LUNKER SQUAD FOUNDER ON LAKE OKEECHOBEE
Over the recent holiday, founder and club angler Daniel Fabiano spent a perfect day out on Lake Okeechobee during the January 3rd BFL/FLW tour. After trying to schedule a guide service the days following Christmas, I was upset to find out that every guide and boat in the surrounding areas were booked out for practice for the FLW tour. The only day available in the timeline of my trip was the day of the actual event. This however did not phase my decision to go out on Okeechobee, it only enhanced my decision to get out on the water even quicker. To my fortune, I was paired with a guide that was originally from Brainerd, Minnesota which made for an easy and relaxing transition, especially not being on my own boat and only have a very limited amount of my own gear that I shipped down to Florida before I left for my trip.
Lake Okeechobee bass guide Brian Brown (below) from Fishinghype.com flipping a 1.5lbr into the boat nearing noon on January 3rd, 2015. Due to the high number of tournament boats on the lake, Brian took us into some very vegetated and covered areas where most anglers were keeping clear. We found fish, but nothing of serious size. The biggest of the day was a 2lbr.
Between the three of us on the boat, we caught around 25 bass. My personal biggest was maybe a little over a pound, and I brought in 6 of them. Brian our guide, landed around 15 throughout the day, with his biggest right over 2 pounds. My brother from another mother, Michael Pollard tagged along and caught 5 as well. Considering the thick grass and pads we fished all day long, we had many break offs, reties, as well as a few dozen of lost fish due to air flops and slop tie ups. Brian used a green pumpkin senko with a 1/4oz pegged bullet weight mainly all day. He also threw the occasional Gambler Plastic Swimbait. Michael also was set up with anything Brian offered, and I threw the same for the exception of switching up the senko with a Reaction Innovations Beaver. I ended up catching 2 on the senko, 2 on the beaver, and 2 on the swim bait.