Just got back from Okeechobee. I was there watching the FLW EverStart. The big lake fished a little tough for many anglers but in predictable fashion it blessed a fortunate few with heavy stringers this week.

Ben Todd of Pierson, FL tallied 59 pounds, 3 ounces over three competition days. So did Trevor Fitzgerald with his 25-pound, 10-ounce effort today. But since Todd was the leader heading into today’s final round he won the tie-breaker, so the trophy and $40,000 are his.

Fitzgerald ignited the crowd when he pulled out a pair of big bass to punctuate his limit and his tournament week.

With the FLW Tout set to kcik off on Okeechobee in less than a month the anglers aren’t talking as much as they normally would but Todd shared that he caught his fish by pitching a Tightlines UV UVenko and a Gambler Ace (both are Senko-style lures) pegged behind a 3/8 oz. tungsten weight. A 5/0 Gamakatsu flippin’ hook and 50-pound braid rounded out Todd’s tackle selection.

Today Todd caught all of his 16-03 with the UVenko.

Some guys flipped fish from beneath thick mats but the hottest pattern on the lake right now revolves around patches of reeds, including bullrush and cattails.

That’s what Todd fished. His fish were scattered along a line of reeds in about 3 feet of water on the northeast side of the lake near the J&S Lock.

Especially interesting is that Todd’s first bass of the tournament was a 9-pounder that anchored his 31-7 limit on Thursday. Then, with minutes left to fish today, he closed the event out with a bookend 9-pounder that weighed exactly what he needed it to.

Fitzgerald caught his bigger fish by pitching a jig to reeds down south.

Even Brandon McMillan, a noted mat puncher, split his time betweeen punching mats and pitching to reeds. That gameplan netted McMillan a 3rd place finish with a total of 56-3.

Howard Poitevint won the co-angler division with a total weight of 40-13 (13-11 today).

While most pros used 3/4 oz. jigs, nearly all succesful co-anglers relied on the senko this week. Some wacky-rigged it. Others daedsticked it. But the soft stickbait was a money maker as usual.

Limits were common, even for the guys on the back deck. Sightfishing was not a factor in this tournament, due mostly to the high water level (right at 15 feet) and windy conditions.