With just the right combination of weather conditions and moon phases, big Florida bass flock to the shallows for the spawn.
Oftentimes, these behemoth bass tend to congregate into areas no bigger than a convenience store parking lot.
Both Kenney and fourth-place pro Chad Morgenthaler of Coulterville, Ill., reported catching their bigger fish in small specific areas. In fact, Kenney said two of his biggest bass were no more than 10 yards apart and caught on nearly consecutive flips.
In past FLW Outdoors events on Okeechobee, pros have reported this same phenomenon: catching several of their biggest bass within minutes of each other from an area the size of a bass boat. It can happen that fast.
And with warm, sunny days, muggy nights and a new moon on the way, conditions are shaping up for more big bass to be moving in from the main lake.
If it’s any indication, yesterday’s top-10 cut weight of 17 pounds, 11 ounces impressed many of the competitors.
“The weights are much higher than I thought they would be,” commented Daryl Deka of Wellington, Fla., who is in third place with 24-15. “I eased off my fish yesterday because I thought it would only take 13 to 14 pounds a day to make the cut. Now it looks like it will probably take 35 pounds to make it to Friday.”
Will someone crack the 30-pound mark again this week? Only time will tell.
Day-two weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. Thursday at Roland and Mary Ann’s Marina.
Thursday’s conditions
Sunrise: 6:52 a.m.
Air temperature: 72 degrees
Water temperature: 64 degrees
Wind: from the southeast at 9 mph
Day’s outlook: sunny, high of 78, wind from the southeast at 10 to 15 mph