Big O is Hot – Then and Now

As a lifelong resident in Central Florida growing up in Melbourne, I’ve had the opportunity to visit the great Lake Okeechobee for more than 50 years. Looking back in my memory bank I remember my first bass fishing trip heading down to the famed fishery, I was maybe 15 years old entered to fish in a club bass tournament. I was a non-boater and was paired with a boater to fish out of the back of the boat. Our club fished until 5:30 pm back then and we had a 10 bass limit. It was often that one of our winning anglers would weigh-in 35 to 45 pounds with their 10 bass limits. Driving took two and a half hours to get to the south end of the lake, “Slims Fish Camp” was our launch site. The event lasted 2 days. The 20 bass 2-day limits winning weights were over 70 pounds. I remember that the bite was slow for me on the first day and I only had 5 fish for 14 pounds or so. We swapped boaters for the second day of the event and hoped that I would be able to get some fish in the boat when the guy leading had nearly 40 pounds. Day two started about the same only catching a few smaller keepers until later in the day. I suggested moving to an area where a few of our club members had some luck on day one. My boater was an older angler and was worn out from the heat of the day. He said take the wheel, drive to the spot, and get on the trolling motor to put us on some fish. We made a short 3-mile run west to an area off the rim-ditch. We had a nice breeze blowing in on the scattered hard reed islands with lots of pockets and defined points. Within a few casts I caught my first nice-sized keeper, a little over 4 pounds, off a long point of reeds. My very next cast I caught one a little bigger. We only had an hour of fishing time left before we had to make the run back to the ramp for weigh-in. I was able to finish out my 10 bass limit before leaving, catching four keepers and culling out a few smaller ones. Excited for my days catch at weigh-in, we scored over 42 pounds including one bass over 7 pounds. 42 pounds in 10 bass, seems impressive? Now let us look at weights some 50 years later.

Lake Okeechobee has been through a lot in those 50 years, especially in the last 15 or so. Hurricanes create turnover in the lakes’ bottom vegetation displacing lots of habitat where the bass live. The lake has been at its highest level ever in the past year, and at its lowest level ever this year as well. The FWC management of spraying the existing vegetation to control growth of aquatic weeds has had lots of controversy due to the dead vegetation falling to the bottom creating harmful nutrients that deprive the water of oxygen triggering algae blooms. We have seen the algae blooms kill off lots of grass in the salt water river that the lake discharges its high water into. Even through all its adversity old “Mother Nature” has helped Lake O rebound and it has been producing huge 5 bass limits in the most recent events on the lake.

Early in May 2023 at the Jimmy McMillian Memorial Tournament there were 10 five-bass limits over 30 pounds with the winners weighing over 37 pounds. The following weekend at the Roland Martin Marine Bass Series event there were 20 five-bass limits over 30 pounds and even more impressive was that there were 66 five-bass bags over 20 pounds. Good friends and custom rod builder from Scenko Stix Alex Terescenko, and his partner Jenna Vlaar caught impressive bags of 36 pounds at the Jimmy McMillian event for 2nd place and 32 pounds at the Roland Martin event and finishing 8th. The Roland Martin event may go down in history as the heaviest weights catching bass – ever! If you are a bass angler and have competed in tournaments, then you know catching 20 plus pounds in any event is really good. If you brought that to the scales at the Rolands’ event you were in 66th place. It is incredible that 4-pound fish average 20-pound sacks making a great day of fishing yet would not turn a head at the weigh-in station that day. Elite angler Scott Martin and his daughter Hillary Martin weighed-in 29.58 and finished 23rd.

This past spring MLF Fishing and Bassmaster Elites had events that produced many 20 pound plus bags but nothing like the recent events setting historic records. If you have never fished at the famed “Big O” you should think about scheduling a trip down to this awesome fishery. My son Josh Wolf and his partner Alex Funke will be fishing in their local club Classic in late May (after we go to print for the June issue) and I will be joining them to practice before their tournament on May 20 and 21. Josh and Alex recently won their April club event with 28.65 lbs. and received the clubs’ biggest bag of the year award. They are the defending champs from last year and hope to repeat. If the fishing goes well for them, they’ll be looking for their own 30-pound sack!

For anglers interested in the ‘Big O’ - our forecast writer is one of the best local guides on Lake Okeechobee. Captain Angie Douthit can hook anglers up with a trip of a lifetime. Check out her forecast in this months’ magazine and give her a call. Fishing is hot right now - get down to Okeechobee for a lifetime memory.

Friday, Saturday June 2, 3 - 54th Annual FSFA Offshore Tournament with $25,000 in cash and prizes. $12K General Awards, $5K Big Fish, $5K Trolling Slam. June 2 @ 5:30pm: Captains party at Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar (500 Glen Cheek Dr, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920) June 3: Tournament & Awards at Sunrise Marina, Port Canaveral (Weighin begins @2:00pm) Live Entertainment, raffles, and more! Even if you’re not fishing, join us on Saturday, June 3rd at the weigh-in at Sunrise Marina.

