Living the Dream: Lake Okeechobee, Part 1
Dave Andrews offers background, look at his scouting of Lake Okeechobee
————————————-
Editor’s note: This is the first piece in a series of journal entries from Dave Andrews, winner of the 2007 TBF National Championship, which will be published at FLWOutdoors.com throughout the course of the 2008 FLW Series Eastern season. As winner of the “Living the Dream” package offered by FLW Outdoors through The Bass Federation, Andrews had his entry fees paid to test his club skills on the pro tour with the use of a fully wrapped boat and tow package. Andrews will chronicle his adventure in pro bass fishing during the season, beginning with his experience at Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. After Andrews has submitted his journal following each FLW Series event, segments will be posted on the TBF home page approximately every three days.
————————————-
Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division
Stop No. 1: Lake Okeechobee
Jan. 23-26, 2008
Background
My name is Dave Andrews, and I live in Bolton, Mass. Bolton is a small town northwest of Boston. I’m a 40-year-old research scientist at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Andover, Mass., husband to Kathleen and father of two boys – Liam, 6, and Owen, 3.
In April 2007, I won the The Bass Federation (TBF) National Championship on Lake Wylie in North Carolina. By virtue of this win, I became the first angler to qualify for the “Living the Dream” program. Part of the spoils of victory include the use of a fully wrapped Ranger boat and Chevy truck for 2008, and I get to choose to fish either the Wal-Mart FLW Tour or the Wal-Mart FLW Series with all of my entry fees paid for the year. I chose to fish the FLW Series Eastern Division, and this journal will be the first of four events that I will chronicle during my LTD year.
I chose the series over the tour for a number of reasons. Mainly, the schedule worked out much better for me. There are two early spring tournaments and then two in the fall. This allows for plenty of time in between events and will make it easier on my work and family when I’m gone. I am lucky to have a family that supports my fishing endeavors and have for many years. Travel and time away from family are part and parcel to even a part-time career in bass fishing. I also really like the format of the FLW Series. The entire field fishes three days, and then the top 10 anglers compete on day four. Weights are carried over as well.
The mix of top series anglers with FLW Tour pros, BASS Elite Series anglers and big-name locals makes the FLW Series, in my opinion, the most competitive trail in the country. I am honored to represent the TBF and the weekend club angler in these events. The intention of this journal is simply to allow fellow anglers to come along for the ride as I fish the 2008 season against the best of the best in professional tournament fishing.
Prepractice
I left snowy New England before daybreak on the day after Christmas, heading for Nashville, Tenn., where I would meet FLW Outdoors’ Dave Simmons at the airport, and he would deliver the 2008 “Living the Dream” wrapped Chevy Tahoe and his personal boat, a Ranger Z20, which I would use for practice at Lake Okeechobee. I had ordered a new Z520, but it wasn’t quite finished yet, so Dave graciously offered his own boat for my prepractice trip. The transfer went seamlessly, and the drive to southern Florida was also pretty uneventful.
I arrived late in the afternoon on Thursday, Dec. 27, and got checked into Roland and Mary Anne 
Martin’s Motel in Clewiston. It was sunny and warm, and I was anxious to hit the water, so after getting unpacked and loading my equipment into the boat, I drove over to the ramp and dropped the Z20 into the water. It was nearly 5 p.m. when I headed out of the lock by Roland’s Marina. This was my first trip to the Big O, and I wasn’t exactly sure where to start.
I drove north in the rim canal and pulled up rather randomly on a stretch of rocky bank to cast an old silver Bomber Long A jerkbait. On my third cast, the water boiled under the bait, and I set on a fish that fought pretty hard. She stayed down, and I figured it was probably some type of trash fish; after all, it couldn’t be this easy, could it? To my surprise, a 4-pound largemouth jumped right next to the boat and was soon my first official bass caught in Florida. Another dozen casts produced two more solid keepers. Before the mosquitoes drove me off the water at 6 p.m., I would boat a total of eight largemouths with most in the 2- to 4-pound range.
