Bass Master Southern Open Okeechobee as a non boater

[D.Cox]

I signed for the Bass Master Southern Open Okeechobee as a non boater and went and  Pre Fishing  Okeechobee 1-11-2010 to 11-13-2010. I fished with a guy that is fishing on the boater side from GA.  Never thought I would need my insulated bibs and parka in FL, but it felt good. When we got on the lake Monday morning, the water temp. in the canal at Clewiston Canal was 43 degs.; out in the lake it was 40-41degs. in the shallows, less than 5 foot. We rode around and looked for areas that had beds in them and fished some with not a single bite. I got to see a lot of the lake. The lower end is really grown up, we went north and by the end of the day ended up in the monkey box. Moonshine Bay was very shallow. We ran through it on plane and the water was about a foot. We were in a 20x Skeeter and I was impressed where this boat would run, He had a V Max motor with a hydraulic jack plate. We could get on plane with the depth finder reading 1.5 with me lying flat on the front deck.

Tuesday we went to the East side of the lake and looked around and ended up around the south bay. We did get stuck on one boat path. These boat paths are in heavy vegetation, hydrilla, reeds, and cattails and some, 6-8 feet tall. We were running down a path trying to get to a bay at an island on the lower end that he had fished in the past. The path started out the width of the boat. About 3 miles down this trail it forked and we took the left fork; a short distance later the path started to get smaller, and he was having problems keeping the motor on the clean water  path on the winding trail going 30-45 MPH. The path was about 12 inches wide, that I could see water, rest cattails. The boat would push most of them away but you had to lean toward the center to keep from being hit in the face. I also had to reach back and pull my rod tips away from the edge of the boat, to keep the cattails from jerking the eyes off. We turned a curve and the path ended. He said a few words as we sat down in this jungle. With cattails on both sides, 7 or 8 foot tall and as far as you could see, I figure we would have to spend the night as it was about 4 pm and call a air boat to come get us. But I looked about 50 yard behind us and there was a place that looked like a T that was about 10 foot deep in the cat tails. After about 30 minutes we got the boat backed in to this and turned around with the trolling motor and me pushing with the butt of my rod and pulling on any cattails I could get a hold of. This T I think was the results of someone else getting stuck. There were uprooted cattails on top of the live ones. Good part, we did not have to get in the water. He then started the 250 V Max  and we started idling out, after about 200 yard, he hit reverse and said he thought it was deep enough to get on plane. It looked like an alligator hole or some 2-3 foot water in the middle of nowhere. We got back on plane and ran out to some better paths.

Wednesday, we went to the north end and looked around and fished J-S canal and then went to tin house and the west side of the lake and in the afternoon started flipping. We did get a few bites and shook them off.

Here we went again down a small path about 2 miles, and then it opened up into a great spawning bay, and he got 2 bites on a swim bait and then it was time to go to the pairings.

Will post some more later on the Bass Master Southern Open on the tournament days.

[b.Lee]

Seems like a good time! Pics!

[arul]

sounds like dude needs an aluminum flat rig for where he runs it.  I don't know about running on plane in a ft of water...1 odd stump or ridge or gator and you are screwed.  I would have white knuckles...

[JohnnyBigger]

I fished with a guy with the same boat on okeechobee in january last year in an FBF tournament and he would run wide open in 1 1/2-2 foot of water through cattails scared the crap out of me but nice freekin boat

[D.Cox]

Tournament Day1: Drew out with a guy form KY and fished the west side of the lake. We were fishing scattered hydrilla, cattails and pin reeds with a water depth 2-3.5 foot. When we arrived the water temp was 48 and the sun was out. He was throwing weighted swim baits and getting a reaction strike. He had several bites, but they were slapping at the baits. I was throwing a skinny dipper on braid and working as slow as possible, before 8 I had my first keeper 2-7. I caught 2 more short fish. With Bass Opens,  we can weigh in a 12 inch fish with the Florida exemption paper for the event. The boater has 5 good bites but did not land any of them. After lunch, the water had warmed to 53 and he started catching fish on the swim bait. The area that most of our bites came from was a 50 yard by 50 yard box. When we would get outside of this we would not get bit. I started throwing a Swimming sinko on fluorocarbon, since we had been around this area all day and got bit from a 3-5 pound fish, but could not turn her before she got in the cattails and pulled off.  Caught a couple more small non keepers' bass. We were due in at 4:00 pm and left about 3:15 to head back. When we got out in the main lake and ran about 2 miles of the 10 miles back, the motor spun the hub in the prop. We could idle but not get on plain. We did manage to flag down a boat and rode in with them. I had one fish for 2-7 and the boater had 4 fish for 6-8. About dark he had his boat at the service trailer and got a new prop.