Saturday June 3 – Safe Daylight, Help Our Heroes Bass Tournament to be hosted at Joe Overstreet ramp in Osceola County. Weigh-in is 3:00 pm, 2 anglers per boat with $200 entry. $10,000 to win based on 150 boats! This annual event is a fund raiser to benefit local and national veterans’ groups. Steak dinner will be included with lots of raffle prizes and fun. Come watch the anglers bring their bass to the scales and help support this great cause.

Thursday June 8 - 5pm to 8pm, Alive After 5 is Central Florida’s largest recurring monthly street party in Historic Downtown Sanford. Festival goers come to celebrate the community and local artistry, and to partake in an evening of music, food, craft beers, and shopping. Enjoy great local restaurants, art galleries, gift shops, antique stores, nightlife and a variety of other unique businesses. Free admission!

Tuesday June 6, 13, 20, 27 – 5:00 pm till dusk - Jolly Gator Bass Tournament Series, every Tuesday evening plus one Saturday per month until the Classic in August. Cost is $40 per event, 2 anglers per team. Teams that finish in the Top 10 in points or win an event and fish at least 21 events will qualify for the end of year Classic. Some of the best river anglers in the area fish this Bass Series. The staff of Orlando Coastal Angler Magazine is the official weighmasters for this fun tournament series, come out and join us for the weekly weigh-ins. All Tuesday events start at 5:00 pm till dusk, Saturday events (1 per month) are safe light till 2:00 pm. Launch ramp at CS Lee Park next to Jolly Gator Fish Camp on SR 46 east of Sanford at the St. Johns River Bridge. For questions or more info contact Jim “Squirt” Chaudoin at 407432-2822 or Phil Wolf

Coastal Angler Magazine at 407-790-9515

Saturday June 10 - Safe light until 2:00 pm. Jolly Gator Bass Tournament Series Saturday Event. $40 per event, 2 anglers per team. There is also a $20 side-pot for big bag. Saturday events (1 per month) are safe light till 2:00 pm. Launch ramp at CS Lee Park next to Jolly Gator Fish Camp on SR 46 east of Sanford at the St. Johns River Bridge. For questions or more info contact Jim “Squirt” Chaudoin at 407432-2822 or Phil Wolf

Coastal Angler Magazine at 407-790-9515

If you have an event or meeting you would like included in the “What’s Hitting Around Town” column, send your details to: Phil Wolf phillip@ coastalanglermagazine. com. Deadline for inclusion is the 10th of the preceding month.

June marks the beginning of our Atlantic Hurricane season. Water levels will be the key to finding fish. High levels in June mean there are a lot of places for fish to hide as pastures get flooded along the St Johns River. Welcome to Florida’s summer heat.

Bass: Schooling bass can be found at first light at the mouths of Lakes Monroe and Harney feeding on shad. The water temperature at the mouth of the Wekiva River is cooler and will hold nice sized fish ready to eat Carolina rigged plastic worms, senkos, swim baits, crank baits, and rattling lipless crank baits (Rattle Traps). Pitching baits into the edges of lily pads or deep holes in the backwater will yield the largest fish. Tip: tie on a Rattle Trap for big bass at daybreak.

Catfish: Now is the time to catch large blue channel catfish. When rainwater flushes out of the creeks and rivers, the cats swim upstream to find forage and nesting areas. Chunks of mullet, peeled shrimp, beef or pork liver, and artificial stink baits are best baits. Use a foot of 20lb. test fluorocarbon leader and a 2/0 circle hook pinned with just enough weight to hold the bottom. Tip: Try a sliding egg sinker and allow the bait to roll along the bottom in a river bend. Cast the bait upstream and let it roll into the hole.

Panfish: Spawning will taper off in June. Best bets are full and new moons. Look for beds in the straight areas of the river along the bank in 2-5 feet of water. Bluegills like sandy bottom or shell bottom for nesting. Use worms, grass shrimp and crickets for best results. Try a piece of 8lb. test fluorocarbon leader in clear water for more hookups.

Here comes the beginning of the summer’s hottest days. Thankfully the June rains will bring our lake levels back up to give the fish better access to the heavy cover they love to get in during the summer months. June is not only a hot month in temperature, but in bass fishing as well. When the water gets as hot as it is the oxygen becomes low in the deeper parts of the lakes, forcing the fish to move into shallower water with dense vegetation where the oxygen is rich. So grab your flippin sticks! Pitching small profile crawfish baits, like the Zoom U Vibe Speed Craw or the Gambler BB Cricket, at the base of reeds or in pad pockets and heavy matted grass will surely entice a bite any time of day. The low light conditions of early morning or late evening are highly productive over and around the dense cover using a frog type bait or a swimming jig with a trailer. Try slowly walking a Booyah Pad Crasher over top the pads, pausing regularly to help increase your chances at a strike. Later in the day deep water grass edges and the old river channels in both Lake Harris and Little Lake Harris are worth a look. The man-made fish attractors all over the chain of lakes and the many brush-piles are close by the attractors. Find them with your sonar units. Large deep running crank baits or big soft plastic worms and swim baits are always a good choice. The old stand-by Carolina rig is producing bigger fish. Look and find hard shell bottom close to eel grass or hydrilla and deeper water to find bait pods. Find the bait and you will find the bass.