FLW Practice Report – Lake Okeechobee
Interesting, crazy, uneventful, boring, fickle
The consensus regarding Lake Okeechobee from the anglers we spoke to today, the off-limits rest day for the 169 Professional Anglers and Co-Anglers fishing the opener for the 2016 FLW Tour was broad. Words like Interesting, crazy, uneventful, boring and fickle were used among some others we would rather not print.
To say this tournament will be different from the Costa Series opener three weeks ago would be an understatement. The water on the Big O is 2 to 3 feet higher than it was and the clearer, cleaner water is harder to find for most guys. One description we overheard from one angler was, “its going to be close fishing and hand to hand combat.†Unclear if he meant with the fish or other Pro’s but when they blast off tomorrow morning it will be anybody’s game for sure.
Photo Courtesy of Rogue Outdoor Media
Stetson Blaylock in his 7th year on tour told us he expected Okeechobee to be fickle. “Its fickle when the fish are biting good but its particularly fickle when they’re not.†“The guy who wins this event has no clue he’s going to win it, he’s gonna run across them in a small area where they might be bedding or getting ready to spawn or he will just find a clump of them and lean on them until the end.†When asked if he thought this would be a sight fishing event, Blaylock was quick to say “no.†“I think we are still dealing with Pre-spawn fish because of the water clarity being what it is and the fact that where we used to catch them here in 3 to 4 foot of water, its now 5 to 7 feet and that cleaner water that these fish like is just not as prominent as it has been.â€
“I think the guy that can out finesse the rest of the field will pull this thing off this week.â€
Blaylock has a couple of patterns that he figured out in practice, but feels one key bait might be the player here this week. “I feel like the Senko will make its way back to the rods of a number of the top guys this week. That bait has just the right finesse action and could be the ticket.†“These fish have seen a lot of pressure these past few weeks from the BFL guys to the Costa series guys and now us. I think the guy that can out finesse the rest of the field will pull this thing off this week.†When asked about his strategy as he kicks off his 2016 FLW Campaign, Blaylock said, “I’m going to fish expecting what’s to come. Practice is over and you can’t fish practice here, you have to look at the bigger picture and fish what’s ahead of you. I’m ready.”
Photo Courtesy of FLW Outdoors
From Finesse fishing to fishing his strengths, newly appointed Bass Cat Pro Andrew Upshaw has a different approach this week. “I’ve come here many times in the past and had phenomenal practices and then sucked it up in the tournament. I came in with a different approach this week and I hope it pays off for me.†Upshaw, a native of Oklahoma said his practice was satisfactory to not very pleasurable. “I came in looking for 5 or 6 key areas and I found those. I would get a few bites and leave and then not get bit for the rest of the day. That makes for a long day. But I accomplished my goals for practice and now I am ready for the tournament to start.”
“I have more rods in my Puma FTD with fluorocarbon on them than braid.”
Like Blaylock who is fishing his strengths, Upshaw plans to do the same. “I love to fish a Rat-l-Trap around grass.†Says Upshaw, “I have more rods in my Puma FTD with fluorocarbon on them than braid†which is unusual for Florida fishing this time of year. “I feel though that I can put together a good limit with my Rat-l-Trap and then take my new Gene Larew Punch Out Craw and go look for a big kicker fish late in the day when the sun is high and pushing those bigger fish up.â€
Look for Blaylock and Upshaw tomorrow as the FLW Tour kicks off out of Roland Martin Marina on Lake Okeechobee. Follow along FLW’s Twitter feed for daily updates and tune in to FLW Live Thursday at 3:00pm EST to watch the weigh in live.