Day 2.

Fish with a guy from Fl and we went to the monkey box and fish shallow spawning area. I could see a lot of bed, but no fish. I did catch a small keeper on a skinny dipper with the water temp 53. After a while we ran back north and started fishing some bays. I caught my 2nd keeper on a swimming sinko. We fished a lot of this area and only caught small fish. The area had been sprayed and the weeds were starting to turn brown. When we were leaving close to where I had caught the last keeper, I flipped in a mat and caught my 3rd keeper. We then went back to monkey box and fished the eel grass in open water. I had one bite. I ended the day with 3-1 and the boater zeroed. I made the top 30 by a few oz and was in 28 th place.

Day 3

I drew out with a gut from NC and we went to some fish close to the launch. Water temp 60 today. I started out throwing a skinny dipper, and we both were getting bites but they acted like small fish. I changed to the swimming Sinko and caught 2 keepers and 3 short. We left and tried a different spot, only 1 bite. Then around lunch went north to a canal and finished the day. The boater was flipping dock and caught 3 keepers and finished in the top 20. I moved up 3 spots to 25th.

Congratulations to Chris Lane on his cash win on the boater side and Blake Steward on winning the Skeeter Bass boat on the non boater side.

Sorry, no pictures, traveled light due limit space in luggage on air plane.

[bocabasser]

right on dow. i wish you guys would have had the tourny before the cold rolled in. the lake was on fire! i am glad you at least caught fish, because many did not. congrats.

[Tin]

Nice job I heard it was brutal down there.

Is there something different about Florida though, looking for beds with 40* water?    :-?

[Flips]

Good job man!  It was very tough down there.  It was also very impressive that caught yourself a limit.  It seemed like you only needed one good solid flipping bite a day or a few smaller Senko/ Dipper bites to get a decent check!   

I was also shocked on how hard those guys are on their boats and motors.  We saw a guy ripping through the shallowest junk and he was shooting 9' of mud and sand into the air!  We got stuck on a sandbar during practice too.  I guess that is why all of those Florida boys have push poles in their boats!    

[simplejoe]

Good job on the tournament.   

[D.Cox]

Nice job I heard it was brutal down there.

Is there something different about Florida though, looking for beds with 40* water? :-?

The water had been in the 60 the weeks before and fish were making beds. Plus it was too cold to get a bite, so we looked for bedding areas and looked for the closest 4-6 foot water with mats. Hoping when it warmed the fish would start moving back into the beds and if not you could fish the pre spawn fish moving in.

It would have been nice to be down there when you could go in a area and have them chase something. This was the hardest time I had trying to find fish.

Where do they go when it turns cold? We fished the rim canal, with few bites. I figured the fish in the shallows would move out. I not sure they did, just found the thickest cover and went in to a semi hibernation for a week.

What do Florida Bass do when water temp drops from 60-40 in 2 days.

By Sat the temp was 60 and the fish we caught were 1 mile from 4 foot of water and in less than 2 foot of water. Did they move in or jut became active?

I fished 6 days and caught 6 fish over 12 inches. probally had 10 short of 12 inches.

Thanks Dow

[RoLo]

Nice job I heard it was brutal down there.

Is there something different about Florida though, looking for beds with 40* water? :-?

Normally, I don't even think about bedding bass until New Years Day.

But now I might push that out to February 1st ;D

Roger

[Tin]

Ok, got you now.  They wouldn't stray too far from beds they had made if they had not spawned yet.

[A-Rob]

wow, awesome experience. Sorry the weather was so cold!

Congrats again