Okeechobee, Fla. — When asked to predict the four-day total winning weight, the 104 anglers were all over the map on the eve of SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee. The guesses ranged from the high 60s to 100 pounds. The main reason for wide ranges of predictions was a three-day practice period that was, well, ugly, in terms of weather and fish catches.
“The first day of practice was a nightmare,” said Seth Feider. “My motor overheated two or three times because the water was so dirty. Put a handful of leaves and water in a blender. That’s basically what the water looked like. I think it’s going to get better every day. But practice sucked. I haven’t caught a three-pounder yet.”
Warm days and warm nights are the formula for bass to move to the spawning beds this time of year. Daytime highs are predicted to be in the 80s, except for Saturday’s high of 74, and nighttime lows are supposed to stay around 60s degrees the next four days.
But the practice period featured cold weather and shifting winds that circled the compass.
“I think there are going to be a lot of people doing a lot better than they thought they were going to do, just because practice was so tough,” said Florida native Koby Kreiger. “It’s going to be a crapshoot. A lot of people didn’t learn a whole lot in practice.”
The effects of two hurricanes last fall damaged a significant portion of the aquatic vegetation and raised the lake level about two feet higher than normal, which is saying a lot in “Florida’s Inland Sea.” Lake Okeechobee covers 734 square miles with an average depth of only nine feet at its normal level.
The big lake is expected to “fish small.” Anglers will be concentrated in the limited clear water areas.
“In the best places, you’ll be looking at everybody,” said Greg Hackney. “I don’t like to fish in a crowd, but I will fish in one here this week. I don’t have a choice.”
Echoed Drew Cook, “There will be a lot of people fishing real close to each other. But I think somebody will find something that wasn’t clear in practice that will clean up. They’ll have it to themselves, and they’ll walk away with it.”
No matter what the conditions are, you can always expect to see wild swings in the standings from Day 1 to Day 2 at Lake Okeechobee.
“You’ll see somebody catch 26 pounds on Day 1 and catch six pounds on Day 2,” said Cook. “That’s what this place does to the best of them. I won a BASS Nation tournament here in 2012 when the fishing was really good. I caught 6-11 on the first day, and I caught 32 pounds the second day.”
Brandon Lester loves fishing in Florida. The Tennessee native began his 2022 season with a Bassmaster Open win at Florida’s Kissimmee Chain of Lakes.
“Florida fits my style of fishing,” he said. “You find an area, slow down and milk it for all it’s worth. That’s how you win tournaments in Florida. Yeah, every now and then you’ll see a guy covering water and turning-and-burning. But for the most part, you find and area and milk it for what it’s worth. That suits my style. I’m not a run-and-gun guy.”
With temperatures on a warming trend and water color gradually clearing over the next four days, as Koby Kreiger noted, this opening event of the 2023 Elite season truly feels like a crapshoot.
