Okeechobee Super Tournament Still On
Clewiston residents eager, ready despite minor damage from Hurricane Irma
Despite the area sustaining some minor damage and power outages from Hurricane Irma, the T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League (BFL) Gator Division Super Tournament on Lake Okeechobee scheduled for Sept. 23-24 will proceed as scheduled.
According to Ramon Iglesias, general manager of Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina and Resort, the city of Clewiston, the marina and the lake came through Irma in better shape than expected.
“Right now [as of Thursday morning] 95 percent of the city of Clewiston has had power restored, and the other 5 percent will be back on soon,” he says. “Here in Clewiston the damage is mostly cosmetic. There’s tree debris, shingle damage, that sort of thing, but not much structural damage. As far as homes being destroyed, nothing like that.”
At the marina, where the tournament will be held, Iglesias says there was some minor damage that will be repaired by the tournament’s start.
“We did have about 24 rooms displaced, but we’ve got nine back up, and when it’s all said and done I’ll be out maybe three rooms at the most. We also had a few slips at our Ranger dealership damaged, but those will be repaired, too. Other than that we’re all good. My goal is to get back to operating at 100 percent by the time the tournament starts, and we’ll get there easily.”
Iglesias says the outskirts and rural areas outside Clewiston still don’t have power, but as far as the tournament proceeding, there’s nothing keeping anglers away.
The city itself is up and running and ready for the tournament,” he says. “From a business owner’s standpoint, we all want this tournament to continue. Almost all the hotels in town are fine, there’s no evacuation traffic near here and these anglers are not going to be in anyone’s way.”
Iglesias also says there shouldn’t be any issues with fuel.
“I talked to my gas jobber, and he said by then there shouldn’t be any issues at all. Every gas station in town does have gas right now, and by the 23rd there won’t be any issues.”
He did say the only potential issue affecting anglers is if they didn’t already have reservations.
“The ones who already had reservations are fine, however, if you waited until the last minute to make reservations you may have some trouble there.”
As for the lake itself, Iglesias says it’s ready, too.
“Lake level is at 14.72 as of this morning [Thursday, Sept. 14], and it has plenty of fishable water,” he says. “From the pass to Indian Prairie is fishable and has cattails and reeds. There are some unfishable areas in the main lake, but typically no one fishes those areas anyway.
“Most fishing is going to be the grass reeds from the outside grass line inshore as water levels rise. From the west wall inside the grass to the shoal from either side of Cochran’s pass is good water. South there are small areas south of Rita that are fishable. We have not surveyed Pelican Bay, Buzzard’s Roost or South Bay yet, but there’s going to be plenty of water for the tournament.”