Elite

A look at Lake Okeechobee

Posted on
Captions by
Mike Suchan
The 2023 pro season gets under this week with the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee. It will be B.A.S.S.’s 23rd pro tournament on Okeechobee, the original trophy bass lake in the United States.
The largest freshwater lake in the southeast and second largest all in the U.S., Okeechobee covers 734 square miles in southern Florida. Okeechobee is often called “Florida’s Inland Sea” as well as “The Big O.”
Okeechobee, however, is extremely shallow, averaging about 9 feet deep with a maximum depth of 12 feet. For this visit, the water level is up and muddy, which puts clear spawning areas at a premium. The sheer size of the lake — 35 miles long and 29 miles wide with 135 miles of shoreline — will help spread anglers.
Competition days are Thursday through Sunday with daily takeoffs from C. Scott Driver Park, 10100 Hwy 78 W, Okeechobe, Fla., 34974, at 7:30 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day at the park at 3:30 p.m. The full field of 104 Elites compete the first two days, with the Top 50 advancing to Semifinal Saturday and Top 10 moving on to Championship Sunday.
Despite Okeechobee’s massive size, Florida Elite pro Bernie Schultz said there will still be groups of anglers in certain areas. “Definitely, a couple of regions will support the bulk of the field,” he said. “It may come down to someone setting up in a key area and defending it, or it may be a timing thing.”
Roland Martin averaged 16 pounds a day in winning the first B.A.S.S. tournament on Okeechobee decades ago, but it was Ish Monroe who gave Okeechobee Century Club status in the first Elite event there in 2012. Monroe had two 30-pound bags in totaling 108 pounds, 5 ounces, making it one of nine fisheries in B.A.S.S. history where the feat has been accomplished.
Along with Martin, Monroe, Rick Clunn and others, Chad Morgenthaler won an event on Okeechobee. He averaged 21 pounds a day in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic Wild Card event to advance to the next year’s Classic on Lake Guntersville.
In 2017, the Elites came back to Okeechobee with great results, but the winning total was 25 pounds lower than 2012 at 83-5. Monster bass were still landed, as evidenced by Micah Frazier’s 9-3 that vied for big bass.
Greg Hackney, among the favorites coming into Okeechobee for his flipping prowess, was consistent with around 20 pounds each of the first three days before slipping on Championship Sunday and finishing fifth.
Always strong in his home state, Cliff Prince returns to Okeechobee as the highest placing finisher from 2017. Like Hackney, Prince came in on Day 4 with about 5 pounds less than the previous three days, which was his margin behind the winning total.
Schultz noted that vegetation is not where it’s been in years past. “Areas that are normally lush with vegetation were barren,” he said. “Where there was clear water and a variety of good-quality vegetation, there was a lot of fishing pressure.” A 150-boat tournament finished up the day before the Elites began practice.
Scott Martin, who grew up in Clewiston on the lake, said hurricanes have beat up the lake and added water. “What that represents is a lot less fishable habitat, and water clarity is going to be a little harder to deal with,” he said. “The lake will fish a little bit bigger for guys who can find some of those areas away from everybody. On top of that, there’s a lot of pressure on the lake.”
The forecast for the week is for mostly stable temperatures. Any weather concerns would be possible fog or winds, although a front will pass late Friday.
Bassmaster LIVE coverage for this event officially starts at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday, with a preview show, a new feature for the lineup. It will be recorded for access any time. LIVE tournament coverage begins Thursday at 8 a.m. ET on Bassmaster.com. On weekend mornings, FS1 will air Bassmaster LIVE, which will also be available on FOX Sports platforms and Tubi.
Make sure to be there when the Elites kick off the 2023 season, all vying for that $100,000 first-place prize and blue trophy, along with points in the season-long race to be Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year.

Related