I had a total of six days planned for prepractice. This week was perfect for my trip, as Wyeth had closed back home for the holidays, and I wouldn’t have to burn any valuable vacation time. A friend from New Hampshire, Bill Vierzen, planned to fly down and join me for part of practice. I won’t go into great detail for the prepractice period, but the weather remained stable and warm for most of the trip. Daytime highs were in the low 80s with patchy fog in the morning and a mix of sun and clouds throughout the days. A wicked cold front moved into southern Florida on the second to last day of the trip, and temperatures plummeted into the 30s and dropped lake temperatures over 25 degrees from 75 into the upper 40s.
The fishing remained fantastic – until the cold front. I patterned fish in the rim canal along rocky banks. The fish were on fire in the morning and again just before dark. Topwater action was memorable. The Bomber Long A and a Lucky Craft Sammy were my go-to baits, and I would fish tight to the rocky banks. The bass were holding along the rocks and ambushing baitfish during the low-light periods. There were many 2- to 3-pound fish, but I bumped into several in the 5- to 6-pound range and one that would go close to 9 pounds.
It was a blast, but I worried that it was way too obvious and that most of the field would get on this bite, so I spent a good portion of my time looking for more obscure spots. I finally got up the courage to run out on the main lake on my third day of practice. I followed a local boat out of Sportsman’s Cut, and when he shut down, so did I behind him. We found ourselves in 2 feet of muddy water out near the Monkey Box, or at least the area where the Monkey Box used to be. Now would probably be a good time to mention that Lake Okeechobee is nearly 5 feet below normal pool. Already a shallow bowl of a lake, the drought has made the second-largest self-contained freshwater lake in the United States look more like a big mud puddle. I had been warned by numerous locals to be very careful running around in the main lake. Most of the lake was indeed not safe for navigation.
We had made it out; we figured we would fish around and then just follow our GPS trace home later that afternoon. My friend Bill hopped up front and started chucking a white Lucky Craft LVR D10; he soon hooked into something big. Turtle, gator, tarpon???? Nope, it was a largemouth! It was the biggest one either of us had ever seen, much less caught. After a dramatic and long battle, I lipped the fish for him; after a quick photo session, we released her to fight again. She weighed close to 10 pounds. The rest of our afternoon on the main lake was not so exciting. We didn’t have any other bites, but managed 
to return safely into the rim canal that evening.
We spent a day up the Caloosahatchee River and found some fish in the oxbows and canals, but nothing that I thought would make for a good tournament strategy. The fish we caught in the river were mostly on the small side and were caught by pitching black Gambler worms on 3/16-ounce Giggy heads along docks and brush near the shoreline.
The day before the front, we again ventured out onto the main lake and this time traveled much farther. We picked a shoal that was a mix of sand, rock and small shrimp grass in about 2 1/2 feet of water. We started chucking Rat-L-Traps and jerkbaits and were into fish immediately. The bass were on fire, and we had many doubles. The fish were a mix of all sizes with most in the 2-pound range but plenty of 4-pounders, and one that went close to 9 pounds fell for a Lucky Craft Pointer 78.
As the cold front approached from the north, we decided to attempt to run back to Clewiston on the main lake. The wind and waves increased almost without warning, and we found our path to Clewiston blocked by an enormous reef that extended for miles in both directions. We attempted to pick our way through the reef, but the waves, which had reached 4 feet in size, had pushed us up on the top of the shoal. Things got a little tense as we reversed our course and opted to battle the waves and go the long way around the reef via the shipping channel. We eventually made it around the reef and back to Clewiston safely, but with a much greater appreciation for the dangerous big water.
————————————-
Editor’s note: Stay tuned for Part 2 of Andrews’ adventure on Lake Okeechobee in which he’ll write about his official practice period.
————————————-