“I expect a lot of limits, probably a half dozen, maybe a dozen bags from 19 pounds to the high 20s. I figure it will take high 20-pound bag to win it,” said Ruiz who took the points title over Mike Keyso Jr., by 3 points in 2014. I think in the later tournaments, in February and April, we will see some mid to high 30-pound bags,” he added

“The lake is as healthy as I have seen it in the last 15 years,” Ruiz said. “There is a lot of grass, the water is up and there are a lot of fish.”

Healthy bait populations usually mean healthy fish populations and Ruiz said both the shad and shiner populations are healthy as are the bluegills and specs. That could translate into even heavier limits when the spawning fish move in. Although bass in the Florida lakes typically spawn much earlier than those in lakes just a little north of the state, the big push to the banks has not yet occurred in Okeechobee, Ruiz said.

“We are still waiting for a big wave of spawners to push up. They are kind of trickling in,” he said. “That could happen by the time of the Rayovac tournament in a couple of weeks. If we get some cold fronts that really sets them up. Winter down here has been pretty mild and there are still a lot of fish offshore.”

Ruiz said Saturday’s tournament will be typical pre-spawn fishing.

“You will be able to catch them on a swim bait, a Senko, pitching and flipping, pretty much a smorgasbord of ways. You can pretty much catch them how you want to fish,” said Ruiz, who lives just 35 minutes from the lake in West Palm Beach. “I’ll be either casting a swimbait like an Easy Swimmer or a Fat A or I’ll go flip hydrilla mats.

Ruiz said consistency was the key to winning his first BFL points title in the Gator Division last year.

“I had a pretty good start in the first tournament with a top 10,” he said, “then I did not have too bad of a bomb or too high of a finish the rest of the year, just consistent.”

His approach, he said, is to just go catch that one good fish to anchor his limit.

“For me Okeechobee fishing is to get that one good bite, then get a limit of 2- to 3-pounders. If you weigh in 15 to 16 pounds you will probably have a top 3 or top 4 finish,” he said.

“I am not a limit fisherman. I just go and flip and try to get a good one. Sometimes I hit one, but a lot of times I strike out, but I am okay with that. That’s just how I do it.”

 

Walmart Bass Fishing League – Gator Division

Sat, 2015-01-03

Lake Okeechobee

Roland Martin Marina & Resort

www.flwoutdoors.com